Adelaide University

About

Adelaide University (Kaurna: Tirkangkaku) is a public research university based in Adelaide, Australia. Founded in 2024 and officially opened on 29 January 2026, it merged the University of Adelaide, the third-oldest university in Australia, and the University of South Australia (UniSA), which had an antecedent history dating back to 1856. Its two main campuses are located in the Adelaide city centre, one, City West, adjacent to the Adelaide BioMed City and near the Royal Adelaide Hospital, and the other, City East, located at the east end of North Terrace, near the Lot Fourteen tech precincts and containing the original University of Adelaide campus, with additional campuses located across its home state of South Australia. The two antecedent universities' histories date back to the former Royal South Australian Society of Arts. The University of Adelaide was founded in 1874 by the Union College, with studies initially conducted at the Public Library of South Australia (now the State Library). The society was also the birthplace of the South Australian Institute of Technology (SAIT) founded in 1889 as the School of Mines and Industries. SAIT later became the University of South Australia during the Dawkins Revolution following a merger with amalgamated colleges dating back to the School of Art, also founded at the society. After a failed attempt to agree to a merger in 2018, the two universities agreed to merge in mid-2023. The combined Adelaide University was incorporated the following year and opened after two years of concurrent operations. The university has seven campuses, including the combined flagship Adelaide city centre campus in North Terrace; a STEM-oriented campus in Mawson Lakes; the Magill campus specialising in social sciences; the Waite campus in Urrbrae; and regional campuses in Roseworthy, Mount Gambier, and Whyalla. Its academic activities are organised into six constituent colleges which are subdivided into 29 academic schools. It also manages several museums and exhibits, including the Samstag Museum and Adelaide Planetarium. It is a member of the Group of Eight, an association of research-intensive universities in Australia, and is co-located with the Australian Space Agency and various defence technology companies. Alumni of the two antecedent universities include the first female prime minister of Australia, Julia Gillard; two presidents of Singapore; the first astronaut born in Australia, Andy Thomas; and the first demonstrator of nuclear fusion, Mark Oliphant. The two universities have also produced a combined 117 Rhodes scholars and 173 Fulbright scholars, and are associated with five Nobel laureates.

The history of the University of Adelaide dates back to the Union College established in 1872 to provide education to aspiring Protestant ministers who were previously required to travel to the United Kingdom. The college approached Scottish-born pastoralist Walter Watson Hughes with the proposal for a South Australian university with a request for endowment towards its creation. Following an agreement, a university association was established by the Union College on 23 September 1872 to manage the creation of the university.The University of Adelaide, which is named after its founding city namesake to Queen Adelaide, was formally established on 6 November 1874 following the passage of its founding legislation through the South Australian parliament. The parliament also provided a 2 hectare (5 acre) land grant for a campus. Its early benefactors, many of whom Scottish immigrants, made large donations to develop the university. The university has produced some of the Australia's earliest businesspeople, lawyers, medical professionals and politicians. It was founded with the backing of its first benefactor Walter Hughes and Thomas Elder, also a Scottish-born pastoralist and another founder of the university, who each donated £20,000 towards the association. The university initially occupied the South Australian Institute Building prior to the construction of the University Building which housed the entire campus at the time. Elder also bequeathed an additional £65,000 in his will following his death in 1897 of which £20,000 were allocated to set up the Elder Conservatorium of Music. Other donors include William Mitchell and Robert Barr Smith, also from Scotland and early leaders of the university.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.