Ayers House - Adelaide, South Australia

Emma B.

Absolutely fantastic time. Great food, fabulous service, can't wait to come back for the Mother's Day celebration. Thanks everyone for a wonderful day.

Katrina M.

Long lunch was delightful. Good food, bottomless spritz and wine was fantastic value and staff super friendly and helpful. Highly recommend ⭐️

Amelia E. (. E. P.

Classic, beautiful, and full of charm. Ayers House is a go-to for couples looking for that timeless, old-world glamour.

Nadia M. C. L.

Absolutely fantastic venue! The staff were amazing, super attentive and made everything run smoothly. The food was delicious, and the place itself is stunning. Couldn’t have asked for a better experience.

Ellen A.

My partner and I had our engagement at Ayers house and it was so lovely! Shout out to all the staff that night especially Nat, who made sure everything was done on time and made the night so easy. Ria, who put up with my endless emails and making that night come to life and the lovely gentleman who helped set up all the tables and make that room so special! We will definitely be back!

Joy

We had a high tea for our daughters 16th birthday for 19 people it was fantastic Natalia was amazing she did such a good job filling drinks and bringing food etc i would highly recommend

Danita G.

We had our wedding reception at Ayers House on the 4th of April 2025. We were lucky enough to celebrate in the Conservatory, and it was everything we had dreamed of—stunning, light-filled, and beautifully styled.

Ria, our event manager, looked after us with such care. She was incredibly patient, kind, and ensured everything ran smoothly from start to finish. We couldn’t have asked for a better person to guide us through the day.

The food was exceptional, our guests are still raving about it! Every detail was taken care of, making the entire experience seamless and stress-free.

We highly recommend Ayers House to anyone planning a wedding or special event. It was truly a day we’ll never forget.

Goose

Ayers House – The House of History

I attended a truly unforgettable event at Ayers House on 7 May 2025, featuring presentations by Dr Natalie Harkin and Dr Skye Krichauff—two leading South Australian scholars who are doing the critical work of truth-telling around this state's colonial history and its ongoing impact on First Nations peoples.

There was a profound and poignant irony in the choice of venue. Ayers House is one of Adelaide’s most iconic colonial buildings, named after Sir Henry Ayers, a five-time Premier of South Australia and influential figure in the state’s early mining boom. His wealth and social standing were largely built on the profits of the Burra Burra copper mine—an enterprise that played a key role in the dispossession and displacement of the Ngadjuri people, the traditional custodians of that land. Ayers was a pillar of the colonial establishment that enabled and profited from the systemic exploitation of Aboriginal communities.

To sit within the polished grandeur of this mansion and listen to Dr Harkin speak of the state-sanctioned domestic servitude imposed on Aboriginal women and girls—including her own family—was nothing short of confronting. Her archival-poetic work, Whitewash–Brainwash, reveals a hidden labour history of forced assimilation, surveillance, and racial control that contrasts starkly with the polished image of colonial progress that Ayers House once symbolised.

Dr Skye Krichauff’s work on the South Australian Frontier Massacres Project further dismantled the myth of peaceful settlement in this state. Her presentation made visible the brutal realities of frontier violence and the silence that has long surrounded it in mainstream histories.

That this kind of truth-telling is happening within the very halls that once represented elite colonial power is a powerful act of reclamation. Ayers House is no longer just a monument to colonial grandeur—it is being transformed into a space for education, accountability, and healing.

The curatorial direction of the House of History is to be applauded. Events like this show that Ayers House is evolving beyond mere nostalgia. It is becoming a venue for reckoning with South Australia's complex past and for amplifying the voices that colonialism attempted to silence.

The staff were welcoming and the event was thoughtfully curated, with a respectful and engaged audience. The space itself remains architecturally stunning, but on this occasion, it was the stories being shared that took centre stage.

Highly recommend visiting Ayers House not only for its historical architecture but especially for exhibitions and events that challenge, educate, and inspire. It is a place where the past is not merely preserved—it is interrogated, reclaimed, and reimagined.