|
| The fountain
at the top of King William Street
|
Adelaide (including Burnside, Fort
Glanville, Glenelg)
Capital city of South Australia. A pleasant,
gracious city which still retains the feeling of
a large country town.
Adelaide is so neat and regular. Spread out on
either side of the Torrens River on the flat
coastal plain between Gulf St Vincent and the
Mount Lofty Ranges it lies, an overgrown country
town, laid out in a series of neat, easy to
follow, grids. Of course it was planned - even
before it was settled.
In 1829 Edward Gibbon Wakefield proposed a
scheme for careful and systematic colonisation.
The plan was to sell lots of Crown Land and to
use the money to pay for the emigration of
labourers. After two abortive attempts to
activate the proposal it finally became a
reality in 1834 when the South Australian
Association was formed. It was soon after this
that Wakefield quit the organisation arguing
that the price of land was too low. At this
stage things were looking rather unpromising for
the new colony.
Still, in spite of these problems, a fleet of
eight ships captained by John Hindmarsh left
England and arrived at Holdfast Bay (now
Glenelg) on 28 December 1836.
|
| The tram
terminus at Glenelg on the coast
|
The settlers were forced to camp at Holdfast
Bay while Colonel William Light, the colony's
first Surveyor-General, chose a suitable site
for the future settlement.
Light and Hindmarsh disagreed over the
location of the site. Light was accused of
building the city away from the sea (to the
maritime-minded British this was an unforgivable
error) on an alluvial mud plain which was dusty
in summer and muddy in winter.
He also designed the city along a clearly
defined grid pattern with the two major centres
- Adelaide Central and North Adelaide -
surrounded by parklands. The effect was to be a
city which looked like a square figure eight.
The result, still evident today, is that
Adelaide is carefully planned and neatly
geometric.
He later replied to his critics: 'The reasons
that led me to fix Adelaide where it is I do not
expect to be generally understood or calmly
judged of at the present. My enemies, however,
by disputing their validity in every particular,
have done me the good service of fixing the
whole of the responsibility upon me. I am
perfectly willing to bear it; and I leave it to
posterity, and not to them, to decide whether I
am entitled to praise or to blame.'
Today few would dispute the verdict that
Light is 'entitled to praise'. However some have
seen Light's sharp-edged street plan as a symbol
of the kinds of people who live in Adelaide.
Randolph Bedford, a politician and regular
contributor to The Bulletin, wrote in 1905:
'Adelaide is...rectangular in its streets, and
therefore precise in its ways; its conduct a
peculiar mixture of democratic progress and
Cornish religiousness - its austerity modified
by the climate.
The next fifteen months saw the colony
degenerate into near-chaos. The land near the
site of modern-day Adelaide had been surveyed
and sold by March 1837 but surveys of country
areas were delayed and simple supply and demand
meant that property speculation became the
colony's main industry. Speculation meant that
little land was used for agricultural purposes
and so a black market in imported food and
supplies flourished.
By 1840, only three years after first
settlement, the colony had a population of 14
000 free settlers but was totally bankrupt. It
was in this year that the South Australia
Company, determined that the city would succeed,
developed the wharves and warehouses at Port
Adelaide, and built a road between the port and
the emerging city.
Fortunately the city was saved from economic
ruin in 1842 when huge copper deposits were
found at Kapunda. Three years later more copper
was discovered at Burra.
Today there is no city in Australia quite
like Adelaide. There are images of Adelaide with
the slow-flowing River Torrens, the beautiful
parks and, inevitably, the churches. Dubbed 'the
city of churches' it is more the serenity of the
city than the actual number of churches which
conjures up this notion of religious commitment.
|
| Looking up
King William Street |
It has a country town friendliness with an
urbanity which gives it a distinctively European
feel. It is a city which can still be traversed,
from north to south and through the 'main
street', King William Road, without having to
contend with traffic jams. Even at peak hour it
is possible to drive into the city with a
minimum of delay and anxiety.
