262 South Terrace, Adelaide
The building at 262 South Terrace, Adelaide, was home to the South Australian Deaf community and many of its organisations from 1927 until 2014. The South Australian Deaf and Dumb Mission moved there when its original premises in nearby Wright Street became too small. Over the years the building grew and evolved and was home to many community organisations. It hosted events, conferences, sporting gatherings and was the birthplace of significant organisations such as the Australian Association of the Deaf. It was the last of the old Deaf Society buildings in Australia to close. The South Australian Deaf community has a strong attachment to the site, and its heritage and significance are still celebrated.
1928
The Mission's new building
The South Australian Deaf and Dumb Mission began building their new premises at 262 South Terrace in 1926, and the building was officially opened by the Mayor in 1927. The Mission and the Deaf community moved into the new building in 1928.
Heritage items from the 262 South Terrace building
This grandfather clock was in the building at 262 South Terrace from its earliest days. It has a small plaque saying that it was donated to the Ladies Room in 1926 by the “Deaf Ladies Working Bee” – so it may have been in the previous building on Wright Street, before being installed in the new building at 262 South Terrace.Â
The plaque commemorates Eugene Salas, a deaf man who worked as the first Missioner (or Missionary) at the South Australian Deaf and Dumb Mission, from 1893 until his death in 1915. It was brought from the previous building in Wright Street, and was displayed on the wall of the chapel at 262. Eugene Salas’ descendants (deaf and hearing) continue to be involved in the South Australian Deaf community today.
The Chapel
1956
Plans for Alterations to 262 South Terrace
These plans for “Proposed Alterations and Additions” to the 262 building were drawn up in 1956. Do they reflect the actual alterations that were made?Â
1985
Deaf community fingerspelling tapestry
This tapestry hung in the entryway of the 262 building from 1985 until it closed in 2014. Its creation was a community project – a group of 27 people (mostly deaf, with some hearing family and friends) in South Australia worked with an experienced tapestry artist to stitch and assemble the letters of the fingerspelling alphabet. An iconic South Australian work of art, it featured in an exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia called “Radical Textiles” during 2024-2025. The tapestry can also be seen in the video below.
1986
Heritage Certificate
This certificate confirms that the building on South Terrace Adelaide has been placed on the Register of State Heritage Items. It appears that there is a mistake with the street number; the building is at 262 South Terrace, not 264.
It was interesting to see that the Deaf Society board appealed against the heritage listing, ‘on the grounds that it would restrict the Society’s ability to manage its total assets for the benefit of future generations of the deaf.’ However, their appeal was rejected by the Heritage Register, as ‘the building was of significance, both historically and architecturally.’ (Royal South Australian Deaf Society 94th Annual Report, 1985, p. 4)
1992
Deaf Festival
South Australian Deaf community members gather in Osmond Gardens, opposite the Royal South Australian Deaf Society building at 262 South Terrace (you can see the building in the background). This gathering was at the first Deaf Festival, in 1992.
Late 1990s
Sign On video
This video was created by La Trobe University for their “Sign On” series in the late 1990s. It shows the 262 South Terrace building – outside and inside. It includes interviews with members of the South Australian Deaf community
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