Adelaide - Destitution
See Also:
South Australia - Social Matters - Charity
South Australia - Social Matters - Children and Youths
Miscellany
The formation of a philanthropic institution "to afford relief to destitute persons" is
reported in the Register,
14 August 1841, page 4c; also see
8 October 1842, page 3b,
15 July 1843, page 3c.
"What is to Become of the Poor of the Family" is in the Register,
3 June 1843, pages 2f-3c,
"Rations and the Destitute Poor" on
19 April 1852, page 2e,
6 May 1852, page 2e.
Information on pawnbrokers is in the Adelaide Times,
29 April 1850, page 3f,
11 May 1850, page 5c.
Also see South Australia.
An informative letter on destitution is in the Register,
27 April 1855, page 3a.
"Colonial Pauperism" is discussed on
11 January 1856, page 2d,
"The Destitute Poor" on
2 and 18 August 1856, pages 2d and 2d,
2 September 1856, page 2c,
3 October 1856, page 2c and
"Destitution" on
1 and 8 April 1857, pages 2b and 2d.
"Colonial Pauperism" is in the Register,
11 January 1856, page 2d; also see
5 February 1856, page 2e.
"Pauperism" is in the Observer,
8 March 1856, page 5h.
"Social Condition" is in the Register,
22 April 1856, page 3g.
"Burial of the Destitute" is in the Register,
19 April 1856, page 3c,
4 December 1856, page 3h,
"Burying the Poor" in the Advertiser,
14 and 23 July 1890, pages 7b and 7d,
10 and 28 December 1891, pages 7b and 3e.
Also see Cemeteries.
"The Medical Necessities of the Poor" is in the Register,
3 November 1856, page 2d,
29 December 1856, page 2f,
16 May 1857, page 2d,
"Relief of Distress" on
13 May 1858, page 3c.
"Rations to the Poor" is in the Register,
10 November 1856, page 2g.
"Supposed Death from Destitution" is in the Observer,
3 January 1857, page 5h.
In respect of destitution vis a vis imprisonment the Observer of 4 April 1857 at page 6d says, inter alia:
-
We are no advocates for needless severity in prison discipline, but it scarcely
comports with our idea of right and wrong that criminals should be better
treated than the destitute poor. Yet such is literally the case...
16 April 1859, pages 3c-6a,
30 July 1859, page 2g (supp.),
Register,
3, 4 and 8 September 1860, pages 3f, 3b and 2g.
A summary of, and references to, unemployment and distress in the 1860s is
in the Register,
14 February 1928, page 11e.
"The Parklands and the City Poor" is in the Advertiser,
2 December 1863, page 2g.
Information on the destitution of the 1860s is in the Register,
14 February 1928, page 11e.
The Destitute Asylum is discussed in the Register,
26 February 1864, page 2g,
23 June 1865, page 2e,
21 November 1865, page 2c,
17 July 1866, page 2g,
26 February 1868, page 2d,
a report on it is in Parliamentary Paper
118/1876; also see
Register,
20 February 1875, page 4e,
20 and 26 November 1888, pages 7g and 6g,
12 December 1888, page 7f,
9 July 1894, pages 4g-6a,
4 August 1902, page 6h and Asylums,
Reformatories and Homes and South
Australia - Charity.
Food for destitute persons is discussed in the Observer,
21 April 1866, page 7e,
1 September 1866, page 7h.
"Destitute Persons" is in the Express,
7 September 1866, page 2a.
"Government Rations" is in the Register,
15 March 1867, page 3a,
Observer,
16 March 1867, page 2g (supp.).
Meetings of the unemployed and subsequent events are reported in the Register,
26, 27 and 29 July 1867, pages 3e, 2e, 2c-2f-3c,
17, 19, 20, 21 and 31 August 1867, pages 2h, 2h, 3c-d, 2b and 2f,
7 September 1867, page 3f; also see
13 August 1869, page 3f,
20 November 1869, page 2g.
"Distress in Adelaide" is in the Register,
12 and 17 August 1867, pages 2d and 2h,
3 and 13 September 1867, pages 3e and 3h.
A meeting of the City Distress Relief Committee is reported in the Register,
3 September 1867, page 3e,
Observer,
7 and 14 September 1867, pages 2g and 1b (supp.),
26 October 1867, page 2e.
"The Dwellings of the Working Classes" is in the Register,
9 October 1867, page 2f; also see Housing
and Architecture and Hindmarsh for
two informative and heart-rending letters.
"The Destitute Poor" is in the Observer,
28 March 1868, page 12c,
16 May 1868, page 7f:
-
Our legislation has brought the people here, crowded them together, and put
the land - the sole source of their supplies - beyond their reach. A consequence
of this is that many of the poor in this country are so caged up with vice
by poverty that it is almost as improbable for them to be virtuous as it
would be if they were in the worst dens of London.
