Adelaide was designed by the first South Australian surveyor-general, Col. William Light, shortly after the colony was founded in 1836. It was named for Queen Adelaide, the wife of King William IV of England.

The city is laid out in two square sections, north and south, separated by the Torrens River. The river, dammed and made into a lake, adds charm to the city center. The southern half of Adelaide has become its principal business center. The northern section is residential. The main thoroughfare, King William Street, runs north and south, intersecting Victoria Square.

There are many fine buildings in Adelaide, including St. Peter's Anglican Cathedral, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Francis Xavier, and the State War Memorial, dedicated to South Australians who died in World War I. South Australia's Houses of Parliament are built of locally hewn granite and marble.

The University of Adelaide, which was founded in 1874, and the South Australian Museum are other points of interest. Adelaide College of the Arts and Education was established in 1979. The Adelaide Festival of Arts, introduced in 1960, was the first international celebration of its kind to be held in Australia. The Adelaide Festival Centre, completed in 1977, is a multipurpose performing-arts complex.

The fertility of the surrounding plains, easy access to the Murray River lowlands to the east and southeast, and the presence of mineral deposits in the nearby hills all contributed to the city's growth. Its factories produce automobile parts, machinery, textiles, and chemicals. A center for rail, sea, air, and road transportation, it also has harbor facilities at Port Adelaide, 7 miles (11 kilometers) to the northwest.

The climate is pleasant. Winters are short, wet, and cool; summers are long, dry, and hot. The temperatures seldom drop below freezing in Adelaide. The average annual rainfall is 21 inches (53 centimeters). (See also Australia; South Australia.) Population (1998), 12,922.