Media: hardcover with dustjacket - large format 120 pages
Authors: Jim Faull & Gordon Young
Year: 1986
Published by: South Australian Centre for Settlement Studies

Foreword

There are three good reasons for commending People, Places and Buildings' to readers. First because it introduces them to the history of South Australia through the work of its research Centre for Settlement Studies; second because it introduces that history through the lives of people who, though worthy of it, never intended to appear in history books; and third because it exemplifies the ethnic diversity of their origins through their buildings.

The South Australian Centre for Settlement Studies has been established to bring the research skills of architects, geographers and historians to bear upon the common subject of manmade landscapes in South Australia. Thus far, it has concentrated upon the rural landscapes in and around the urban fringes of Adelaide. Here, it has identified the cultural significance of the buildings, fences, roads and other structures, whose pioneer authorship ensures their enduring interest to residents and visitors alike. A striking product of this research has been the evidence it has produced of how the style and construction of buildings and their surrounds, reflects the ancient folk traditions of their European regions of origin — sometimes better than the very stock of these buildings which has survived in those regions. The work on German pioneer buildings has been particularly notable in this respect, but the more recent focus upon the regional building styles of the British Isles is proving to be of equal value. As enduring memorials of their builders they offer the best means for evoking what we can glean of the life led in their adopted land.

Jim Faull and Gordon Young, the Centre's Director, have combined their talents, and drawing upon the Centre's past publications, have produced a selection of the most notable of those builders whose places have survived through to the present. These, they offer to South Australians as the Centre's contribution to the 150th anniversary of the State's

European settlement.
Graeme Pretty, Chairman, South Australian Centre for Settlement Studies

From the Introduction

In the 150 years since South Australia was colonised, European-man has created a built environment vastly different from the lightly touched, spacious landscapes used by the Aborigines for centuries before 1836. Since more than a million people now live in this new' environment it is a subject of great interest, particularly at a time when the State is focusing so much attention on its history.

Our immigrant ancestors began in what they considered was a wilderness and imposed a European-style imprint upon the land. This imprint, which we utilise today, evolved through the processes of Settlement — 'the opening up, colonising and "settling" of a hitherto unpopulated or thinly populated land.'

Any study of the processes of Settlement branches into at least three disciplines, Geography, History and Architecture. In Geography spatial processes are emphasised, such as the location, size and distribution of selected features. History concerns itself with the time dimension and asks questions such as when did some features begin, and how have some features evolved? Architecture concentrates on specific features, usually buildings and their immediate surrounds, and assesses their contribution to the totality which is Settlement. Thus a full study of Settlement is an interdisciplinary blending of at least three areas of study and this book reflects this, firstly because of the interests of its authors and secondly because, to a large degree, it samples the output of the South Australian Centre for Settlement Studies, a research group composed of geographers, historians and architects.

The disciplines which have been mentioned analyse the three elements which are emphasised by the title of this book namely People, Places and Buildings. These elements are the foundations of Settlement Studies and in broad terms they correlate with the disciplines as follows: People — History, Places — Geography, Buildings — Architecture. Beyond this there are two parameters which define the scope of the book, time, namely 150 years and, space, namely the State of South Australia. From the former the book concentrates on the first 64 years, or the nineteenth century portion of our history, and from the latter the concentration is on the settled area of the State, particularly the area close to the capital city which is known as the Adelaide Hills. 

People in South Australia in the last 150 years have been a heterogeneous agglomeration of several million souls. While not rivalling the 'melting pot' of races described for America, South Australia has nevertheless attracted many different groups from the world's population. British stock was the greatest contributor to the immigration flow in the nineteenth century but contained therein were many who regarded themselves not so much British as Scottish, Irish, Welsh or Cornish. Each of these ethnic fragments of Britain had its own cultural baggage which was transported to our State. And a further contribution came from thousands of German immigrants who arrived at the same time. The migrations of the nineteenth century brought to South Australia a cultural diversity similar to the better known diversity that has occurred in the last forty years as a result of the post-Second World War migrations. The nineteenth century diversity is part of our historic heritage and thus German housing, Cornish mine buildings and Scottish tombstones are just a few of the traces of the People element in the book which have had an impact on the State's settlement.

Places in South Australia are best typified by our towns. Most of these were created in the nineteenth century in two broad categories, private towns and government towns. The earlier, and the main concern in this volume, were the private towns, subdivisions of well chosen rural sections by enterprising colonists hoping to make a profit from the sale of town allotments. Key factors in the establishment of such towns were the availability of water supplies and good transport facilities. When these needs were satisfied a surveyor was engaged, usually at the cheapest possible price, and simple, rectangular subdivisions were created. If a town blossomed, further subdivisions were added and the Place sometimes grew ...