25 February 1869, page 2b,
"Relief to the Poor" is in the Register,
22 March 1869, page 3a,
"The Progress of Destitution" on
28 April 1869, page 2c,
"Can the Pauper Taint be Eradicated" on
1 May 1869, page 2d.
"Colonial Destitution" is in the Register,
28 May 1869, page 3c,
"Cost of Destitution" on
25 June 1869, page 2e,
"The Destitute Poor" on
3 September 1869, page 3e.
An editorial on the destitute poor is in the Advertiser,
29 July 1869, page 2b.
"The Government and the Unemployed" is in the Observer,
5 March 1870, page 12f.
A report on the unemployed destitute gathering in protest in King William
Street is reported in the Register,
2 March 1870, page 5c -
"...The unemployed agitation is assuming new and more exciting phases..."; also
see other references in 1870 -
5, 7, 8, 15 and 16 March, pages 3-5b, 3-5a-c-f, 3d, 5d, 3f (supp.),
5, 6, 7 and 20 April, pages 5c, 4e, 5f and 5e,
17 March 1871, page 5a,
9 September 1872, page 4e.
A sketch is in the Illustrated Adelaide Post,
24 March 1870, page 1.
Information on soup kitchens is in the Register,
5 September 1866, page 2g,
Observer,
9 and 23 April 1870, pages 5c and 9c,
28 May 1870, page 6c,
18 June 1870, page 8b,
8 October 1870, page 8a.
28 and 31 May 1884, pages 5f and 7c.
A cartoon is in The Lantern,
7 June 1884, page 1.
Soup Kitchen for the Destitute
To alleviate the hunger among many unemployed a soup kitchen was opened in 1870 in the Servants' Home in Hanson Street and became well patronised, but there were complaints forthcoming because members of the Catholic community complained of it being open on a Friday, which, of course, is observed as a fast day!
Those responsible for the largesse dispensed at the kitchen quickly responded:
Considering those who most need our help have imposed on them a habitual fast extending much beyond one day in the week, we may be pardoned if we extend to those who are willing to receive it the opportunity of a comfortable meal on a day many Christians... observe as a fast day.
The establishment comprised a kitchen with a large copper capable of holding about 150 quarts, and in this 120 lbs. weight of bones (in bags) and 30 lbs. of solid meat (in bags) were placed, added to which there were 30 gallons of water, six bunches of carrots, three bunches of turnips, a few celery tops, and some peas or onions. Thanks to the generosity of a kindly gentleman, bacon was also used for he kindly donated one hundred-weight - it was used sparingly to enrich the soup!
The meat was on the boil from about 11 o'clock in the morning to 10 o'clock at night, and the vegetables were not put in until the following day - the day of issue. The fat skimmed from the boiler was turned into first class dripping, and sold in quantities of half-pounds to each applicant at the rate of threepence per pound. About 15 pounds of dripping were obtained from each boiling and there was always a ready sale for it.
Mrs Stapley was in charge of this operation and had a wonderful faculty for economising and utilising the materials at her command. For instance, she would take the refuse beef and bacon after the boiling was completed, and with the aid of pepper and salt and a little spice she made very good potted meat, which was sold for two-pence per cupful.
The kitchen did not pay, each quart of soup costing about 1 3/4d. and being sold for 1d. The loss was made up for by private benevolence, but it was satisfactory to know that the kitchen was a great boon to deserving families. The system of relief was to issue tickets at one penny each, entitling the holder to one quart of soup, and anyone was at liberty to purchase these tickets, and sell them or give them away to persons in needy circumstances.
The name of every individual to whom soup was issued was entered in a book and when it was known that help was being given to people in full work the supply was stopped. In April 1870 the average daily issue was from 110 to 120 quarts and the excellence of the soup was undoubted.
"The Destitute Poor" is in the Chronicle,
14 September 1872, page 12a,
8 March 1873, page 8f.
A proposal for the establishment of alms houses is discussed in the Observer,
14 September 1872, page 13f,
Advertiser,
25 March 1873, page 2d-g.
Also see North Adelaide.
"Savages Near Adelaide" is in the Observer,
28 December 1872, page 7g.
"Almshouses" is in the Register,
6 September 1872, page 4e,
25 March 1873, page 6b,
Express,
25 March 1873, page 3b,
"Outdoor Destitutes" on
2 August 1875, page 3d.
"Neglect of the Poor" is in the Chronicle,
26 August 1876, page 12a-b.
Destitution and Poverty
Taken from Geoffrey H Manning's A Colonial Experience
The provision that is made to meet the requirements of the poor is... so meagre, mean and insufficient as to be a scandal to our civilisation...
(Register, 25 July 1890, page 7.
Mrs G... lived in a cottage of three rooms amidst some of the oldest houses in the west end of Adelaide; whilst neat and tidy the atmosphere of the centre room (the bedroom) was stifling, due to defective ventilation and not neglect on her part. Her husband was unemployed due to being sacked from his job by an employer who also refused to pay wages due for several weeks work - he had been compelled to hear his children ask for food and was unable to comply. Mrs G's relatives, who could ill afford to help them, had nevertheless kept them from starving, while a kind old lady nearby sent occasional supplies of food.
In acknowledging their plight a reporter addressed himself to the husband's former employer:
Should these lines be read by the gentleman who owes his fellow-man upwards of £40, I hope he will... pay this money... Doubtless he thinks he can ignore the debt because... his creditor has not sufficient means and cannot get anything to do to earn enough to defray the cost of legal proceedings.
Mrs L... lived alone and was supposed to pay half a crown a week for the room in which she lived. Her landlady allowed her the use of a bed upon which was an old mattress and a quilt. An old trunk containing a little clothing and 'what she [stood] up in' was all she had in the world. She was a widow with two grown up sons; for a time she was in domestic service and worked hard for several weeks but was denied payment by her mistress whose husband got into debt and so Mrs L was left lamenting. The destitute authorities refused her rations because she had sons who could keep her but she did not know of their whereabouts.
