Colonel Light's Plan of Adelaide

This is a plan of Adelaide showing the city's square mile and nearby area of North Adelaide, with details extending to show individual numbered allotments. River Torrens shown running horizontally between the two sections. The top left corner indicates "Provisional Survey 'A'" and in the top right corner is written "Plan of Adelaide South Australia".

The Plan shows Light's positioning of Government House, the Barracks, the Church of England cathedral, the hospital, racecourse and cemetery. The Plan was held by the Department of Lands until it was transferred to the Historical Relics collection held by the Art Gallery of South Australia. It was then transferred to the History Trust of South Australia in 1986.

The Plan of Adelaide is a highly significant artifact relating to the surveying that took place in the early months after the arrival of the first colonists. It continues to be hailed by town planners as a fine example of enlightened planning. The planning of the town and the positioning of its precincts reveals not only the kinds of ideals that were implicit in the plan, such as order, proportion, and security but also the assumptions and expectations of planners about the needs of the population settling there with regard to health, religious and community life, and recreation.