Reformist ideals underpinned South Australia as a colonial endeavour and manifested from foundation in an enduring nexus between Adelaide’s urban plan and its social identity. During the first half of the nineteenth century Adelaide strove to stand out from a cohort of colonial cities established during a wave of Imperial expansion. It competed with cities...

“The revolution is in full swing.” So wrote commenter “Matt” in October 2013 underneath an online report that the State Liberal government was considering proposals to alter the form and use of the Port Melbourne Football Ground.

The 1960s signalled the onset of the jet age and cities worldwide rushed to accommodate this new modernity. The jet age spawned the construction of the Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne: Australia’s first purpose-built jetport. Although now considered purely functional in the 21st century, in 1970, Tullamarine was the height of modernity and progress. Its design...

The rise of the ‘fast food’ concept as it is understood in the 21st century is the result of a series of calibrations enacted over decades by business, society and technology. The expansion of fast food franchising has paralleled social and environmental change, particularly since the middle of the 20th century. Its origins may be...

The Surfers Paradise Meter Maid wears a gold bikini to promote the region of Surfer’s Paradise on the east coast of Australia. The “celebrity” Meter Maid first appeared in 1964 and can be mapped to coincide with a range of conflations during that time where women were groomed to perceive beauty and women’s power and...