Mrs S... had been deserted by her husband for four years; she had two daughters old enough 'to go into service' and a son aged 14 'nearly naked for want of boots and clothes'. She was receiving temporary relief from the Charity Organisation Society and her name was sent in to the Sisters of Mercy who promised to visit. She pleaded for some kind person to take her daughters into service and expressed the hope that the Boys' Brigade would take her son in hand and keep him off the streets.
Mr and Mrs E... live in a tumble-down old shanty... Mr E had walked 230 odd miles to Orroroo where he was earning 4/6 (45 cents) a day. Mrs E was a partial invalid but was clean and tidy and her face 'literally beamed with happiness'. As there was a little ground to spare behind the house, the visiting reporter suggested she might consider growing a few flowers for sale for she was too sensitive to apply for help.
Mrs T... and family of four children lived with and mainly on the charity of Mrs M..., a clean, respectable woman who earned her living as a laundress and who granted the widow and children shelter in consideration for the former's kindness in looking after Mrs M's children during her absence from home. Mrs T had been in hospital under treatment for injuries received by being knocked down and run over by a hansom cab and found it hard to do the one half-day's washing per week which was all she got to earn bread for her children.
The visiting reporter saw a pair of second-hand boots which Mrs T had bought for a trifling sum - the family had all been shoeless. One girl went out on a Sabbath morning, the other wore them in the afternoon, and the mother went barefooted, but would wear them to Church in the evening.
Mrs M... who sheltered this family had, two years hence, been in hospital and her three children were left in the care of her husband who 'sold out everything and kept the money.' By the time she left the hospital he had 'cleared the colony' and left the children with a neighbour. She had no recourse other than wander about the streets with her children looking for a home. At last weary and worn she sat down on a doorstep when one of children asked, 'Mamma, why don't you ask God to give us a bed tonight?' The mother said she had already sent up a prayer when a door was opened by a good Samaritan who took them in.
She obtained work washing clothes for a reverend gentleman's family. As time went on she got additional work and worked from 6 am until 2 pm nearly every day washing and ironing and sewed clothes at night to earn 14 shillings ($1-40) a week. She had twin babies 16 months old and was grateful when she met Mrs T who was very kind to her 'little ones'. Mrs M rested on Sunday afternoons, after cooking the only hot dinner her children got each week, and then went to Church in the evening.
"Another Disgraceful Case" is in the Observer,
5 August 1876, page 13g.
The overcrowding of lodging houses is the subject of an editorial in the Register,
3 February 1876, page 4e,
Also see Hotels & Lodging Houses.
whilst that of houses is discussed on
4 April 1876, page 4f -
"A dark blot upon our boasted civilisation and morality". On
13 April 1876 at page 5b the editor describes some of them:
-
[They] are miserable hovels containing only one room and with nothing but an
earthen floor. Yet these places are inhabited by human beings... It is hardly
possible to speak in language that is too strong of the culpable neglect
of the Local Board of Health... Already many of the drains in the public
streets are in a disgusting and filthy state, while in small yards, which
are barely drained or not drained at all, are foul smells sufficient to generate
a faster disease...
On 25 April 1876, page 5a the editor of the Register launches an attack on the Council:
-
To live in such buildings as those to which we refer is sufficient to destroy
all the good impressions which might be produced by the most earnest teachers
of morality and religion... We are constrained to come to the conclusion
that the real root of the evil lies in the indisposition of the City Council
to move in the matter.
On 1 October 1877 at page 5a a reporter describes houses at the lower end of Hindley Street:
-
The horrible dirt and foul odours of these filthy lairs are simply indescribable...
That such pestilential dens should be permitted to exist in the city is a
crying disgrace and says little for the activity or utility of the Board
of Health... The sooner this horrible rookery is levelled with the ground
the better it will be for the moral and physical health of the city.
(Also see Register,
1 October 1877, pages 4d and 6f,
2 October 1877, page 6d.)
"The Willows" near the Adelaide Gaol is described in
the Advertiser,
21 February 1878, page 4e:
-
Under the willows are traces of humanity; scraps of American cloth to keep
off damp from those who lie on the ground, parts of old bags, old canvas,
and other rubbish make the furniture of one of the plague-spots of Adelaide...
Thieves, prostitutes, drunken bushmen, and loafing casuals from all quarters
share the public lands in common, and in the warm weather prefer them to
the poisonous atmospheres of those dens which generally harbor them.
The women are - what they are - besides being thieves, and the men live
upon whatever these miserable creatures are able to earn or steal for them.
(Advertiser, 10 February 1880, page 4d.)
Further information on the "Willows" is in the Observer,
2 March 1878, page 12g (poem),
Advertiser,
20 January 1879, p. 5,
Chronicle,
26 April 1879, page 9c,
7, 14 and 21 February 1880, pages 9c, 10d and 11a.
The Song of the Willows
By a Vagrant
You may talk of your hoaks, helms, hashes and beeches,
And sing if you like of your greenwood tree;
You may make about gums fine long-winded speeches,
But the Willows! Ah! them is the bushes for me.The Willows! The beautiful wavin' willows,
As grow by the river so cool and clear,
On whose sands we larrikins make our pillows
And list to the bull frogs boomin' near.
All you gentlemen fine in well-furnished houses,
You ladies wot sleeps on your beds of down,
Precious little you know of the tribe as carouses
'Neath the Willows at night not a mile from Town.
-
The Willows, the aristocratic Willows,
As shelters the vagabond damp or dry,
'Neath whose drooping branches we make our pillows,
And snore out of sight of the policeman's eye.
