SESSION 7

‘Connecting the Industrial Revolution to our Northern Regional Towns’ presented by Greg Slattery, Rocky River Historic & Art Society Inc., Laura

Tickets

We don’t normally connect the dots between the Industrial Revolution in Britain, the reasons behind the settlement of Australia as a penal colony, the free settlement of South Australia, the rapid development of agricultural land, and local manufacturing industry in South Australia.

Not long after 1836 there were factories in Hindley and Grenfell Streets, and later in the country as agricultural lands were opened up for closer settlement. It’s fascinating how implement and machinery manufacturers ’followed the plough’ from Mount Barker to Gawler and Kapunda and then to smaller towns such as Laura and Wilmington, with factories employing 40 or more men. Meanwhile every town and village had a blacksmith or more.

Larger establishments at Gawler built steam locomotives and provided for the needs of the mining industry of the copper triangle, Kapunda, Burra and the north.

Other industries such as flour mills and breweries popped up across the state with their imposing and distinctive three storied stone buildings accompanied by high chimney stacks. But it was generally the smaller towns which attracted industry related to agriculture. And it’s amazing how quickly this happened.

The timing was just coincidental for the manufacturing industries in the new free colony to embrace what was then ‘new’ technology of the Industrial Revolution of Britain; almost before it spread to Europe. The agricultural lands of the state are normally studied alone, but they provide a fascinating backdrop to the industrial history of our state.

Presentation time: Tuesday, 20 May 2025, 7:00 pm
Presentation duration: 20-25 minutes

Please note: tickets include x3 presentations by Margaret Boult, Greg Slattery and Bridget Jolly.

Image: Keipert’s Crown Foundry, Laura