Pioneers SA Learning Hub

Exploring the early European settlement of South Australia from 1836 to 1846 and answering questions on the lives of people in South Australia's colonial past, what significant events happened during this time

Image reference: A temporary view of the country and the temporary erections near the site for the proposed town of Adelaide. Light, William (1837). State Library of SA B 10079.

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Pioneers SA celebrates our shared heritage and honour the achievements of south Australian pioneers. The blog provides links and resources to tell us the story of the early years of European settlement and colonisation in South Australia.

Emigration Schemes

May 8, 2025

People in Great Britain and Ireland could apply for free passage to South Australia.

This was offered to: “agricultural labourers, shepherds, bakers, blacksmiths, braziers, and tinmen, smiths, shipwrights, boat-builders, butchers, wheelwrights, sawyers, cabinetmakers, coopers, curriers, farriers, millwrights, harness-makers, lime-burners, and all persons engaged with the erection of buildings.” The Royal South Australian Almanack for 1839

Between January 1836 and December 1840, over 9,000 applications for free passage had been received.

Register of Emigrants: Labourers: Application for a Free Passage, Certificates nos. 1-3360

By December 1840, almost 5,000 immigrant labourers had arrived in South Australia.

George French Angas 1844. Passengers landing at Port Adelaide. *State Library of South Australia [B2220]*

Many settlers paid for or worked for their passage to South Australia. A large group of German settlers came from the Kingdom of Prussia to escape religious persecution. In 1839 German immigrants gathered in front of Government House and swore allegiance to Queen Victoria.