With a population of nearly a million people
Adelaide is Australia's fourth largest city. It
is one of Australia's few planned cities and its
broad streets give it a sense of openness and
cleanliness which is missing from the more
haphazardous developments of Sydney and
Melbourne.
It is a typical Mediterranean-style city. Not
only does it enjoy a typical Mediterranean
climate with an average rainfall of 560 mm and a
temperature range from 15°C (July) to 29°C
(February) - it typically experiences at least
18 days above 35°C in the summer months - but it
is designed for outdoor living. Its malls,
parks, and the Torrens River flowing through its
centre are all conducive to leisurely walks,
picnics and 'promenading'.
|
| Jolley¹s
Boathouse on the River Torrens
|
In the last half century, like all Australian
cities, Adelaide has sprawled. Its suburbs now
spread for nearly 40 km to the south reaching
almost to the McLaren Vale wine growing area. To
the east they nestle into the Adelaide Hills
and, to the north, they spill into the
industrialised sprawl of Elizabeth (named after
the reigning monarch and developed in the
mid-1950s) and Salisbury.
Adelaide was originally a 'farinaceous
village' meaning that it originally was the
centre of a successful wheat growing area. By
the 1850s its economic base had expanded and the
hinterland was producing wool, fruit and wines
which were being shipped out through the port.
The twentieth century has seen this city,
named after King William IV's wife Queen
Adelaide, become a typical multi-purpose modern
city. It boasts a strong manufacturing base -
chemicals, electrical goods, textiles, motor
vehicles, steel tubes; has its own oil refinery
at Port Stanvac thirty km to the south; is the
state's administrative and cultural centre; and
is an ideal location for sport, recreation and
tourism.
|
| The statue of
John McDouall Stuart at the end of King
William Street |
But all this misses the heart of Adelaide
which is its urbanity and sophistication. Often
the brunt of jokes - Max Gillies used to portray
the typical Adelaide dweller a chap with a
rather plummy accent wearing a pink shirt and
cravat and speaking of 'things cultural' in a
restaurant while sipping from a glass of white
wine - Adelaide really has managed to capture
the cultural high ground in recent years. Its
Festival Centre, on the banks of the River
Torrens, boasts three theatres and an outdoor
amphitheatre. The Adelaide Festival of Arts has
attracted major artists from all over the world.
And Adelaide, for its population, has more
restaurants than any other Australian city.
Its attractiveness seems to have been
perfectly captured by the little known novelist
Doris Egerton Jones who wrote: 'Adelaide is just
a beautiful place; we drove through its nice
broad streets and past the Parklands. I think
the big stretches of green bordered with trees
look so cool and countrified within three
minutes of the heart of the city. And then the
little gardens of scarlet and purple dotted
amongst the close-kept lawns and the bank of
colour on the Torrens side, and the low riot of
gold and green in the shade of the plane-trees
before the Oval.'
Things to see:
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| Adelaide from
a lookout in the Adelaide Hills
|
Adelaide's Main Attractions
Any visit to Adelaide is really a three-pronged
exercise. There are the historic buildings, the
parks and malls, and the interesting outlying
suburbs.
Art Gallery
Located in North Terrace the Art Gallery of
South Australia is open from 10.00 a.m. - 5.00
a.m. daily. Admission is free. It is known
particularly for its wide range of early prints
and drawings. It also has excellent displays of
south-east Asian ceramics.
Ayers House
Situated at 288 North Terrace, Ayers House is an
elegant Regency building which was built in 1846
for William Paxton. In 1855 the building was
acquired by Sir Henry Ayers, the prominent South
Australian businessman and politician (he was
State premier), who carried out substantial
extensions to the original structure. In 1858 he
added a library and built a number of bedrooms
at the back and in 1859 he added the large
eastern drawing room (used sometimes as a
ballroom) and the two bow windows at the front.
The extensions were finally completed in 1874
when the western wing was added. Ayers continued
to live in the house until his death in 1897.
