Building identity in the colonial city: the case of the Adelaide Mosque

Abstract

In 1865, Townsend Duryea (1823–1888), a mining engineer cum photographer hailing from Long Island, New York, created a panoramic image of the colonial city of Adelaide, capital of the free province of South Australia, inaugurated in 1836. This early panorama, taken from the recently completed tower of the Adelaide Town Hall, depicts the wide avenues, generous city parks and the precise grid of a colonial city that has long been praised internationally as an exemplar of city planning (Figs. 1, 2 and 3). Within this orderly framework, Duryea captures the vigorous building activity of this colonial settlement, including the edifices of more than 20 Christian parishes who staked their claim in this so-called City of Churches. The Duryea panorama depicts a clearly defined spatial hierarchy. While the pretentious structures of the colonial elite occupy the civic centre and the desirable plots of land to the north (adjacent the river) and east of the Town Hall (looking toward the hills), the city fringe, particularly the areas west and south of the city, was the site of industry, the rail yards and the home of impoverished immigrants. Clearly defined spatial boundaries further divide the civilised city from wild nature. Beyond the city fringe, the Duryea panorama depicts Cont Islam (2015) 9:247–270 DOI 10.1007/s11562-015-0345-z