Upon the release of this book, Graeme Davison from Monash University stated:

'The Wakefield Companion to South Australian History is likely to become the standard reference on the state's history, and an indispensable aid to students, journalists, local historians and South Australian patriots. It contains hundreds of well-researched, compact entries on events and movements, institutions and industries as well as longer essays on major themes from Aboriginal-European Conflict and Aboriginal Histories to Wages and Water.'