During that time Ayers House was used as a
residence where he entertained large numbers of
prominent dignitaries. Today the house, which
has been restored by the South Australian
Government, is open for inspection. It houses
the National Trust of South Australia.
|
| View across
Adelaide from North Terrace
|
Botanic Gardens
One of the most delightful botanic gardens in
Australia, this delightful and historic garden
was established in 1855. Open from 7.00 am until
a variable closing time it is a cool escape
beside the Torrens River. Among the most
impressive displays is the Museum of Economic
Botany, a new glasshouse (reputedly the largest
in the southern hemisphere it offers a display
of tropical rainforest complete with a
permanently dripping roof), a magnificent
wisteria arbour and an avenue of Moreton Bay
figs which were originally planted in 1866. Of
equal interest is the State Herbarium, an
institute for research which boasts a collection
of more than half a million dried plants from
all over the world. The collection of South
Australian orchids and mushrooms is considered
to be of national importance. The Herbarium is
located in the south-east corner of the Botanic
Garden. For further information contact the
Adelaide Botanic Garden on (08) 8228 2311.
|
| Festival Hall
across the River Torrens
|
Festival Centre
An impressive arts complex on the banks of the
Torrens River, the Festival Centre comprises a
drama theatre, a lyric theatre, an open air
amphitheatre, an experimental theatre and a
multipurpose concert hall. The centre of the
Adelaide Arts Festival the complex offers a
range of interesting cultural activities
throughout the year. Tours of the complex are
offered. Contact (08) 8216 8713.
Adelaide Gaol
Located off Port Road which runs west from North
Terrace, the old Adelaide Gaol is open to
visitors for self-guided tours Sunday through to
Friday between 11.00 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. Guided
tours are available on Sundays at 11.00 a.m.,
midday and 1.00 p.m. The brochure available on
the gaol offers a succinct history: 'Adelaide
Gaol is more than 147 years old. It was one of
the public buildings constructed by Governor
George Gawler which marked the transformation of
early Adelaide into a permanent settlement.
'The first stage of the building was opened
in 1841, with the remainder of the half decagon
design completed in 1847 ... Both remand and
sentenced prisoners were accommodated at the
Adelaide Gaol. Female prisoners were housed in
the gaol until 1969 ... Adelaide Gaol was used
for the confinement of prisoners as recently as
February, 1988. Their graffiti adorns the walls
and their magazines are still scattered in the
cells.' 45 hangings took place at the gaol, at
four separate locations. Notable in the gaol is
the original bell which dates from 1837 (it was
made in 1837 and arrived in Adelaide in 1841),
the graves area where all inmates hanged at the
gaol are buried, and the unusual carved faces at
the entrance.
Holy Trinity Church
Located at 87 North Terrace this Anglican church
is known as 'The pioneer church of South
Australia'. The foundation stone was laid by
Governor Hindmarsh in 1838. It was rebuilt and
enlarged in 1844 and again in 1888. The church
clock was made by Vulliamy, the clockmaker to
King William IV and Queen Adelaide. More
information about the church is available by
contacting (08) 8212 2311
Migration Museum
Located at 82 Kintore Avenue off North Terrace
and open from 10.00-5.00 (Monday and Friday) and
1.00 p.m. -5.00 p.m. (weekends), the Migration
Museum is 'a social history of South Australian
immigration and settlement'. A combination of
photographs, computerised information, recreated
hostel rooms, and audio visual displays it
offers a rare and interesting overview of
Australia's migration programs since the early
nineteenth century. The only museum of its kind
in Australia it was opened in 1986. Entry is
free.
South Australian Museum
One of the substantial nineteenth century
buildings on the northern side of North Terrace,
the South Australian Museum contains five floors
of natural and cultural history with particular
emphasis on the fossils, animals and minerals of
South Australia. It also has impressive
collections of Aboriginal and Pacific Island
artifacts ranging from a Trobriand Island
Trading vessel to a special Aboriginal Dreaming
exhibition.
