2024 MUA QUADRENNIAL CONFERENCE
Welcome comrades to Adelaide, South Australia! Adelaide is best known for our wine, produce, history and culture. Adelaide gets a bad reputation for being boring, but we at the MUA SA Office strongly disagree. As you will see from the following pages, there is so much to do and we have no doubt that you will enjoy your time here. You are fortunate to be here at the same time as the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Please refer to the Fringe guide for Fringe shows that may be of interest. We hope that while you are here you will have the opportunity to visit Port Adelaide. Much of the maritime history of South Australia is centralised in Port Adelaide, including Adelaide’s most violent strike – the 1928 Waterfront Dispute.
POINTS OF INTEREST OUR ACCENTS As Adelaidians, we’re often told that our accent is a bit ‘posher’ or ‘British’ than other states. To be honest, we don’t notice it until it’s mentioned. Maybe it is to with our German settlers and their pronunciation of phonetics? Maybe it is to do with Adelaide being founded by free settlers as opposed Eastern states being founded by convicts? Maybe we just have a bit more class ;)? Who knows! ADELAIDE NOT ADELAIDE
An Adelaide pint (425ml) is the equivalent of a schooner in every other state and territory in Australia. It could be do with South Australia being more conservative during prohibition, or trying to curb our drinking during the Great Depression. The mystery of “why” is all part of the fun.
FACTS ABOUT ADELAIDE 10 1 We are known as the city of churches – this name was coined in the early days of our establishment not because there was a significant number of churches, but because there were many churches represented within Adelaide’s population. 2 Adelaide is one of the best planned cities in the world because we actually listened to our surveyor. Yep! We were designed to be the perfect blend between city life and outdoor leisure. Our city is grid-like to allow for easy transportation. We are also bordered by 700 hectares of parkland and 29 family-friendly parks. The parklands were actually to create a safety barrier for rifle distance. The more you know!
3 We were the first electorate in the world to give men and women equal political rights On the 18 December 1894 the SA Parliament passed the Constitutional Amendment (Adult Suffrage Act) Act which allowed women the right to vote and also to stand for parliament. 4 We established an Indigenous Voice to Parliament on the 26th March 2023, becoming the first jurisdiction in the country to do so. 5 We were the first in Australia to criminlize sexual discrimination
7 8 6 We were the first in Australia to criminilize racial discrimination We were the first in Australia recognise indigenous land rights We were the first in Australia to provide 10c refunds for recycling cans and bottles (to encourage people to recycle)
9 We invented the hills hoist clothes line and also the goon bag. 10 Maslin Beach was Australia’s first nude beach, and now it is home to the annual “Nude Olympics”, usually held each January.