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Adelaidepedia is all about Adelaide, South Australia. It is a living encyclopedia of the city’s heritage- the Places, People and Things that make it unique today. We welcome your comments, contributions and suggestions.

The north-east part of the city has a distinctive character due largely to the marvellous Adelaide Fruit and Produce Exchange. Particularly comprising the buildings fronting East Terrace and Rundle, Grenfell and Union streets, the area is also of great historical significance to Adelaide as the most important distribution point for goods and services in South Australia.

Henry Ayers was five times Premier of South Australia. His name was immortalised when Uluru in central Australia was named Ayers Rock in his honour in 1873 and, less famously, through the house that still bears his name on North Terrace.

The Frog Cake is the ‘Balfours Mascot’ and has been used in promoting the culture of the State to international visitors by both local and national organisations. Introduced during the 1920's when tearooms were the height of fashion in Adelaide.

The rotunda is a dominant and decorative element of the Torrens Valley and is intimately tied to its development and beautification. Torrens Lake was created in 1881 when the weir was opened, and the transformation of the valley from a series of muddy waterholes to a navigable lake is one of the most enduring and practical testaments to the short-lived South Australian boom period. During this period Adelaide was consolidated, reaching a maturity expressed by the construction of museums, libraries, public buildings and recreational structures.

John Mentz (the original spelling) and Magdalena Lass arrived in Adelaide aboard the Steinwaerder from Hamburg in January 1849 and married in May at Holy Trinity Church. In about 1850 they set up a grocery and bakery shop in Wakefield Street, living in a two-room brick house at the rear. Ten years later John died, but, like many other colonial widows, Magdalena managed the business until her sons could accept the responsibility.