Where lovers of nature have made their home,
Should be subject at times to the sudden intrusion
Of the force who unasked to the Willows oft come.
-
The Willows, the handy convenient Willows,
The nest of us birds when times are hard
Where we're roused some nights from our cozy pillows,
And marched in a troop to the station yard.
But beak Beddome poor folks won't go for to punish
For sleepin' houtside in the air its plain,
No, our gang to take care he'll mildly admonish,
And then let us sneak back to the Willows again.
-
The Willows! the classical rural Willows,
The lodging of idleness, vice and crime;
Where society's outcasts seek their pillows,
From midnight's chime until morning prime.
Such pleasant retreats philosophers find,
And I think 'pon my word 'tis truly a pity,
That there are not a dozen resorts of the kind.
-
The Willows, the arbour-like weepin' Willows,
The lower ten's quarter genteel and cheap,
'Neath whose slender branches we make our pillows,
And tipple and gamble and swear and sleep.
-
Final Chorus by the Club
That hang o'er the tainted, polluted stream,
Oh1 citizens say on your nightly pillows
Of this plague-spot, do you never dream?
(Observer, 2 March 1878, p. 12.)
A poem entitled "The Song of the Unemployed" is in The Lantern,
21 June 1879.
"A City Poor-Box Wanted" is in the Express,
10 March 1879, page 3d.
"The Destitute Poor" is in the Express,
25 May 1878, page 2b,
Chronicle,
1 June 1878, page 5b,
Distress in Adelaide" in the Express,
18 June 1879, page 3f.
"Distress in the City" is in the Register,
18, 21, 24 and 27 June 1879, pages 5a, 4g, 5c and 7a:
-
A woman with six children was found occupying a miserable two-roomed house,
with no flooring and devoid of every comfort and cheer.
(Also see Advertiser, 18 June 1879, page 5e.)
-
In the immediate vicinity are to be found filthy, uninviting lanes, containing
low rows of still less inviting houses from the doors of which bawling women
chatter with each other, while frowsy, unkempt, ragged little urchins wallow
like so many mud-sprites in the gutter... In the midst of this region of
misery, like a vampire drawing sustenance from corruption, the pawnshop stands
and thrives.
(For further information on pawnshops see South Australia.)
19 and 21 July 1879, pages 5d; also see
Observer,
2 and 9 August 1879, pages 18d and 18a.
A feature article on "Destitution" is in the Register,
13 January 1880, page 5g; also see
14, 15, 19, 21, 22 and 26 January 1880, pages 5e, 5e, 5e, 5f, 5d and 5e.
Information on the Destitute Board is in the Register,
1 March 1881, page 5b,
"The Hardships of the Poor" in the Advertiser,
25 May 1883, page 6g.
"The Poor of Adelaide" is in the Chronicle,
11 November 1882, page 18d,
"A Case of Real Distress" is in the Express,
21 February 1882, page 3b.
"Our Back Slums Again" is in the Register,
11 October 1883, page 6d:
-
Vice and wretchedness may perhaps not obtrude themselves so prominently as
in other cities scarcely larger and little older; but its back slums have
far too many dens and hovels for so fair a city...
23 October 1883, page 7a; also see
24 October 1883, page 4f,
20 October 1884, page 5a,
18 November 1884, pages 4f-6b.
"The Shadows of the City - Visiting the Poor" is in the Register,
26 May 1884, page 5g:
-
The latch was turned by a poor little woman in a threadbare cotton dress and
shamefacedness as she asked us to come in. We sat down on two angular, decrepit
chairs with backs bent and legs shaky through age. She, suckling an old-faced
baby, thinly clad, entrusted her weight to a soap box, disguised by an ancient
canvas covering... [Later] we met with our third case... The rooms are scarcely
larger than an ordinary cab... I could see no sign of ventilation... During
more than six years she has supported her family by scrubbing and washing
day and night... Why does the law allow people to live - breathing a fetid
atmosphere in such wretched houses in this "bright Australia". I am quite
prepared to hear some sleek well-fed member rise in his place in Parliament
and say that these descriptions are exaggerated; but, more than that I am
ready to prove that they are not...
(Also see Register,
27 and 28 May 1884, pages 5f and 4d-5f,
14 June 1884 (supp.), page 2a.)
27 May 1884, page 4c,
"The Unemployed and Destitution" in the Observer,
31 May 1884, page 24c,
"Visiting the Poor" on
31 May 1884, page 42e.
The charitable work among citizens, including that of Mr W. Kither, is reported
in the Register,
27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 May 1884, pages 5a, 5f, 4g, 4h and 4e,
2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 14, 16 and 23 June 1884, pages 5a, 4h, 5a, 5b, 5b, 5c, 5a-c
and 5a:
-
On Sunday morning miscellaneous food... was furnished to an eager crowd, who
pressed eagerly together and stretched from the eastern footpath of Twin
Street to the western, and some of whom waited thus packed for nearly an
hour and a half... The people nearly without an exception ill-dressed, dirty
and ragged, and the children bare-footed for the greater part.
28 June 1884, page 6h,
21 and 31 July 1884, pages 4h and 6b,
1 and 11 August 1884, pages 4f-7a and 6h.
"Professional Beggars" is in the Register,
2 June 1884, page 3g,
"Blind Beggars" on
23 January 1905, page 4d.
A meeting of the General Relief Committee is reported in the Register,
11 June 1884, page 6b.
"Disbandment of the Relief Committee" is in the Observer,
16 and 30 August 1884, pages 33a and 33c.