Parliament House
The Old Parliament House is located on North
Terrace just west of King William Street. Open
from 10.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. Monday - Friday and
12.00 - 5.00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, this
award winning museum with its sophisticated
audio visual displays, its 'South Australia
Story' show and shop and restaurant offers an
excellent over view of the political and social
history of South Australia. The building itself,
nestled between the current Parliament House and
the Adelaide Railway Station was built in 1855
and is a fine example of one of Adelaide's early
public buildings.
St Francis Xavier's Cathedral
Located in Wakefield Street, this impressive
building is the centre for Roman Catholic
worship in Adelaide. It was built progressively
between 1856 and 1926. Like St Mary's Cathedral
in Sydney it has never been completed. The
absence of the spire is notable. For more
information about times of mass contact (08)
8231 3551
Tandanya
Tandanya is the home of the National Aboriginal
Cultural Institute and is located in the East
End Precinct of the city. The brochure explains
that it 'provides a unique opportunity in
Australia for visitors to experience living
Aboriginal culture in its historic context.
Visitors may observe the production of artifacts,
enjoy traditional and contemporary music,
theatre and dance, and purchase Aboriginal art
and craft of integrity - all on the one site.'
Managed and controlled by local Aborigines
Tandanya is an excellent opportunity to explore
the culture of South Australian Aborigines while
remaining within the Adelaide city limits. The
name 'Tandanya' means 'place of the kangaroo',
the original name for the Adelaide city area
used by the Kaurna people, the original land
owners of the region.
Telecommunications Museum
A genuinely fascinating and unusual museum
conveniently located in the city centre at 131
King William Street (tel: (08) 8230 6601) it has
separated sections devoted to Wireless
Telegraphy, Beyond 2000, Early Home Receivers,
Telephony, External Plant, Radio Transmission,
Optical Fibre, Telegraphy and Machine
Telegraphy. Given South Australia's importance
in the history of Australian telecommunications
(particularly the connection of the Overland
Telegraph Line with Europe) it is appropriate
that this museum, which is open from 10.30 a.m.
- 3.30 p.m. (admission free) should be housed in
Adelaide.
Adelaide Zoo
Located close to the city centre on the banks of
the Torrens River and surrounded by the city's
superb Botanic Park, the Zoo is over 100 years
old. Inevitably this means that its 1500 exotic
and native mammals, birds and reptiles are
housed in a setting characterised by its
Victorian elegance. Its popular attractions
include an Australian Wetlands Exhibit, a
walk-through Australian Rainforest Exhibit and a
recreation of Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island. The
zoo prides itself in its collection of
endangered species which include the Golden-lion
Tamarin, Red Panda, Scimitar-horned Oryx and
Persian leopard. It is open from 9.30 a.m. -
5.00 p.m. every day of the year.
This is, inevitably, a brief list of the city
centre's highlights. Beyond these are literally
dozens of interesting buildings and the visitor
will certain want to explore the Rundle Mall and
perhaps experience Hindley Street at night,
Adelaide's answer to Kings Cross. Further
information can most readily be obtained from
the city's Information Centre on the corner of
King William Street and North Terrace, directly
opposite the South Australian Parliament.
Suburban Adelaide
Fort Glanville
Located 14 km north-west of the city Fort
Glanville is an extraordinary collection of
buildings which serve as a reminder of our
colonial commitment to Britain. Throughout the
nineteenth century the Australian colonies had
always been eager to involve themselves in
Britain's military adventures. It was this
eagerness which resulted in the joint decision
by the Governor of South Australia, Sir William
Jervois (a military engineer and expert on
coastal defence) and Lieutenant-Colonel Peter
Scratchley, to build a number of defensive forts
along the coast of Gulf St Vincent.
Fort Glanville was designed by Scratchley,
the contract for its construction was
£15,893/12/7, and building commenced in 1878. By
the end of 1880 the fort was completed and the
guns had been mounted and fired. Its life was
short. By 1900 it was being maintained by a
caretaker.
