SESSION 5

‘Wowser Adelaide at the time of the First World War’ presented by Patricia Sumerling, Professional Historians Association (SA) / Historical Society of South Australia

Tickets

This talk involves the arrival of the tango in 1914 in Adelaide and how certain elements of society were shocked by it, and in the same period (just before outbreak of WW1) the events leading up to the deportation back to England of a nude portrait by Sir William Orpen. The painting ‘Sowing New Seed’, was on display at the Art Gallery of South Australia and half the South Australian population (mainly men) turned out to see it. Its attraction was that it was the first time a portrait of a nude woman showing pubic hair had ever been on public display. It shocked Adelaide.

Presentation time: Wednesday, 14 May 2025, 7:15 pm
Presentation duration: 40-45 minutes

Please note: tickets include x2 presentations by Judy Fander and Patricia Sumerling.

Image: ‘Sowing New Seed’ by Sir William Orpen, c.1913 and ‘Blossom Tea’, The Register, 23 July 1914, p. 9.