What constitutes Adelaide’s heritage? How is heritage conveyed across various scales of the Adelaide city region? This project utilises graphic heritage to highlight the contested identity of Adelaide as a quintessential colonial city. Funded through the University of South Australia, SIDA Foundation, and The David Roche Foundation Curatorial Research Fellowship, a wide range of activities were scheduled during two three-week visits to Australia between 2023–2024.
Fieldwork locations
Adelaide · Adelaide Central Market · Adelaide Christmas Pageant · Adelaide Hills · Adelaide Kaurna Walking Trail · Adelaide Oval · Adelaide Park Lands · Australian Convict Sites (‘Cockatoo Island’) UNESCO World Heritage Site · Adelaide UNESCO City of Music · Architecture Museum · Barossa Valley · Belair · Bethany · Blackwood · Burra · Chinatown Adelaide · Chinatown Melbourne · City of Elizabeth · Colebrook Blackwood Reconciliation Park · Colonel Light Gardens · David Roche Park · Gawler · Glenelg · Hahndorf · Historic Centre of Macau UNESCO World Heritage Site · Kilburn · Living Kaurna Cultural Centre at Warriparinga Wetlands · Melbourne · Melbourne Rectangular Stadium · Migration Museum · Narre Warren · North Adelaide · Northern Sound System (City of Elizabeth) · Paddington · Port Adelaide · State Museum, Library, and Art Gallery of South Australia · The History Trust of South Australia · The David Roche Foundation House Museum and Archive · The East End and Rundle Mall · Sydney · Tanunda
Nine feature locations on the Adelaide Kaurna Walking Trail
Nine feature locations on the Adelaide Kaurna Walking Trail. From left to right and top to bottom: Kaurnamiyurna, Kaurnayartatampinthi (Recognising Kaurna people and Kaurna land) (Adelaide Festival Centre); Headstone sculpture acknowledging Kaurna Elder Doris Graham (West of Festival Centre Ampitheatre); ‘You are standing on Kaurna Land’ tiled mural (King William Road bridge underpass); Pirltawardli and Tininyawardli (West of the car park opposite golf links’ kiosk off War Memorial Drive); Kudlyu (Black Swan) – Karra (Red gum) – Karrawirra pari (River Torrens) – a river, lake or series of ponds? (Southern riverbank west of Morphett Street Bridge); Cultural performance (palti) site (Adelaide Oval/Torrens Lake); Old Adelaide Gaol; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander War Memorial (South East corner of Victoria Drive and King William Road (Torrens Parade Ground); Talking our way home (Torrens riverbank). Source: Name and location – The Graham F Smith Peace Foundation and the Adelaide City Council. Photography: Robert Harland 2023.
Architectural heritage valued by Adelaide Residents’ Society
Example house, pub, factory, townscape, texture, ornamental detail, and lettering that replicate the architectural resources valued by Adelaide Residents’ Society. Photography: Robert Harland 2023.
Public lecture
Toponymic Tales: Celebrating David Roche Park · Lecture by Dr Robert Harland · Tuesday 5th November 2024 at 11:00 am
Workshop
Adelaide’s Contested Graphic Heritage · Workshop convened by Dr Robert Harland · Tuesday 5th November 2024
Invited Lecture
RMIT University, Melbourne, 23 October 2024
Invited Roundtable
‘Urban Narratives: Graphic Heritage, Photographic Authenticity, and Place Perceptions’ · The University of Sydney · School of Architecture, Design and Planning · Design Lab · 5 November 2024 · https://events.humanitix.com/urban-narratives
Participants: Dr Robert Harland, Dr Yaron Meron, and Dr Gabriela Quintana Vigiola. Moderator: Dr Leigh-Anne Hepburn.
Image: David Roche AM 2008. Source: David Mariuz photography
Publications
McCaul, K and Harland, R. G. (2025). Aboriginal cultural uses of public signage: asserting sovereignty and inviting reconciliation through graphic displays, Landscape Research, ISSN: 0142-6397. https://doi.org/10.1080/01426397.2025.2548240.
Harland, R. G. (2024). Adelaide’s graphic heritage: The quintessential “contested” colonial city, in Gray, C., Ciliotta Chehade, E., Hekkert, P., Forlano, L., Ciuccarelli, P., Lloyd, P. (eds.), DRS2024: Boston, 23–28 June, Boston, USA. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2024.1069
Conferences
Harland, R. G., Kelly, V., Evans, J. and Kelly, M., (2024). Transformed Indigenous spaces to contested colonial places through toponyms (Roundtable), Australian Council of University Art & Design Schools 36th Annual Conference, Regeneration, Repair, and Care, 8th November 2024. Conference programme: https://2024.acuadsconference.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ACUADS-2024-Conference-Program_full.pdf
The Award
The University of South Australia, SIDA Foundation, and The David Roche Foundation Curatorial Research Fellowship is awarded to researchers and practitioners across all disciplines who seek to shape the future of design and creative arts research.
Feature image : The district of Adelaide, South Australia, as divided into country sections, from the trigonometrical surveys of Colonel William Light. https://digital.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/nodes/view/821
