The Adelaide Establishment is the name given to the group of wealthy landowners and industrialists who have played a considerable role in the history of South Australia since its foundation in 1836. Based primarily in South Australia's capital Adelaide, the Adelaide Establishment is economically, politically and socially conservative and seeks to preserve a rigid social hierarchy and laissez-faire economic system. While the power of the Adelaide Establishment has waned over the decades, members continue to play a role in the running of Adelaide and South Australia.