Salisbury and District Historical Society Incorporated

10/11/2026

10/11/2026

Don’t miss
City of Salisbury Community Christmas Parade
28 November 2026 from 10:00am – 11:30am

26/10/2026

Wittber’s Hop
Carl (Bill) Wittber was born in Salisbury on Dec.1879 where his father Carl August Wittber was the second headmaster at Salisbury Primary School.
Bill completed an Electrical Apprenticeship and became interested in the emerging industry of aviation.
A Mr Frederick Jones, a businessman from Adelaide, in Feb 1910 ordered a Bleriot Aircraft. Mr Jones approached Bill Wittber & Fred Custance to assemble and test his new aircraft. The aircraft was transported to a paddock on the corner of Whites and Shepherdson Rd Salisbury, owned by Albert Winzor.
On Sunday 13th March 1910 the aircraft was ready for trials. Bill was at the controls, and while taxiing into the wind, the aircraft became airborne for about 100 yards.
Although this was not claimed as a record it could be said Bill was at the controls for the first powered flight in Australia.
A few days later with Fred Custance at the controls the aircraft made a successful take off with flight lasting about one minute, unfortunately a second attempt resulted in the aircraft crashing and damaging the undercarriage. The damaged aircraft was returned to Adelaide for repairs but unfortunately before this could be completed the aircraft was destroyed by fire.
A plaque has been erected at the Port Wakefield Rd end of Shepherdson Rd to commemorate this historic event.
Bill continued in the aviation industry and in 1915 he built his own six cylinder radial engine which is on display at SA Aviation Museum.
Bill died on 26th March 1970 aged 90.
Photos show -- Bill Wittber and his engine as well as the monument on Shepherdson Rd. originally erected in June 1967.

18/10/2026

First Women in Australia to obtain a Doctor of Music
Ruby Davy was born in John St Salisbury on the 22nd November 1883. Her parents were Louisa and William Davy.
Ruby was exposed to music from her early days and was playing the piano from the age of 5, composing music at 7 and wrote her first cantata when she was 9. By the age of 10 she was helping her mother teach music and had a class of 27 pupils of her own by the age of 13.
Ruby was Dux of Salisbury Primary School 1896.
She graduated in 1918 at the Adelaide University with a Doctorate of Music and was not only the first woman to graduate but the Adelaide University was the first of its kind to grant degrees to women. In 1922 Ruby was also awarded a Fellowship of Trinity College London.
The photos show; Ruby Davy 1918, the audiance in the Salisbury Institute as part of the SA Centenary Celebrations in 1936, the presentation of the special Cabinet of memorabilia of her life, Ruby at a special return concert Salisbury Institute in 1941.
Ruby died on12th July 1949 and is buried in the West Tc Cemetery along side her parents.
Doctor Ruby Davy was a pioneer in her field and the memorabillia cabinet presented to her in 1936 can be seen in the Salisbury Community Hub.

22/09/2026

SALISBURY PUBLIC SCHOOL
Education did not have a high priority with the early settlers of South Australia as members of families were busy etching out a living. In the late 1840’s and 1850’s several small private schools were established. Records show in 1851 the original Church of England building was being used for this purpose and this continued for a number of years.
In 1875, some 39 years after settlement the Government introduced the “Education Act” which made school attendance compulsory. All Children between the ages of 7 – 13 were required to attend 70 days per half year. The first Public School in Salisbury was established on the corner of Mary and Wiltshire Streets and opened in 1877. It consisted of two rooms, originally to accommodate 120 children, the southern room added in 1880 bringing accommodation up to 200 pupils.
In 1943 to accommodate the new children of families in the Cabin Homes Area, the Education Department approved the construction of wooden school buildings to form a new school that could accommodate 300 children. This school was located on land adjacent to the Salisbury Oval on Brown Terrace. In March 1948 the Superintendent of the Primary Schools recommended that the two schools be consolidated. In 1949, the two schools were united and operated on the old school site under the name ‘Salisbury Consolidated School’.
In 1964 the Salisbury school was renamed Salisbury Primary School and in 1970 the school was closed and a new one built in Compuda Street. The original building on Mary Street now houses TAFE SA’s Salisbury campus.

30/08/2026

Did you know - Salisbury produced most of South Australia’s oranges for around 100 years until the early 1950’s.
This photo taken by N Brown from O’Leary’s paddock which he purchased in early 1940’s to build his family home.
The road in the foreground is the newly constructed Commercial Rd which lead to the new Mu*****ns Factory at Penfield.
The photo also reveals how dense the coverage of orchards was that ran from the Old Spot through to Paralowie.
On the left of this photo taken about 1941 was H Heddle’s orchard, on the right is E Harvey’s orchard and in the background Hooper’s orchard.
The houses in the distance lined John St from the Salisbury Hotel through to the Council Chambers.

16/08/2026

Salisbury Flour Mills produced flour from 1854 to 1988.
In the 1850s South Australia had become Australia’s major wheat producer and the Salisbury and Munno Para areas played a major role.
A Public Meeting was called in 1853 at the New Road Inn (Salisbury Hotel), and the Salisbury Steam Flour Mill Company was formed. Three hundred shares were issued at £5 each. The new mill was established in 1854, north of the Little Para River, on the west side of Salisbury Highway just south of the Commercial Road intersection. refer to attached map for location.
In 1914 the mill owners Davey & Sons refurbished the mill and it was eventually reopened on Wednesday 20th January 1915. On Friday 22nd January 1915, 2 days after reopening, a large explosion was heard which resulted in a fire that destroyed the entire mill.
Mr F T Heidenreich, in 1917, acquired a milling plant from Auburn and assembled it in an old 2 storey building know as Fenden’s Store, adjacent to the railway line at the end of John St, refer to attached map.
The business grew over the coming year, employing over 27 people.
Flour was delivered to companies such as Tip Top, Arnott’s Biscuits and other various bakeries. In the latter years flour was packaged and sold to the large supermarket chains throughout Australia. Semolina was also produced and sold to San Remo for pasta production.
Due to growing competition flour production became uneconomical to continue and in 1988 it was sold to Goodman Fielder & Wattle group, who auctioned it off in 1989.
The mill was demolished in 1990, now the site of the Stockade Hotel.
This resulted in the end of Salisbury’s oldest commercial business, which was 72 years old. It also meant the end of milling flour in the Salisbury area for the past 134 years.