Agriculture and forestry
News •
Wheat growing for export has long been a mainstay of South Australian farming, and up to about one-seventh of Australian production of wheat comes from the state. Barley is a crop of more recent importance, and the state produces about one-fourth of the national crop. Livestock production ranges from extensive “open range” cattle rearing in the northern deserts to intensive pig and poultry raising near Adelaide. South Australia’s sheep make up about one-tenth of the Australian total, and its dairy cattle make up about half that proportion.
Intensive production of grapes, vegetables, and orchard fruit (especially oranges), normally grown under irrigation, involves some one-fifth of all farm holdings. Fruits and vegetables are grown in districts of varying soil quality and climate, ranging from the hot-summer irrigation districts along the Murray River through the rain-fed Barossa and Clare valleys to the cool-climate districts of the Mount Lofty Range and the southeast. Grapes alone constitute some one-sixth of the value of the state’s primary farm commodities. More than two-fifths of Australia’s vineyard area is located in South Australia.
Australia’s largest grouping of managed softwood plantations, largely Pinus radiata, is in the southeast of the state and supports Australia’s most important concentration of wood-processing industries.
Resources and power
The Australian mining industry began with small-scale extraction of lead and silver in the hills near Adelaide in 1841. This was followed by large copper discoveries at Kapunda, Burra, Moonta, and Kadina between 1842 and 1861. In the 1970s one of the world’s largest deposits of copper-gold-uranium mineralization ever found was identified in the desert at Olympic Dam, west of Lake Torrens, and commercial mining began in 1988. Mining operations in copper, iron, and uranium expanded rapidly in the following two decades. The South Australian government provided enthusiastic support for large-scale mineral exploration and exploitation in the north and west of the state. In addition, advances in technology have facilitated the mining of deep and extensive mineral deposits in central South Australia. Large reserves of high-grade iron ore were identified in 1890 in the Middleback Range, west of Whyalla. From 1915 these ores were shipped to Newcastle and later to Port Kembla, both in New South Wales. Local production of pig iron began when the first blast furnace was opened at Whyalla in 1941, and construction of an integrated iron and steel plant began there in 1958. Most of the world’s opals come from South Australia, from three fields in the central interior deserts at Coober Pedy, Mintabie, and Andamooka. Much of Australia’s salt and gypsum comes from coastal sources in South Australia.
South Australia’s nonrenewable energy resources are remote from population centres. Coal reserves, although substantial, are low-grade subbituminous and lignite deposits; impurities restrict their use. The long-known coal deposits at Leigh Creek have been worked by large-scale opencut operations since 1954. Coal from Leigh Creek supplies electric power stations at Port Augusta. Natural gas (largely methane) has played a major role in the state’s energy supply since 1970. Extensive gas and petroleum fields have been developed since their first discovery in 1963 in desert lands of the Cooper Basin in the remote northeast. Gas pipelines to Adelaide and Sydney were completed in 1969 and 1976, respectively. The Torrens Island power station at Adelaide is the state’s largest electric power-generating unit and the first in Australia to use natural gas. By the early 2010s South Australia had become the country’s leading state in terms of renewable energy production, deriving more than two-fifths of its energy production from renewable sources, principally wind farms and rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems. A pipeline some 400 miles (650 km) long brings a mix of oil and gas from the interior to Port Bonython, near the head of Spencer Gulf, where the various hydrocarbons are processed; a considerable amount is converted to liquefied petroleum gas and is exported.
Manufacturing
To a long-established base of primary processing industries there was added in the 1920s a motor vehicle assembly industry. A manufacturing boom of the mid-20th century was based on the expansion of vehicle manufacture and of production of larger household durable goods such as refrigerators, washing machines, and stoves. Machinery and equipment have remained South Australia’s primary manufactures into the 21st century, followed by processed food and beverages and metal products. A soda ash plant near Port Adelaide is the main producer in the Australian alkali industry. One of the world’s largest multimetal smelters operates at Port Pirie, accounting for a significant portion of the world’s output of refined lead and zinc. A large steel mill at Whyalla makes structural steel sections.
Transport
Passenger and freight transport services of all types centre on Adelaide, although substantial export cargoes of grain and minerals are sent directly overseas and interstate from the state’s other significant outports. Port Adelaide is the dominant port for seaborne imports. Roads, most of which are paved, carry the bulk of the state’s passenger and general freight traffic. South Australia’s rail system is owned and operated primarily by private companies, with an emphasis on long-haul mainline traffic to and from places outside the state. The State Transport Authority of South Australia operates a suburban passenger rail system within metropolitan Adelaide that is integrated with an extensive bus system and a streetcar line. Australia’s most innovative public transport facility, the German-designed O-Bahn guided busway, provides high-speed access via the Torrens Valley to Adelaide’s outer northeastern suburbs.
Adelaide Airport, one of Australia’s major commercial air hubs, provides international passenger and freight services. In addition, hundreds of regional airports and airstrips are scattered across the state, although only a handful of these have scheduled flights. Another few dozen offer irregular commercial charter services and provide emergency access to remote areas. The overwhelming majority of the state’s regional airports serve private interests.
Government and society
Constitutional framework
Since the passage of the Constitution Act of 1856, South Australia has had a parliament. This bicameral legislature consists of a House of Assembly, with 47 (originally 36) members representing single-member electoral districts, and a Legislative Council of 22 (originally 18) members, who are elected at large in the state. Voting is on the basis of universal suffrage, uses a preferential system, and is compulsory. Legislation requires the assent of both houses.
