Torrens Building the Real Property Act 1858, which provides for the Torrens Title system, developed in South Australia and adopted around the world. The plaque was unveiled on 1 July 1958 by then Lieutenant Governor of South Australia, Sir Mellis Napier. The Torrens Building houses an honour board displaying the names of Government of South Australia employees killed in World War I. Torrens Building The Torrens Building, named after Sir Robert Richard Torrens, is a State Heritage listed building on the corner of Victoria Square and Wakefield Street in Adelaide, South Australia. Originally known as the Government Offices, the Torrens Building has
River Torrens after him. In 1867, prison labour from Adelaide Gaol was used to build a wooden dam near the site of the current weir. The dam was poorly constructed and almost immediately the Torrens washed it away. Construction of a permanent concrete weir was begun in November 1880 and completed, at a cost of £7,000, in 1881. The sluice gates were closed to begin filling the Torrens Lake on 1 July 1881. At the lake's official opening on 21 July 1881 an estimated 40,000, almost the entire population of Adelaide, attended. During the 1889 flood, the weir was overwhelmed, its gates