SA's History Festival

Arts & Culture Feature

The University of Adelaide will play a major role in South Australia's History Festival in May, with several public tours of historic buildings, as well as a range of exhibitions and talks.

On Sunday 6 May the public will be able to step back to the grandeur of the 1890s at Urrbrae House, one of the most significant private houses in South Australia and the first to be lit by electricity.

Guided tours of Elder Hall, the Mitchell Building, Ingkarni Wardli and Hub Central will also be on offer during Open House Adelaide on Saturday 19 May.

Renowned South Australian historian Rob Linn, author of The Spirit of Knowledge and a Visiting Research Fellow in the School of History and Politics, will discuss the University's rich built-heritage and its social and cultural history in a free talk on Wednesday 16 May.

Another drawcard will be a public talk on Monday 14 May by Yvonne Routledge on James Arthur Prescott, the foundation Professor of Agricultural Chemistry at the University's Waite Agricultural Research Institute in 1924. Prescott is widely considered as the "father of soil science research" in Australia.

On Wednesday 23 May, Emeritus Professor George Rogers will give a talk on the legacy of biochemist Thorburn Brailsford Robertson. This talk will accompany an exhibition in the Barr Smith Library, which records Brailsford Robertson's life and contribution to the University of Adelaide's science teaching and research.

For more details about the History Festival go to www.adelaide.edu.au/sa-history-festival/