"The Unemployed and Poverty" is in the Register,
14 June 1884, page 2a (supp.).
"Indiscriminate Charity" is in the Express,
9 July 1884, page 6c,
"The Poor of the City" on
1 and 6 August 1884, pages 2b and 6e.
"The Distress Relief Inspectors" is in the Register,
14 July 1884, page 7e.
"Distress Relief Fund" is in the Chronicle,
2 August 1884, page 22e,
"Abusing Public Benevolence" on
6 December 1884, page 5e.
"Disbandment of the Relief Committee" is in the Observer,
16 and 30 August 1884, pages 33a and 33c.
"The Charitable Institutions of Adelaide" is in the Register,
20 October 1884, page 5a.
Also see Register,
28 March 1885, page 6g,
17 April 1885, page 7c,
2 October 1885, page 4g,
19 January 1886, page 4e,
14, 15, 16 and 23 April 1886, pages 6c, 4e-6b, 6a and 7b,
21 September 1886, pages 4h-7c.
"The Destitute of Adelaide" is in the Register,
26 August 1884, page 7a.
"The Condition of the People" is in the Register,
8 August 1885, page 4f.
"The Poor Fund" is in the Express,
28 and 31 July 1885, pages 3d and 2b,
1 August 1885, page 3d,
"Poverty in the City" on
6 August 1885, page 3b,
"The Advertiser Poor Fund" on
10, 13 and 26 August 1885, pages 3f, 3c and 3g,
3 and 10 September 1885, pages 3b and 3b.
"A Tale of Poverty and Crime" is in the Express,
12 August 1885, page 7e.
Also see Register,
15 February 1887, pages 4h-7g,
2 March 1887, page 5a,
2 August 1887, pages 4h-6b,
22 June 1897, page 5h (summary of all charitable institutions),
the views of the Attorney-General appear on
12 June 1902, page 5c; also see
13 and 14 June 1902, pages 2f and 3i.
An editorial on "The Cry of the Unemployed" is in the Advertiser,
12 August 1884, page 4e.
Statistics of "The Destitute of Adelaide" are in the Register,
26 August 1884, page 7a.
-
Seventy per cent of the [destitute] were Irish; most of them Catholics... There
was not one Chinaman and not a single Jew... I notice... that amongst the
committee helpers no lady or gentleman of the Catholic Church appeared at
any time. The other denominations were fairly represented, members of the
Jewish Church being praiseworthily energetic.
(Register, 31 July 1884, page 6b.)
30 June 1885, pages 4g-5h-7h,
7 July 1885, page 7b,
25 July 1885, pages 4f-6g,
1 and 29 September 1885, pages 7b and 6c,
16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23 and 24 November 1885, pages 6d, 4e-5b, 4f-7a, 4d-7d, 6g, 6f, 4f-6g-h and 4d-5g,
10, 11 and 15 December 1885, pages 5a-7e, 4f and 4e.
"The Cry of Poverty" is in the Register,
25 May 1885, page 5d.
"Poverty and Its Relief" is in the Observer,
15 August 1885, pages 8a and 33.
Also see Register,
5 and 6 February 1886, pages 6e and 5b,
11 March 1886, page 5b,
7 June 1886, page 7c,
1 and 2 July 1886, pages 4h-5a-7f and 4h,
22 September 1886, page 7e,
8, 11 and 12 February 1887, pages 7c, 6h and 6h,
28 May 1887, page 5b,
14 June 1888, page 4h,
26 May 1893, page 7c,
2 and 8 June 1893, pages 7g and 6f.
-
Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates and men decay.
Princes and lords may flourish and fade,
A breath can take them as a breath has made;
But a bold peasantry, their country's pride,
When once destroyed can never be supplied.
(Register, 15 April 1887, page 7b.)
28 and 29 July 1885, pages 4d and 5d,
1, 4, 8, 10, 13 and 19 August 1885, pages 7a, 6e, 6d-7a, 7b and 7a,
21 September 1885, page 6c.
"A Plea for the Poor" is in the Register,
10 May 1886, page 7d.
"Free Breakfasts to the Poor" is in the Register,
7 June 1886, page 5c,
5 July 1886, page 5e.
Information on deputations from the unemployed is in the Register,
9 February 1887, pages 4f-6h; also see
12 February 1887, page 4h,
2 March 1887, page 6e,
19 and 30 April 1887, pages 7d and 7g,
13 and 14 July 1887, pages 7h and 4h.
A poem titled "The Poor Destitute" is in The Lantern,
11 July 1885, page 6.
"Poverty and Its Relief" is in the Register,
7, 8 and 11 August 1885, pages 4g-5g, 5f and 5g.
A cartoon is in The Lantern,
22 August 1885, page 11.
A Christmas dinner for the poor, donated by Messrs E.T. Smith and William
Kither, is reported in the Register,
23, 24 and 28 December 1885, pages 6g, 5d and 6h.
"Christmas Gifts for the Poor" is in the Register,
18 December 1886, page 5a.
"Christmas Gifts for the Poor Children" is in the Register,
17, 24 and 28 December 1889, pages 5b-6b, 6c and 5b,
"The Poor Children's Festival" on
1 January 1890, page 6b.
"Cheer at Christmastide" is in the Register,
29 November 1890, page 6a,
6 December 1890, page 5d.
"Christmas Cheer for the Poor" is in the Observer,
8 December 1894, page 15a.
"The Sick and the Poor - Their Christmas Prospects" in the Advertiser,
23 December 1904, page 6c.
A photograph of "Christmas Cheer for the Destitute" is in The Critic,
20 December 1905, page 26.
"How Adelaide Will Provide Christmas Cheer for Poor and Needy" is in The Mail,
15 December 1928, page 27.
Also see South Australia.
