1900s
1901: On the 1st January, the six colonies federated and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed
1902: The Commonwealth Franchise Act was passed to define who was and was not allowed to vote in Australian Federal elections. Among those who were disqualified from voting were people of ‘unsound mind’
1902: The Adelaide Lunatic Asylum was closed and its patients transferred to Parkside Asylum
1908: The Commonwealth introduced the Invalid and Old Age Pension Act to be administered by The Treasury
1910s
1910: Invalid Pensions were paid from 15th December
1913: The Mental Defectives Act was passed. ‘Lunatics’ were officially known as mental defectives. The term ‘mental defective’ encompassed both mental illness and mental retardation. The Act also provided for the establishment of a receiving house, where potential patients could go for observation and temporary treatment without being certified and sent to the mental hospital
1913: The Parkside Lunatic Asylum changed its name to Parkside Mental Hospital
1915: Legislation was passed making education compulsory for ‘blind, deaf, mute and mentally defective’ children between 6-16 years of age
1920s
1920: Australian Soldiers’ Repatriation Act was created for veterans’ welfare
1920: Civilian Tuberculosis and Cancer Comfort Fund was formed to bring relief to sufferers of tuberculosis (TB).
1922: The Enfield Receiving House was opened, with 48 beds where people could be admitted as voluntary psychiatric patients
1929: Northfield Mental Hospital was opened
1930s
1931: The Medical Journal of Australia supports ‘sterilisation of mental defectives’
1937: Blind Welfare Association of South Australia established to provide welfare services, support and accommodation to legally blind South Australians
1939: The Crippled Children’s Association of South Australia (CCA) was established for children with poliomyelitis (polio)
1940s
1941: The Commonwealth Government passed legislation that leads to the formation of the Commonwealth Rehabilitation Service. This service assisted injured men and women from the armed forces and people on invalid pensions to return to the workforce
1941: Australian ophthalmologist Dr N. M. Gregg, recognised that infection of the mother with German measles (Rubella) during early pregnancy could malform an embryo and cause a characteristic syndrome of congenital malformations
1941: There was a German measles epidemic in Adelaide and an increase in children who were deaf
1942: The Repatriation General Hospital opens to provide medical and practical help and support to servicemen and women
1942: ‘Aboriginal natives’ of Australia became eligible for a pension if they were not subject to a state law ‘relating to the control of Aboriginal natives’. Pacific islanders known as ‘Kanakas’ were also made eligible
1943: Dr Charles Swan and his colleagues in Adelaide identify the relationship between German measles (Rubella) in pregnant women and deafness in their offspring
1945: Australian Advisory Council for the Physically Handicapped formed as a coordinating body for the crippled children’s societies in each state
1945: The SA Tuberculosis Association registered the name Bedford Industries. It started with a woodworking shop at Glenelg for eight men recovering from TB
1946: The Crippled Children’s Association (CCA) started a school for children with cerebral palsy, and a clinic at the Adelaide Children’s Hospital
1946: After meeting other parents through the CCA, Eva E Dennis established the Spastic Children’s Parent Group, a support group for parents of children with a disability. The group later adopted the name The Spastics Group
1948: The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
1948: Helen Keller gave a speech to 1,200 school children at the Adelaide Town Hall (June 30)
1950s
1950: The South Australia Spastic Paralysis Welfare Association (SASPWA) was formed to provide support, services and resources for children and adults with severe and multiple disabilities
1950: The Spastics Group actively raised funds for CCA and SASPWA through appeals and events to expand services and provide transportation
1951: The Crippled Children’s Association began to take children with disabilities other than polio
1952: Lady Bonython opened the Spastics Home at Woodville with the objective of providing a day play school and respite for families
1954: Miss Australia Quest was launched as a major fundraiser for the Australia Cerebral Palsy Association, with proceeds also going to SASPWA
1957: Immunization, using the Salk vaccine sees the end of polio in South Australia
1957: Guide Dogs SA formed to provide training, equipment and support services for people with a sensory loss
1959: The Phoenix Society established to provide employment for the physically disabled
1959: Television broadcasting commences, with NWS-9
1960s
1960: All Aboriginal people other than those who were ‘nomadic or primitive’ became eligible for the Invalid Pension
1960: Channel 9 launched its first on-air appeal - Telethon - in a 24-hour non-stop entertainment show. The appeal raised $25,000 for the Crippled Children’s Association. The ‘Telethon’ marathon appeal continued in that format until 1983
1961: The Miss Telethon Quest began, where entrants raised money for local charities during a one-year period that culminated in a television ceremony crowning Miss Telethon and Miss Charity Queen. The quest continued until 1993 and raised over $5 million for South Australian charities
1962: Patients at Hillcrest and Glenside Hospitals were classified into having a mental illness or an intellectual disability. They found 650 patients with an intellectual disability, with 150 under the age of 14
1963: Australian Council for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (ACROD) established to provide a voice to disability service providers when talking to government
1964: The Mental Health Amendment Act defined two types of ‘mental deficiency’: intellectual retardation and mental illness
1964: Northfield Mental Hospital changed its name to Hillcrest Hospital
1967: Parkside Mental Hospital changed its name to Glenside Hospital
1970s
1970: South Australia becomes the first state to reform abortion laws.
