Proclamation Day in 2024

When is Proclamation Day?

Proclamation Day in South Australia is a public holiday on the next working day after Christmas day, which means it replaces Boxing Day in South Australia.

If 26 December is a Saturday, the following Monday is the public holiday. If a Sunday or Monday, that and the following Tuesday are both public holidays.

The holiday celebrates the announcement of South Australia as a British province on 28 December 1836.

History of Proclamation Day

By December 1836, eight British ships had arrived in the region near modern day Adelaide and the settlers had set up a camp near a creek known as the Patawalonga.

The vice-regal proclamation announcing the establishment of the province was read by British Governor Captain John Hindmarsh's secretary George Stevenson beside The Old Gum Tree at the present-day suburb of Glenelg North in Adelaide on 28 December 1836.

Did you know?

Adelaide was named in honour of 'Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen', queen consort to King William IV, the reigning monarch of Great Britain in 1836.

A formal ceremony to mark the occasion, involving officials and politicians, is still held at the Old Gum Tree.

December 28 used to be a public holiday in South Australia, but the public holiday was moved to December 26 so it coincided with the day which other states mark as Boxing Day.