A free distribution of boots to the poor by Messrs Stevenson Brothers of
Rundle Street is reported in the Register,
17 April 1886, page 5d.
A feature article headed "How Are We Going to Live Throughout the Coming
Winter" is in the Register,
23 and 28 April 1886, pages 6c and 5g - it contains personal interviews with
some of the poor and underprivileged of Adelaide.
"A Plea for the Poor" is in the Register, 10 May 1886, page 7d following a visit by a reporter to some of the destitute:
-
On a hard straw mattress lay a pale thin woman covered by a blanket (which
I had sent her the night before). On a box behind the door sat five pale
delicate children covered by a few thin rags. No food in the house, no wood,
the room bare and cold...
24 July 1886, page 30a.
The provision of free breakfasts for the poor is reported in the Register,
7 June 1886, page 5c,
23 and 30 August 1886, pages 5c and 5c,
4 October 1886, page 6b,
3 January 1887, page 5b,
14 and 28 February 1887, pages 5c,
20 June 1887, page 5c.
A "jubilee" free breakfast provided by John Martin & Co and Mr Hayward is reported
on
20 June 1887, page 5c.
"The Relief of Distress" is in the Register,
4 January 1887, page 4f.
The Charity Organization Society is discussed in the Express,
2 March 1887, page 2b-5g,
18 May 1887, page 3g.
"Bread for the Destitute Poor" is in the Register,
10 January 1887, page 7a.
Under the heading "The Rich and the Poor" a correspondent to the Register on 23 April 1887 at page 6e tilts at the inappropriate use of wealth:
-
When once the rich learn to love riches for the sake of use and not merely
for their own selfish gratifications... then indeed we shall arrive at a
better condition of affairs... [If] we were to see a little more manifestation
that the wealth of the world was loved for the sake of use and not merely
for a sort of missionary-box system of Christianity, then, indeed, the poor
would be without excuse, for work would be more abundant and the poor, instead
of being a thorn in the side of the wealthy aristocrats, would become their
willing servants.
"A Sad Case" is in the Register,
18 June 1887, page 7b,
"Helping the Poor" on
4, 5 and 9 August 1887, pages 3g, 3g-5f and 7h.
Information on and sketches of "The Work of the Sunday Brigade" are in the Pictorial Australian in August 1887, page 24.
The Register of 11 August 1887 at page 7g has two letters expressing concern at the plight of the poor:
-
From every portion of the civilised world we learn the same cries of distress,
see the same evils. Humanity, equity and justice demand their abolition in
spite of all the opposition of the privileged classes and their parasites...
A letter to the Editor seeking funds to help a destitute family is in the Register on 17 February 1888, page 7h:
-
There is but one bed in the place. On one side lies the dying woman who has
been in bed for seven weeks, at the foot her dying child eight months old,
a complete skeleton... Government rations are not obtainable because the
husband is at home and is not ill. Will some kind hearts help in this case
of destitution.
(Also see Register,
5 March 1888, page 3h and
17 April 1888, page 7e.)
Informative letters on destitution are in the Register,
20 November 1888, page 7g and
3 and 12 December 1888, pages 7d and 7f.
"The Poor of the State" is in the Register,
13 December 1888, page 4h.
"The Slums of Adelaide" is in the Register,
14 June 1889, pages 4f and 5h,
28 June 1889, page 7a:
-
The buildings are not fit for human beings to inhabit. They let in the water,
the ceilings are coming down, the walls are damp, the sanitary arrangements
are as imperfect as the law will allow them to be... The landlords... ought
to be more than ashamed of themselves...
"The Suffering Poor" is in the Register,
30 July 1889, page 6c,
"The Homes of the Poor" on
10 and 17 August 1889, pages 6d and 6c; also see
22 August 1889, page 7e.
A letter citing specific cases of destitution appears on
9 October 1889, page 3d.
"The Waifs and the Strays" is in the Register,
13 December 1889, page 5a-h.
"Poverty and Ill-Health" is in the Register,
17 May 1890, page 4g.
An obituary of Mrs Harriet Searle, charity worker, is in the Observer,
5 September 1891, page 28e.
"Relief for Incurables - Our Helpless and Hopeless Poor" is in the Observer,
5 September 1891, page 30b,
"The Destitute Poor" on
5 September 1891, page 25d.
A letter from Rev James Allen under the heading "The Government and the Poor" is
in the Register,
25 July 1890, page 7b:
-
The provision that is made to meet the requirements of the poor is... so meagre,
mean and insufficient as to be a scandal to our civilisation...
(Also see Register, 9 August 1890, page 7d.)
"Our Helpless and Hopeless Poor" is in the Register,
2 and 4 September 1891, pages 5g and 4f; also see
Advertiser,
4 September 1891, page 4d,
Register,
16 and 26 November 1891, pages 7e and 4e,
1 July 1892, page 6b,
14 and 15 March 1893, pages 4h-6e and 6c.
