News

South Australia's founding document - the Letters Patent from 1836 - is returning to the Bay Discovery Centre at Glenelg for one day only to mark the 184th anniversary of its signing.

Complete with King William IV's wax seal, the priceless document is on loan from the State Records of South Australia archive and can be viewed on Wednesday 19 February 2020, from 10am-4pm.

Visitors can also explore the Tiati Wangkanthi Kumangka (Truth-Telling Together) exhibition, which details the true history of the state in conjunction with Kaurna Nation.

The Letters Patent is a priceless document that is rarely put on public view.

However it was brought out of the State Records vault for one day in December last year, to coincide with the opening of a new permanent exhibition at the Bay Discovery Centre titled Tiati Wangkanthi Kumangka, which translates to Truth-Telling Together.

Curated by the City of Holdfast Bay and elders from the Kaurna Nation, the exhibition tells the true history of South Australia, opening an honest discussion about South Australia’s colonisation.

It examines the words of the Letters Patent, which include recognition of “Aboriginal Natives” to occupy and live within the lands of the Province of South Australia.