History of South Australia
| Province of South Australia | |||||
| British Crown Colony | |||||
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| Government | Self-governing colony | ||||
| Monarch | |||||
| • | 1834-1837 | William IV first | |||
| • | 1837-1901 | Victoria last | |||
| Governor | |||||
| • | 1836-1838 | John Hindmarsh first | |||
| • | 1899-1901 | Hallam Tennysonlast | |||
| History | |||||
| • | independence from the New South Wales colony | 1834 | |||
| • | Federation of Australia | 1901 | |||
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The history of South Australia refers to the history of the Australian State of South Australia and its preceding Indigenous and British colonial societies. Aboriginal Australians have lived in South Australia for tens of thousands of years, while British colonists arrived in the 19th century to establish a free colony, with no convict settlers. European explorers were sent deep into the interior, discovering some pastoral land but mainly large tracts of desert terrain.
The colony became a cradle of democratic reform in Australia. The Parliament of South Australia was formed in 1857, when the colony was granted self-government. Women were granted the vote in the 1890s. South Australia became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 following a vote to federate with the other British colonies of Australia. While it has a smaller population than the eastern States, South Australia has often been at the vanguard of political and social change in Australia.
The first people to occupy the area now known as South Australia were Australian Aborigines. Their presence in northern Australia began around 40,000 to 60,000 years ago with the arrival of the first of their ancestors by land-bridge from what is now Indonesia. Their descendants moved south and, though never large in numbers, occupied all areas of Australia, including the future South Australia.
Evidence for human activity in South Australia dates back more than 65,000 years ago with ceremonial sites and rock art in the Flinders Ranges and flint mining activity and rock art in the Koonalda Cave on the Nullarbor Plain. In addition wooden spears and tools were made in an area now covered in peat bog in the South East. Kangaroo Island was inhabited long before the island was cut off by rising sea levels.
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