"The Poor Sick Fund" is in the Observer,
24 October 1891, page 35a.
"The Care of the Destitute Sick" is in the Observer,
28 November 1891, page 25b.
"Adelaide Unemployed" is in the Chronicle,
5 March 1892, page 5c.
"The Poor and the Rent Question" is in the Register,
22 and 24 August 1892, pages 4e and 6e.
Proposed aid to poor widows and wives is traversed in the Advertiser,
24 August 1892, pages 4e-6b and
an editorial on destitution on
7 September 1892, page 4d; also see
Express,
24 August 1892, page 3c.
"Pity the Poor" is in the Express,
8 March 1893, page 3d,
"The Winter and the Poor" in the Register,
16 June 1893, page 4g,
1 and 8 July 1893, pages 7g and 4h-7h,
3 August 1893, page 7c.
"The Morphett Street Relief Movement" is in the Observer,
1 July 1893, page 30e.
"A Remedy for Hard Times" is in the Register,
16 and 26 June 1893, pages 3e and 6h.
"Hard Times and How to Meet Them" is in the Observer,
20 January 1894, page 32a.
"The Back Slums of Adelaide" is in the Register,
16 June 1893, page 6e; also see
21 June 1893, page 7g and
Advertiser,
16 June 1893, page 6a,
Express,
21 June 1894, page 4b.
Information on the Morphett Street Relief Movement and
its soup kitchen is in the Chronicle,
15 July 1893, page 8b,
Express,
28 June 1893, page 4a.
A cartoon is in The Lantern,
7 June 1884, page 1.
"The Government and the Poor" is in the Advertiser,
24 July 1893, page 6f,
"The Churches and the Unemployed" on
19 February 1894, page 4d,
"Nursing the Sick Poor" on
10 September 1894, page 4e.
"Hard Times and Self-Denial" is in the Register,
8 July 1893, page 4h.
"Drink and Poverty" is in the Advertiser,
13 October 1893, page 7b.
"Hard Times and How to Meet Them" is in the Observer,
20 January 1894, page 32,
"The Indigent Sick and the Criminal Poor" on
27 January 1894, page 42a,
"The Poor and the Unemployed" on
10 and 17 February 1894, pages 14 and 13,
"Rations and Work" on
17 February 1894, page 24e.
"Sleeping Out - No Food or Covering" is in the Express,
8 February 1894, page 2c; also see
3, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 16 March 1894, pages 6c, 3f, 3f, 6b, 2e and 3f.
"The Haunts of the Hungry and Homeless - A Night in the Parks" is in the Register,
12 February 1894, page 6c:
-
Three of them... this was perhaps the worst case we saw... slept under one
blanket. In one spot eight men huddled together in a line, while the remainder
were scattered around under trees and in the open.
(Also see Register, 12 and 22 March 1894, pages 4h and 7c.)
"Helping the Poor" is in the Register,
11 April 1894, page 4e,
"Relief of the Poor" on
1 June 1894, page 4e,
"Feeding the Hungry and Relieving the Poor" on
17 May 1895, pages 4f-7f,
"The City and the Slums" on
19 June 1895, page 6f,
"Nursing the Sick and Poor" on
1 August 1896, pages 4g-6g.
"How the Poor Live" is in the Observer,
4 August 1894, page 30e.
"The Destitute Asylum" is in the Register,
9 July 1894, pages 4e-6a.
"The Unemployed People - A Choice of Remedies" is in the Advertiser,
22 October 1894, page 6c.
"Among the Poor - The Corset Maker" is in the Weekly Herald,
2 November 1894, page 1a.
Nonagenarians were interviewed at the Destitute Asylum and their stories
published under the heading "Human Derelicts" in the Register,
20 August 1895, page 7f; also see
4 August 1902, page 6h.
Information on the Adelaide Benevolent & Strangers' Friend Society is in Register,
7 February 1895, page 4g,
29 September 1899, pages 5c-6f (includes a history),
30 November 1912, pages 14e-15c,
The News,
5 April 1927, page 8c.
"Rack Rents and Slum Dwellings" is in the Weekly Herald,
21 June 1895, page 2c,
"With the Poor in Their Houses" in the Register,
26 December 1895, page 6d,
Observer,
28 December 1895, page 31b,
"Through the Adelaide Slums" in the Weekly Herald,
23 July 1897, page 8a.
"Medical Treatment of the Destitute" is in the Express,
18 August 1896, page 2c.
"Almsgiving and Charity" is in the Observer,
6 March 1897, page 41c.
"The Sorrows of the Poor - A Diary of a Nursing Sister" is in the Register,
7 August 1897, page 6f; also see
22 and 23 July 1898, pages 5h and 6c,
11 August 1898, page 6c.
"Around the Slums" is in the Advertiser,
17 June 1898, page 6a,
"Homes and Hovels of the Poor" in the Register,
17 June 1898, page 6e,
"The Aged Poor" on
9 August 1899, page 4e,
"The Hovels of the City" on
21 and 28 June 1900, pages 6f and 3i,
"The Homes of the Poor" on
30 January 1901, page 4c,
"Helping the Poor and Needy" on
18 July 1901, page 6f.
"Adelaide Charity Carnival" is in the Register,
28 and 31 October 1898, pages 6d and 6e,
8 December 1898, page 6e.
"Slum Work in Adelaide" is in the Register,
7 February 1900, page 3d.
"The Unemployed - A Visit to Their Homes" is in the Express,
11 June 1902, page 3d.
The plight of the unemployed is discussed in the Register,
2, 4, 5, 8, 14 and 28 May 1903, pages 9d, 3f, 4c-6f, 3f, 6g and 6f.