1971: Strathmont Centre was opened to provide a residential facility with 24-hour-a-day support to people with an intellectual disability
1973: Don Dunstan and the Australian Labor Party returned to Government and commenced extensive social reforms
1973: Northfield Security Hospital was opened to house criminals who were mentally ill. Prior to this they were kept in Z Ward at Parkside
1974: Handicapped Persons Assistance Act passed to provide facilities for disabled children and disabled persons
1975: The General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed the Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons
1978: The James A Nelson Centre was opened incorporating a kindergarten and primary school to provide education, training and treatment
1980s
1980: Jeff Heath began Link Magazine as a small state-based newspaper. It became Australia’s leading cross-disability lifestyle magazine
1980: A group of parents opened the Seawinds Day Centre and the Gullywinds Day Centre to provide schooling for children with a disability
1980: The Mentally Retarded Children’s Society of SA Inc changed its name to Orana, which was an Aboriginal word for ‘Welcome’
1981: The United Nations declared it was International Year of Disabled Persons
1981: The Home for Incurables was re-named Julia Farr Centre after one of its founders
1982: The formation and incorporation of the Wheelchair Sports Association of South Australia
1982: Disability Information Resource Centre (DIRC) was established under the South Australian Associations Incorporation Act on 16 December.
1983: DIRC began its operations in June from premises in Hutt St
1983: The South Australia Spastic Paralysis Welfare Association (SASPWA) changed its name to Spastic Centres of South Australia in order to reflect its programme of expansion and decentralisation
1983: Variety SA established to help sick, disabled and disadvantaged children
1983: The UN General Assembly proclaimed a Decade of Disabled Persons
1984: The SA Equal Opportunity Act passed to promote equality of opportunity and prevent discrimination based on sex, sexuality, marital status, pregnancy, race, physical or intellectual impairment or age
1984: Richard Llewellyn became the first Disability Advisor to the Premier¼br> 1985: South Australian Associations Incorporations Act enabled non-profit organizations to perform all the functions of a body corporate and limit members’ liability in the event of public injury or damage to property
1986: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission established by an Act of the Federal Parliament. The Commission investigates discrimination on the grounds of race, colour or ethnic origin, racial vilification, sex, sexual harassment, marital status, pregnancy, or disability
1986: DIRC moved to its current premises at 195 Gilles Street
1986: Disability Services Act passed by the Commonwealth Government to provide services to people with disabilities
1987: Equal Employment Opportunity Act passed by the Commonwealth Government to promote equal opportunity in employment for women and persons in designated groups (including persons with a physical or mental disability)
1989: Leveda formed by a group of parents whose children were moving from Ru Rua Nursing Home to live in the Community
1989: Ru Rua Nursing Home closed down
1989: Arts in Action incorporated to promote access and participation in the arts by all people with disabilities
1990s
1992: Disability Discrimination Act passed by the Commonwealth Government to eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination against persons on the ground of disability
1993: Disability Services Act established by the State Government to provide for the funding and provision of disability services
1993: The United Nations produced the United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
1993: Spastic Centres of South Australia (SCOSA) established two independent organisations, the Community Accommodation and Respite Agency (CARA) and Community Access Services (CAS)
1996: The National Disability Advisory Council was set up to foster links between government, people with disabilities and their families. It provided advice on disability issues to the Minister for Family and Community Services and encouraged consultation between the Australian Government and the disability sector
1996: Abilympics South Australia Incorporated was formed. A not-for-profit organisation established to promote the vocational skills and talents of people with a disability through a range of high profile events.
1998: The State Disability Sports Program was established to expand pathways for people with a disability under the auspices of mainstream sport
