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Local History

Get lost in our area’s past with the City of PAE’s Local History Collection, located at Port Adelaide Library.

Look through our collection of books and photographs, family history, Birth, Deaths and Marriages indexes, cemetery records and maps. We also have dedicated Local History Officers on hand to assist you with all of your local history queries.

Want to know more about your family history? We hold regular one on one sessions with a Local History team member. For more information or to book a session, stop by Port Adelaide Library or call 8405 6580.

Local History Enquiry

Your House History

Trace your house history through time. Our resources will help your investigations.
Your Family History

Researching your family tree? We have print and online resources to get you started.
Local History Mapping

This collection combines historical photographs and aerial mapping.

Local History resources include:

  • Published and unpublished resources relevant to the area
  • Published histories of other South Australia localities
  • Port Adelaide Rate Assessment 1875 – 1902
  • Enfield Rate Assessment Books (microfiche) 1868 – 1993
  • Birth, Death, and Marriage indexes for SA
  • Birth, Death and Marriage certificates for Port Adelaide District
  • Cemetery records
  • Messenger newspapers
  • Government Gazettes 1843 – 1998 (some exceptions)
  • Police Gazettes 1862 – 1947
  • Passenger lists 1836 – 1851

Local History resources are available in various formats:

  • Photographs – available online via our library catalogue and our new Flickr page
  • Books
  • Ephemera
  • Video
  • DVD
  • Original papers
  • Newspapers
  • Oral histories
  • Maps
  • CD books

Online Resources

Histories
Maps
Mayors Reports
The Compass
Photos
Overboard - an audio History of Port Adelaide
Listen to Overboard
Listen to Overboard

Overboard! an audio history of Port Adelaide, is a 40-minute feature documentary podcast immersing its listeners in the diverse cultural history of Port Adelaide. Join local historians, community members, and Kaurna elders, as they take the listeners through an audio soundscape of Port Adelaide’s history, from its first people’s early European settlement, to the present day. This podcast utilises sounds recorded from the Port Adelaide area, blended with restored-archival sound, archival interview, and new interview material. Over 120 unique sound effects and recordings were mixed to give the listener and immersive glimpse into the compelling history of the Port Adelaide area. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are warned that the program may contain voices of deceased persons.

CREDITS
Overboard! an audio history of Port Adelaide was produced on Kaurna country. This podcast was produced by Nikola Van de Wetering with generous support from the City of Port Adelaide Enfield’s Creative Industry Grant. It was mixed by Isaac Wightman and NikolaVan de Wetering. Many thanks to interviewees Margaret Brodie and John Couper-Smartt. Acknowledgements to the City of Port Adelaide Enfield Library, local history officers Linda and Cindy Crook. Archival sound includes interviews from Rex Munn (2008), Jeannie Bloomfield (1995), courtesy of Port Adelaide Library Archives, and Stuart Gifford (1998) courtesy of ABC Adelaide Archives. Special thanks to Chester Schultz and Eliza Knowles

"We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the land on which we stand, the Kaurna People of the Adelaide Plains. It is upon their ancestral lands that the Port Adelaide Enfield Council meets. It is also the Place of the Kardi, the Emu, whose story travels from the coast inland. We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging. We respect their spiritual beliefs and connections to land which are of continuing importance to the living Kaurna People of today. We further acknowledge the contributions and important role that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people continue to play within our shared community."