Victoria Square Source Sheet No. 18
Named after Princess Victoria, then heir to the throne of England, Victoria Square was laid out by Colonel Light in his original plan of the City of Adelaide in 1837 to provide an open space for the recreational activities of the citizens. In 1854 the Corporation began planting and improving Victoria Square. A wooden fence was erected around its perimeter, though this was replaced in 1883 by ornate iron railings which remained there until 1929. A proposal to build the Anglican Cathedral in the Square was halted in 1855 when the Corporation won a Supreme Court case against the Bishop of Adelaide preventing it being put there. Originally Victoria Square was bisected by only an east-west roadway, and was traversed by four broad diagonal pedestrian paths. In 1883 King William Street was extended through the Square which was divided into four garden areas, and this layout remained unchanged until 1967 when the Square was altered to make way for the construction of a fountain. A statue of Queen Victoria was erected in the centre of the Square in 1894, while the fountain, which commemorates the 1963 Royal Visit, was completed in 1968.
Archival Sources
Record Description / Date Range / Accession Number(s)Master Index [to Town Clerk’s Dockets andSpecial Files] / c1930-1976 / 2426
Town Clerk’s Department Dockets / 1856–1976 / 2530
Town Clerk’s Letters Received Books / 1862 –1976 / 4182
Index of Town Clerk’s Letters Received / 1856 –1973 / 4183
Town Clerk’s Department Letter Books – General / 1853-1924 / 602
Town Clerk’s Special File 146 ‘Remodelling Victoria Square’ / 1924 - 1953 / 352
Town Clerk’s Special File 261 ‘Victoria Square and Precincts - Future Developments’ / 1934 -1976 / 352
Town Clerk’s Special File 268 ‘Rehabilitation of City Squares’ / 1947 - 1960 / 352
Town Clerk’s Special File 593 ‘Fountain to Commemorate Royal Visit 1963’ / 1967 - 1976 / 352
Town Clerk’s Department Newspaper Clippings – General / 1898 - 1971 / 283
City Engineer’s Dockets / c1902 -1979 / 438, 735, 825. 2354, 3080, 4621, 4874
City Engineer’s Documented Index / 1902-1970
City Engineer’s Files 24/46 and 35/66 ‘Victoria Square - Improvement of’ / 1946, 1966-1967 / 3726
City Engineer’s File 69A/66 ‘Commemorative Fountain - Victoria Square’ / 1966 - 1972 / 3726
Copy of Proceedings of Supreme Court re Cathedral Acre / 1855 / 679
City Engineer’s Newspaper Clippings [Books] / 1958-1975 / 2097
Victoria Square Comps [Book] / 1967 / 1594
City Engineer’s Reports - Redesign of Victoria Square / 1960 - 1963 / 4694
Parks and Recreation Files 34/101-102 ‘Victoria Square Rehabilitation and Redevelopment’ / 1944 - 1967 / 2002, 4416
City Engineer’s Plan Register / c1881-1951 / 4520
Microfilm (Aperture) Plan Records – City Engineer’s Department / c1880 - 1972 / 3935
Maps and Plans as Listed in the Catalogue of Plans and Maps in the Museum Collection / c1836-1970 / 3038, 4889
Plan of Proposed Road through Victoria Square / 1883 / 2007/13
Detail Plan of Victoria Square / 1928 / 4439/1.12
Notes on the Victoria Square Fountain / 1968 / 29/15
Report of Lord Mayor’s Committee on Victoria Square / 1971
Heritage Services Black Files [Files Maintained During the City of Adelaide Heritage Study] / 1999 / 5800
Photos of Victoria Square and Adjacent Buildings / c1960-1976 / 3036
Commercial Department Photographs / c1960s / 3554
City Engineer’s Photo Albums / 1925 - 1970 / 3261,5751/7
Historical Pictorial Collection / 1850 - 1970 / S59,1461,3016, 5531
Town Clerk’s Lantern Slides Collection / 1860-1940 / 4351
Further sources
Mayor’s Reports which, from 1901, became Annual Reports of the Council provide more information. Minutes and Reports of Council and its Committees relating to this subject are contained in the annual Digests of Proceedings. For early material c1850-1870, see the List of Earliest Corporation Records.
Further Information
City Archives: Topham Mall, off Currie and Waymouth Streets, Adelaide 5000
Telephone: 8203 7439 Fax: 8203 7336 Email: