South Australian Museum
The South Australian Museum is a natural history museum and research institution in Adelaide, South Australia, founded in 1856 and owned by the Government of South Australia. It occupies a complex of buildings on North Terrace in the cultural precinct of the Adelaide Parklands. It has the largest collection of Australian Aboriginal cultural collection in the world, and its Australian Polar collection includes many artefacts from early Antarctic exploration by South Australian scientists and explorers. It also holds a large collection of minerals; over three million animal specimens ; and around 50,000 fossil specimens. The Museum Library includes reference works relevant to the museum research, as well as being a source of specialised publications and photographs for other researchers.
the acting director of the museum is Clare Mockler; the new director, Samantha Hamilton, begins her role on 20 October 2025.
History
19th century
There had been earlier attempts at setting up mechanics' institutes in the colony, but they struggled to find buildings which could hold their library collections and provide spaces for lectures and entertainments. In 1856, the colonial government promised support for all institutes, in the form of provision the first government-funded purpose-built cultural institution building. The South Australian Institute, incorporating a public library and a museum, was established in 1861 in the rented premises of the Library and Mechanics' Institute in King William Street while awaiting construction of the Institute building on the corner of North Terrace and Kintore Avenue.In June 1856 the South Australian Legislative Council passed Act No. 16 of 1855–6, the South Australian Institute Act, which incorporated the South Australian Institute under the control of a Board of Governors, to whose ownership all materials belonging to the old Library and Mechanics' Institute was immediately transferred. The Act provided for a library and a museum as part of the new organisation.
Frederick George Waterhouse offered his services as curator of the South Australian Institute Museum in June 1859 in an honorary capacity. When the Institute building was completed, the Board appointed him as the first curator, a position he held until his retirement in February 1882. He was succeeded by Wilhelm Haacke, who in January 1883 recommended the South Australian Institute Museum be renamed the South Australian Museum, and the position of Curator be changed to Director. Haacke was appointed the first Director, but only held the position until he resigned in October 1884 after a series of disputes with the Museum's management
20th century
The Museum Act gave the South Australian Museum autonomy from the Art Gallery and Library, and the South Australian Institute Museum was officially renamed the South Australian Museum. This legislation was superseded by the South Australian Museum Act . At some point between 1996 and 2002, the Museum became part of Arts SA.In 1997, championed by state Arts Minister Diana Laidlaw, the SA Museum was funded to develop its ground floor Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery.
21st century
The following decade, Mike Rann, Premier and Arts Minister from 2002 to 2011, funded the redevelopment of the Pacific Cultures Gallery and the development of the South Australian Biodiversity Gallery.In October 2005, a piece of public art incorporating water, 14 Pieces, situated on the forecourt of the museum, was officially unveiled by the Premier. Created by artists Angela and Hossein Valamanesh and commissioned by the City of Adelaide, it replaced the Lavington Bonython fountain that had occupied the site from 1965. Its form is based on the vertebrae of an extinct marine reptile, the ichthyosaur.
Management and governance
Statutory obligations and board
The official role of the museum, as per the 2017/8 annual report, is:Its vision is to "...use world-class collections to create and share new knowledge, focusing on Australian Aboriginal and Pacific cultures, Earth and Life Sciences".
As a statutory corporation, management of the museum is prescribed under the South Australian Museum Act 1976 and state and federal government regulations. The museum was a division of Arts South Australia within the Department of State Development until 2018. After the election of the Marshall government in March 2018, the Arts Ministry was removed, Arts SA was dismantled, and its functions were transferred to direct oversight by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. The board of eight people appointed by the Minister oversees the management of the Museum.
Recent leaders
In 2011 Premier Mike Rann appointed former Adelaide Lord Mayor and Education Minister Jane Lomax-Smith as chair of the museum board. In November 2020 Kim Cheater was appointed chair of the board. Following the shelving of the [|2024 restructure plans], Cheater resigned and Robert Saint took over as presiding officer.In March 2023, David Gaimster was appointed director, with the role being termed CEO as of 2024. On 27 December 2024 it was announced that Gaimster would step down as CEO, with a new recruitment process being undertaken for a permanent replacement, and former City of Adelaide CEO Clare Mockler filling the position in the interim.
On 9 September 2025 Dr Samantha Hamilton was announced as the new Director of the SA Museum, with her role commencing on 20 October 2025. Mockler was appointed executive director of Arts South Australia in January 2025, with her term commencing when her role at the museum ends.
Planned restructure (2024)
In February 2024, CEO David Gaimster announced a "reimagining" of the museum, with a restructure that would entail abolishing 27 research and collections positions, replacing them with 22 new jobs of lower classification. After a public outcry, concern expressed by museum staff and major donors, and the involvement of the Public Service Union, including a protest at Parliament House in Adelaide on April 2024, Premier Peter Malinauskas intervened. In late April he launched a review panel to examine the plan. On 28 August 2024, Deputy Opposition leader John Gardner handed a petition to Parliament with over 10,000 signatories with concerns over the restructuring. On 19 September 2024 Premier Malinauskas announced that on the basis of the parliamentary review recommendations, the proposed restructure would not go ahead, and a new strategic plan would be developed through collaborative consultative process. Kim Cheater resigned as chair, with Robert Saint taking over as presiding officer. There would be "no functional or structural changes...to the museum's research and collection priorities and business models". The museum was called upon to work with local and regional universities to develop sustainable research and funding models for the museum, and the state government would provide the museum with AU$4.1 million over two years to develop the new strategic plan.Collections
The museum houses over five million objects and specimens., the holdings are grouped into the following permanent collections:- Australian Polar collection
- Biological Sciences collection
- Humanities collection
- Library collection
- Mineral Sciences collection
- Palaeontology collection
Australian Polar collection
The Mawson Collection Trust, made up of descendants of Douglas and Paquita Mawson, provided significant funding towards renewing the gallery in 2017, which was assisted by a public appeal for donations.
Mark Pharoah is senior collection manager of the Australian Polar Collection. His areas of research include: history of the subantarctic sealing industry; restoration of the first successful colour photographs taken in the Antarctic; and the collections and legacies of Rymill and Wilkins. He also undertakes scholarly research about Mawson's life in his own time, out of personal interest.
Biological Sciences collection
The Biological Sciences collection is a collection of more than three million animal specimens. In the 21st century, the collection grew to include the Australian Biological Tissue Collection, which is the largest tissue collection in the Southern Hemisphere., with over 2200 specimens representing 59 species, the museum's marine mammal collection is the largest and most comprehensive in Australia. The museum also has a dedicated facility that is unique in Australia, adjacent to the SA Water wastewater facility at Bolivar, and used for the preparation of large specimens.
Humanities collection
The Humanities collection includes "the largest and most comprehensive collection of Australian Aboriginal cultural material in the world". housing about 30,000 objects. This collection, along with several others in the museum, is being digitised, with many images and a great deal of data about each item available for online browsing.In 2016, a private benefactor, Margaret Davy AM, provided funding for a new position for an Indigenous curator for five years, which she requested be named in honour of her late husband, William Geary. This position was known as The William and Margaret Geary Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art and Material Culture, with the first appointee being Glenn Iseger-Pilkington, a Wadjarri, Nhanda, and Nyoongar man from Western Australia with a background in art curating. This was the first time in the history of the museum that a lead curatorial role had been designated for an Indigenous person.
The museum holds the biggest collection of carvings by Arrernte artist and anthropological interpreter Erlikilyika, also known as Jim Kite, who lived at the tiny and remote European settlement at Charlotte Waters telegraph station. It also holds a bound sketchbook of 24 pencil drawings of native trees, created during the Spencer and Gillen expedition and bought by Herbert Basedow before being acquired by the Museum, as well as photographs of "Jimmy Kite" and other related materials.