In common with the other state governments, the governor is the representative of the British crown. The governor accepts the advice of ministers (cabinet) who, by constitutional convention, are responsible to the House of Assembly. The premier is usually the leader of the majority party in that chamber. Alteration of the Constitution Act is in the hands of parliament itself. The two main parties are the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party of Australia.
The highest court in South Australia’s judiciary system is the Supreme Court, followed by the District Court and the Magistrates Court. Jurisdiction of the various courts is limited by the seriousness of the cases. The Supreme Court hears the most-serious civil and criminal cases; the District Court is the primary trial court; and the least-serious matters are handled in the Magistrates Court. Other courts include a Youth Court and courts of summary jurisdiction.
The main function of state governments in Australia is the administration of primary and secondary education, hospitals, public housing, prisons and police, roads, water supply, and land resources. Commonwealth (federal) government powers are focused on defense, foreign affairs, trade and economic policy, immigration, welfare payments, shipping, and aviation. Through its capacity to make specific-purpose financial grants to the states, the federal government has substantial de facto influence on many state functions, including higher education, health care, housing, and assistance to industry.
There are several dozen local government areas in South Australia, including a number of rural Aboriginal communities and the Outback Areas Community Development Trust. Each local government area is controlled by councils elected by property owners and residents.
Health and welfare
The state government is responsible for providing the major health services for the Aboriginal community, senior citizens, and people with disabilities; these services include hospitals, psychiatric facilities, and drug and alcohol treatment programs. Policy is influenced by funding arrangements between the Commonwealth and state governments. In addition to public and private hospitals, there are community health services, services concerned with education and health promotion, and domiciliary care services. The School Dental Service provides care for children up to age 18.
In 1995 South Australia enacted the Consent to Medical Treatment and Palliative Care Act. This landmark legislation gave citizens the power to predetermine their medical treatment in the event that they become incapacitated and also relieved medical practitioners of liability should the treatment chosen by the terminally ill incidentally hasten death.
Education
Compulsory education dates from 1875 and now applies to children from age 6 to 15, although most enter school at 5 years of age. Primary classes are designated as years 1 through 7, and secondary classes are designated as years 8 through 12. Government schools are tuition-free, and the government pays independent schools a variable sum per pupil on the basis of assessed needs. Most government secondary schools are comprehensive coeducational high schools, although there is some concentration of resources in particular schools to provide specialized education in areas such as music, certain languages, and some technical fields. In the early 21st century, nongovernment schools accounted for more than one-third of combined primary and secondary enrollment.
Two types of postsecondary education are available in South Australia. The Technical and Further Education Commission provides a wide range of courses at community colleges and colleges of further education. Courses are provided at many levels, from the basic trade apprentice to technical and paraprofessional levels. Professional and research-focused education at a higher level is provided at three institutions. The centrally situated University of Adelaide, established in 1874 and opened in 1876, is the third oldest university in Australia. Flinders University opened in 1966 on the southern outskirts of Adelaide. The University of South Australia was formed in 1991 by the merging of three campuses of the former South Australian College of Advanced Education—itself originating in 1876 as the Adelaide Teachers College—and the three-campus South Australian Institute of Technology, which was founded in 1889 as the South Australian School of Mines and Industries; it is the state’s largest institution of higher learning.
Cultural life
The arts
The Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide houses collections of Australian, European, and Asian art, including one of the finest collections of Southeast Asian ceramics. The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra gives regular concerts, especially in the refurbished 19th-century Adelaide Town Hall. The Adelaide Festival Centre, opened in 1973, provides venues for a variety of activities, from drama and rock concerts to grand opera. Rundle Mall, the main shopping street, is used by individual and small-group street entertainers, as well as for open-air community arts activities.
The Adelaide Festival, held in March every two years since 1960, is a major cultural event that draws crowds of hundreds of thousands. The festival has been instrumental in bringing to South Australia many notable performers and artists and has been the site of world premieres of works commissioned specifically for the event. The South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) produced many feature films for television and cinema before changing in 1994 from a production company to an agency that facilitates filming and promotes the industry within the state. The SAFC has been involved with numerous award-winning films, including The Tracker (2001), Rabbit-Proof Fence (2000), and Breaker Morant (1980), all of which were filmed largely in the South Australian outback. Various ethnic communities contribute to the state’s cultural life by staging festivals, and the main wine-growing areas promote seasonal wine tastings. Many Aboriginal groups host tours highlighting the art, natural environment, and culture of their communities.
Sports and recreation
The long sweep of the metropolitan sea beaches provides uncrowded and year-round opportunities for informal aquatic recreation. The relatively sheltered gulf waters favour yachting, while Adelaide and the country towns have abundant recreational open space and sports grounds. The most popular participant sports are aerobics, netball, golf, cricket, squash, and Australian rules football. The main spectator sport is Australian rules football, played during the autumn and winter, from March to September. Year-round horse racing is popular. Adelaide hosted the World Formula One Grand Prix of auto racing from 1985 to 1995; it was seen over the 10-year period by hundreds of thousands of people on the track and by a worldwide television audience.
Media and publishing
South Australia’s primary daily newspaper is The Advertiser; the Sunday Mail is a weekly with wide circulation. A press association based in Adelaide manages production and distribution of many local papers in the smaller towns and rural areas. Transmitting stations of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation are located in larger cities in the southeast part of the state, and several commercial companies operate television and radio stations mostly in and around Adelaide.
Murray McCaskill Eric Stapleton Richards