"Is Almsgiving Overdone" is in the Register,
21 August 1903, page 4c,
"How the Poor are Relieved" on
22 March 1904, page 4h.
"A Treat for the Aged Poor" is in the Express,
8 July 1904, page 4f,
"The Poverty of Adelaide" on
6 September 1904, page 4c,
"Through Ways and Byways - How the Poor Live" is in the Register,
29 July 1905, page 8g; also see
1 and 5 December 1905, pages 7i and 9g,
"How the Poor Live" on
26 July 1907, page 6h.
"A Blessing to the Poor - The Wyatt Benevolent Institution" is in the Observer,
5 November 1904, page 41a.
"Charity in Adelaide" is in the Express,
21 September 1905, page 3i.
"Help the Poor to Help Themselves" is in the Register,
12 January 1906, page 4h.
"How the Poor Live" is in the Register,
26 August 1907, page 6h.
A Salvation Army "Slum Post" in Rosina Street is described in the Advertiser,
27 June 1907, page 6f.
Also see Religion - Salvation
Army.
"Poverty in Adelaide" is in The Herald,
30 November 1907, page 2c,
"Destitution in Adelaide - A Personal Experience" in the Advertiser,
27 December 1907, page 11a,
"Out of Work - Life on Ninepence Daily" on
25 July 1908, page 10h.
"The Helpless Poor" is in the Register on
28 March 1908, page 8d,
"Hungry People in Adelaide" on
29 July 1909, page 8e,
"How the Poor Live in Adelaide" in the Register,
19 August 1909, page 6i,
Advertiser,
19 August 1909, page 6e,
"The City's Poor - Deserted Wives and Widows" on
3 December 1909, page 9e.
"Comfortable in a Hovel" is in the Advertiser,
25 June 1910, page 12g,
"The City's Poor" on
9 July 1910, page 15d,
"The Pinch of Poverty" on
8 February 1911, page 14d,
"Among the Poor - Struggles for Existence" on
10 June 1912, page 14d.
"Humour and Pathos of the Poor" is in the Register,
24 August 1911, page 5a.
"The Unemployed - Some Interesting Stories" is in the Advertiser,
18 January 1913, page 23c; also see
1 July 1913, page 14a,
"The Destitute Poor" on
21 June 1913, page 6d.
"Has Adelaide Slums" is in the Register on
8 and 9 October 1914, pages 4d-7d and 7b,
"What is a Slum" on
19 and 20 October 1917, pages 6c and 6d; also see
Express,
8 October 1914, page 4d.
"Rubbing Shoulders With Poverty" is in The Mail,
9 January 1915, page 9c.
"A Hidden Tragedy - Poverty and Patriotism" is in the Register,
15 February 1915, page 9a.
"Helping the Poor - The Morialta Street Relief Depot" is in the Advertiser,
30 April 1915, page 10c.
"A Hidden Tragedy - Poverty and Patriotism" is in the Register,
15 February 1915, page 9a,
"Prosperity for the Poor" in the Advertiser,
25 August 1917, page 11a.
"Poverty's Victims - Tragic Adelaide Cases" is in The Mail,
15 June 1918, page 2f.
"Idleness and Poverty" is in the Register,
1 and 5 July 1919, pages 8g and 8h.
"The City's Poor - Work of Adelaide City Mission" is in The Mail,
2 July 1921, page 2d.
Also see Religion.
"The Rent Man - Terror to the Stricken Poor" is in The Mail,
18 March 1922, page 2d.
"Varied Work Among the Poor" is in the Register,
17 May 1923, page 8f,
"Problems of Poverty" on
24 July 1923, page 5d.
"How the Poor Live" is in the Advertiser,
24 August 1923, page 15d
Register,
25 September 1923, page 4d:
-
All the room contains is a few pieces of rolled-up blankets in a corner, where
the children had been sleeping, and a big trunk, containing their worldly
goods - a few pieces of broken crockery. And yet I hear it said and see it
printed that Adelaide knows no poverty.
"Poverty and Slums - Is Adelaide Free?" is in The Mail,
18 August 1923, page 3g,
"The Poor in the West End" in the Advertiser,
28 August 1923, page 12d,
"Landlords and the Poor" on
25 April 1924, page 14f.
"Distress in Adelaide" is in The News,
25 September 1923, page 8f.
"Adelaide Charities - The Work of Mrs P.A. Moses" is in the Advertiser,
15 July 1924, page 7a,
"The Poor of Adelaide - A Society's Noble Work" on
19 July 1924, page 19i.
"Hungry Children - Poverty in West End" is in The News,
2 February 1924, page 1c.
"Relief of Distress" is in the Register,
11 November 1924, page 12e.
"Old Men of City - Proud in Their Poverty" is in The News,
21 May 1925, page 5e.
"Among Adelaide Poor" is in The News,
10 June 1925, page 6e,
"Poor Relief" in the Register,
11 June 1925, page 8c.
Information on the Adelaide Benevolent & Strangers'
Friend Society is in The News,
5 April 1927, page 8c.
"Unemployment - History Repeating Itself" is in the Register,
19 November 1927, page 7c.
"Feeding the Hungry - How the [Salvation] Army Does It" is in The Mail,
25 August 1928, page 11a.
"The Poor and the Needy" is in the Advertiser,
1 March 1929, page 30e,
"Slum Areas in Greater Adelaide" on
18 October 1934, page 18e.
Also see South Australia -Depression Years.