Events Calendar 2025

 Event Payments can be made by:

*   EFT (preferred).  Click HERE for the BSB and account details; or

*   EFT and credit card payments can be made by phone (08 8231 5055) during office hours; or

*   Cash or cheque in the Pioneers SA office during office hours, click HERE for the address details.

Please note our office hours are Tuesday and Thursday 10am - 2pm.

 

   

February

Wednesday 5 February 12.00pm – 2.00pm
E25-01 Lunch Meeting

 

Guest Speaker: Dr Roger Cross – “The Flower Hunter”

 

Walkerville Uniting Church Hall
17 Smith Street - Walkerville
 
Roger will introduce us to Annie Richards (nee Crafter), her lonely life at Fowlers Bay and how she found her vocation as a flower hunter and would be naturalist.  She overcame a difficult life to collect about 1000 Australian wildflower species, achieving a success that no other woman of the period was awarded.   Please bring your own lunch and join us for this fascinating presentation.
 
Cost:  $5 members; $10 guests
Maximum: 100 people

 

 

 

Wednesday 19 February 10.30am – 12.30pm

SM-01 SameShips - 1836 Ships

 

This date marks the 189th anniversary of the 'Letters Patent', establishing the Province of South Australia. Come along for morning tea and explore the stories and journeys of the 1836 ships.

 

Pioneers SA, 25 Leigh Street, Adelaide

Maximum 15 people

Cost $2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

March

Monday 3 March 10.00am – 12.00pm
E25-02 Tour - Trinity Church

                        88 North Terrace, Adelaide


Join us for a tour of Trinity Church, the oldest established church in the city of Adelaide.  Known for its architecture, stained-glass windows and fascinating history, the foundation stone of Trinity Church was laid in 1838 and it was the first Anglican church in South Australia.
Parking is available at the rear of the church - enter via the Morphett Street slip lane.  Bookings essential.
 
Cost:  $5 per person
Maximum: 50 people

 

Wednesday 26 March 10.30am – 12.30pm

SM-02 SameShips - Intercolonial Ships

 

This month we'll explore the stories of the Intercolonial ships and their voyages to Adelaide. Come along for morning tea and share your stories.

 

Pioneers SA, Level 2, 25 Leigh Street, Adelaide

Maximum 15 people

Cost $2

 

 

 

 

 

 

April

Wednesday 9 April 12.00 – 3.00pm
E25-03 Lunch - 'A City Pub Crawl' with Patricia Sumerling

 

Victoria Room, Edinburgh Hotel

7 High Street, Mitcham


Join us for lunch as Patricia guides us through the architectural merits of some early hotels, from the most modest to the more evocative styles that characterise Adelaide. We will also hear some titbits from the biographies of publicans, barmaids and patrons, as well as the many planned and unplanned events that take place in a hotel. Cost includes main & dessert and tea/coffee.  Drinks at own cost.
 
Cost:  TBC

Maximum: 60 people

Wednesday 30 April 10.30am – 12.30pm

SM-03 SameShips - Dorset 1839

 

This month we'll explore the voyage of the Dorset. Come along for morning tea and share your stories.

 

Pioneers SA, Level 2, 25 Leigh Street, Adelaide

Maximum 15 people

Cost $2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May

Thursday 1 May 7.00 - 8.30pm
E25-04 Pioneers SA History Festival Opening

             Guest Speaker - Dr Heidi Ing

 

Burnside Library

401 Greenhill Road, Tusmore


At this opening of the Pioneers SA poster exhibitions, Dr Heidi  Ing will examine the decisions made by our pioneers families that led to their separation after arrival in the colony.  The 1841 census recorded a number of women as heads of households.  Some were left alone with their children due to death or abandonment.  Others stayed in Adelaide as their husbands move to country areas to establish homes and farms. Our poster exhibitions will explore the strength and resourcefulness of these women and the impact the decisions they made had on their families.  Bookings essential.
 
Cost:  Free

Maximum: 70 people

 

Every Tue & Thu in May, 10am - 2pm

Poster Exhibition - 'Decisions'

 

Visit our city office and view the poster exhibition exploring the decisions made by our pioneers.  This is an opportunity to understand the challenges they faced, the decisions they made and the outcomes they achieved. 

 

No bookings required.

Pioneers SA, Level 2, 25 Leigh Street, Adelaide

Free

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June

Monday 16 June  12.00 – 2.00pm
E25-05 Lunch Meeting

 

Royal Agricultural & Horticultural Society Archives

Guest Speaker - Erin Reardon

 

Westbourne Park Uniting Church Hall, 27 Sussex Terrace Hawthorn

 

Erin joined the Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society as Archivist in May 2022, and discovered that he had the autonomy to decide how to archive 185 years of history, a simultaneously exciting and daunting prospect. In this talk he will discuss the collection, the history it represents, and finding the right help to future-proof it and make it accessible.

 
Cost:  $5 members; $10 guests

Maximum: 100 people

 

Wednesday 4 June 10.30am – 12.30pm

SM-04 SameShips - Palmyra

 

This month we'll explore the voyage of the Palmyra. Come along for morning tea and share your stories.

 

Pioneers SA, Level 2, 25 Leigh Street, Adelaide

Maximum 15 people

Cost $2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July

Sunday 27 July  12.00 – 4.00pm
E25-06 'Winter Gathering' - Lunch

 

Kangaroo Island before Colonisation

Guest Speaker - Dr Rick Hosking

 

Adelaide Royal Coach Motor Inn

24 Dequetteville Terrace, Kent Town


Rick's presentation, covering the years 1802 to 1836, will explore a lesser-known chapter in the history of Kangaroo Island & South Australia. In addition to discussing the thriving sealskin and salt trades, the presentation will delve into the murder of Captain George Meredith and its significance. It will also highlight the spontaneous and dynamic interactions between the colonisers and the colonised.

 
Cost:  TBC

Maximum: 100 people

Wednesday 2 July 10.30am – 12.30pm

SM-05 SameShips - HR Patel - 1845 & 1846 voyages

 

Come along for morning tea and share your stories.

 

Pioneers SA, Level 2, 25 Leigh Street, Adelaide

Maximum 15 people

Cost $2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August

Wednesday 20 August  12.00 – 2.00pm
E25-07  Lunch Meeting

 

Reponses to Bush Fires in SA from the 1820s

Guest Speaker - Elizabeth Bor

 

Walkerville Uniting Church Hall

17 Smith Street, Walkerville

 

Bushfires were first reported on Kangaroo Island in the 1820s, and in 1836 the passengers and crew of the Rapid found themselves battling a scrub fire at Rapid Bay. Elizabeth’s presentation will explore the growing concern among colonists about bushfires, a fear that ultimately led the Governor and Legislative Council to enact the first bushfire prevention legislation, the 1847 Stubble Burning Act.

 
Cost:  $5 members; $10 guests

Maximum: 100 people

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please note that bookings are required for all events and will close seven days prior to the scheduled date.  Payment in advance is essential for all events, unless the event cost is $5 or a gold coin donation.

 

Online bookings can be made by email to events@pioneerssa.org.au.  Please include the names of all attendees and a contact phone number, as well as the name of the event and code (e.g. E25-01 Lunch Meeting) in your email.

Payments can be made via EFT (preferred) to:

Pioneers SA - BankSA

BSB : 105 900

Account Number:   9500 67040

Please include your name and the event code in the description.

 

Bookings and payments (EFT & credit card) can be made by phone during office hours

Ph: 08 8231 5055. 

 

Payment by cash or cheque can only be made in person at our office.   

 

Please note our office hours are Tuesday & Thursday 10am – 2pm.