Victoria Square, Adelaide
Encyclopedia
Public Square
Public Square is the central plaza in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It takes up four city blocks; Superior Avenue and Ontario Street cross through it. Cleveland's three tallest buildings, Key Tower, 200 Public Square and the Terminal Tower, face the square...
in the South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
n capital of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
. The square is in the centre of the city's grid of one square mile
Adelaide city centre
The Adelaide city centre is the innermost locality of Greater Adelaide, known by locals simply as "The City" or "Town". The locality is split into two key geographical distinctions: the city "square mile", bordered by North, East, South and West Terraces; and that part of the Adelaide Parklands...
, and was named by the Street Naming Committee
Street Naming Committee (Adelaide)
The Street Naming Committee was set up to decide the names of the streets, the squares and the river of the new settlement of Adelaide, South Australia, as it had been laid out by Colonel William Light in 1837. Light's map corresponds to the modern Adelaide city centre and North Adelaide...
on 23 May 1837 after Princess Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
of the British throne. Less than a month later the King
William IV of the United Kingdom
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death...
died and Victoria became Queen. The Kaurna know the area as Tarndanyangga
Tarndanyangga
Tarndanyangga is the Kaurna word for red kangaroo dreaming or red kangaroo rock, and although is one half of the official name of Victoria Square, Adelaide, it was used in Kaurna language to refer to the greater area of what is now the immediate Adelaide city region.Tarndanyangga derives from...
and in line with the Adelaide City Council's recognition of Kaurna country, it is officially referred to as Victoria Square / Tarndanyangga.
A statue of Queen Victoria stands in the centre of the square. The fountain in the north of the square was designed by artist John Dowie
John Dowie (artist)
John Stuart Dowie AM was an Australian painter, sculptor and teacher. He was born in the suburb of Prospect in Adelaide, South Australia, and studied architecture at the University of Adelaide, as well as painting with Ivor Hele and Marie Tuck...
to represent the three rivers from which Adelaide receives most of its water—the Torrens
River Torrens
The River Torrens is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains and was one of the reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the Adelaide Hills near Mount Pleasant, across the Adelaide Plains, past the city centre and empties...
, the Onkaparinga
Onkaparinga River
The Onkaparinga River runs from its source between Mount Torrens and Charleston in the Mount Lofty Ranges, and flows south westerly to an estuary at Port Noarlunga. The catchment is over 500 km² in area, and is in part located in the Onkaparinga River National Park.The Onkaparinga River is the...
and the Murray
Murray River
The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...
. During the Christmas period, a 24.5m high Christmas tree is erected in the square.
Victoria Square is bordered by numerous public institutions, including the Supreme Court of South Australia
Supreme Court of South Australia
The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court for the Australian State of South Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court...
, the Adelaide Magistrate's Court, the Federal Court of Australia
Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law , along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges...
, the Treasury
Treasury
A treasury is either*A government department related to finance and taxation.*A place where currency or precious items is/are kept....
and the Adelaide General Post Office
Australia Post
Australia Post is the trading name of the Australian Government-owned Australian Postal Corporation .-History:...
. On the eastern side is the Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
Cathedral Church of St Francis Xavier and the SA Water
SA Water
SA Water was established by the proclamation of the South Australian Water Corporation Act 1994 on 1 July 1995. Its predecessor was known as Engineering and Water Supply Department . E&WS evolved from the Waterworks and Drainage Commission, which was established in 1856...
Headquarters. The Torrens Building, home to a number of community organisations, is now also used by the Heinz College Australia, an international campus of Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
. The Adelaide Central Market
Adelaide Central Market
The Adelaide Central Market is a major tourist attraction and large multicultural market in the centre of the CBD in Adelaide, Australia and is often referred to as the Central Market. The Central Market sells a wide variety of goods, including food, toys, jewellery, rugs, seafood, gourmet items, ...
is located to the west of the Square.
King William Street
King William Street, Adelaide
King William Street is the part of a major arterial road that traverses the CBD and centre of Adelaide . It was named by the Street Naming Committee on 23 May 1837 after King William IV, the then reigning monarch, who died within a month...
passes through the square making a diamond shape with the southbound carriageway passing through the east side, and the northbound carriageway passing through the west side of the square. The square is bisected by a piece of road (technically part of the square) that connects Wakefield Street
Wakefield Street, Adelaide
Wakefield Street is a main thoroughfare in the centre of the South Australian capital, Adelaide.It runs in east-west between East Terrace and Victoria Square, and is one of the three streets to run through Victoria Square in the middle of the Adelaide city centre. The same three streets are also...
(entering from the east) with Grote Street
Grote Street, Adelaide
Grote Street is a major street in the CBD of the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It runs in an east-west direction, as a continuation of Wakefield Street where it crosses Victoria Square. It concludes at West Terrace; the road which continues is Sir Donald Bradman Drive...
(to the west). A tram stop (formerly the terminus
Terminal Station
Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...
) for the Glenelg Tram
Glenelg Tram
The Glenelg Tram is a route from the centre of Adelaide, South Australia to the beach-side suburb of Glenelg. It is Adelaide's only remaining tramway, running at approximately 15-minute intervals, and is part of the integrated Adelaide Metro public transport network...
is in the southern part of the square; it was shifted from the centre to the western edge of the square on 6 August 2007, as part of the extension that was made to the tram line around that time.