Adelaide University reveals Kaurna name
Adelaide University will be the first university in Australia to have an Aboriginal name enshrined in its founding act.
Alongside its English name, Adelaide University will also be known by the Kaurna word ‘Tirkangkaku’, meaning “place of learning”.
The name was proposed by senior Kaurna Elder Dr Uncle Lewis Yarlupurka O’Brien AO in consultation with Aboriginal staff and the University of South Australia’s Purkarninthi Elders in Residence.
In a joint statement, current Adelaide University co-vice chancellors, professors David Lloyd and Peter Høj, said the name marks “an important step in embedding First Nations culture and truth-telling for new generations”.
“Tirkangkaku represents a convergence of where people, communities and disciplines will meet a two-way knowledge exchange and step forward together through excellence and equity with a deep commitment to togetherness and an intertwined future,” the pair said.
Professor Steve Larkin, who is Indigenous deputy vice chancellor at Adelaide University, said the institution “will build on the legacies of its foundation institutions to break down intergenerational cycles of disadvantage and ensure that First Nations perspectives and knowledges inform outstanding research and innovative teaching to define a new chapter”.
“We are honoured to have been bestowed a name in Kaurna language and to establish Adelaide University as a place where the world’s oldest culture will contribute to cutting-edge discovery,” he said.
“Learning is never passive and this is reflected in the Kaurna suffix ‘nindi’, which means becoming or transforming into – and this is the spirit in which Tirkangkaku is anchored.”
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Adelaide University will also commission a First-Nations-led artwork to “support the integration of Tirkangkuku into the institution’s visual identity”.
Adelaide University is scheduled to open in January 2026 and is expected to have around 70,000 students, with international students making up roughly 25 per cent of enrolments.
The new university will have a dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Pathway program and will launch an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Strategy, with the aim of creating “an inclusive and responsive institution” and “to strengthen Indigenous knowledge, partnerships, and outcomes”.
The University of Adelaide had 294 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in 2022, while the University of South Australia had 330 Aboriginal students in 2021.
