Like in so many other areas of Australia, once the Europeans began to settle, the affect on local Aborigines was for the most part adverse. Much of their land was taken from them, and their pattern of life, which they had maintained for generations, was totally disturbed.

Feeling frustrated and angry, they resorted to often quite vicious attacks on new settlers. Two notable attacks include one in the late 1830s in the Murray area, and one in the early 1840s near Port Lincoln.

Officials did not take kindly to such attacks, and disregarding statements from commissioners which called for tactful treatment of the indigenous people, they dealt with such occurrences as they saw fit. This was often in quite a violent manner. So it was, that a great deal of animosity developed between the two groups.

By 1844, despite some early hiccups, the colony was largely self-financing. The discovery of copper ores in the early 1840s in places like Burra and Kapunda assisted greatly in the stabilisation of the newly founded colony's finances.

Many of those who arrived in the early years from Great Britain were lured across to the other side of the world, having been impressed by what were undoubtedly exaggerated impressions of what life would be like. It was not just from Great Britain that early settlers hailed.

When the State was still young in the late 1830s, a group of Prussians arrived, seeking a new home to escape religious harassment they had been experiencing in their homeland. They happily settled around the Adelaide Hills, in places like Hahndorf. By 1851, South Australia had a population of over 63,700.

South Australia was, and still is, very much a State of contrast. Most of the development took place around coastal areas, particularly the Fleurieu, the Yorke and the Eyre Peninsulas. This was where the best agricultural land was to be found. The inhospitable interior of the State and the lack of a reliable fresh water supply inhibited settlement very far from these spots.

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