The fort declined rapidly. It was used
briefly during World War I, by the 1930s it was
a campsite for Boy Scouts and, in 1937, most of
the metal on the site was removed for scrap. It
was sold to the State Government in 1951 and in
1981 was opened to the public. Today this
interesting building with its barracks, stores,
ramparts and guns, is a fascinating reminder of
an interesting footnote in our colonial history.
It is open the third Sunday of each month from
1.00 p.m. - 5.00 p.m. For more information
contact (08) 8337 0077.
Burnside
6 km east of the city is the suburban district
known as the City of Burnside. Located in the
foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges the area was
first settled by Peter Anderson in 1839.
Anderson took up a land grant at Second Creek
and built a house which he called 'Burnside'
(the Scottish word 'burn' means 'creek' or
'river'). In 1840 the settlement consisted of
four houses. Things changed dramatically when,
in 1849, the South Australian Company laid out
the future township. The lots were auctioned on
6 September 1849 with the area being sold as 'A
limpid stream meanders through it, producing
luxuriant, diversified and perennial verdure.
Amid the wattle and other native flower shrubs,
appear the gorgeous rose, the clinging
honeysuckle, the wayward strawberry, a forest of
Cape gooseberries and even the weeping willow
inclines its graceful form and extends its
valedictory arms over the stream which has
nurtured it since the foundation of the Colony.'
The city of Burnside has produced four
excellent tour guides to Rose Park,
Knightsbridge and Waterfall Gully. They are all
available at the Burnside Library and cover, in
excellent detail, the district's main historic
features.
Marble Hill, which was the former summer
residence of the South Australian governors, was
built in 1879 and destroyed by bushfires in
1955. It is open Saturdays and Public Holidays
1.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m., Sundays 10.00 a.m. - 5.00
p.m. and Wednesdays 1.00 p.m. - 5.00 p.m.
|
| The Buffalo,
a tourist attraction sailing boat at
Glenelg |
Glenelg
No visit to Adelaide is complete without a 10 km
trip down to Glenelg. Today it is a typical
seaside resort, all-the-fun-of-the-fair, place
for Adelaide people to visit. Historically it
was where Adelaide really started. This was the
place where, on 28 December 1836 Governor
Hindmarsh proclaimed South Australia a British
province. It was originally named Holdfast Bay
(apparently because some ships successfully rode
out a gale) but this was changed to Glenelg,
after Lord Glenelg, the Secretary of State for
Colonies, in 1837.
Early life at Glenelg (while Colonel Light
decided on Adelaide as the major settlement) was
impossibly hard. The settlers lived in mud huts
and tents for nearly six months. It is hard to
imagine this as you marvel at the ornateness of
the Town Hall, walk along the jetty, play
mini-golf in the huge Amusement Park, or watch
the trams come and go along Jetty Road.
Of particular historic interest is the Old
Gum Tree (now bent so that it forms an arch)
where Governor Hindmarsh reputedly read the
proclamation declaring South Australia a British
colony.
A replica of the HMS Buffalo, the ship in
which Governor Hindmarsh arrived, is located
north of the centre of Glenelg. It is used as a
restaurant Contact (08) 8294 7000 for bookings.
ACCOMMODATION
Detailed information on Adelaide's wide range of
hotels, motels and private accommodation is
available from the Tourism South Australia
Travel Centre which is located in the centre of
the city at 1 King William Street. Tel: (08)
8212 1505. It is important to remember that even
such outlying suburbs as Glenelg and Port
Adelaide are no more than 20 minutes from the
city centre - even in peak hour. Therefore the
visitor should not restrict their accommodation
options to the city centre unless they need to
be located there.
EATING
Many of Adelaide's hotels and motels have copies
of Dining Adelaide a list of 'Forty of
Adelaide's Most Popular Menus'. The emphasis is
on 'menus' which are actually reproduced in the
publication.
More information is available from Tourism
South Australia Travel Centre which is located
in the centre of the city at 1 King William
Street. Tel: (08) 8212 1505. Their small booklet
Your Guide to Adelaide & Attractions (which is
provided free) has an extensive of city
restaurants and eateries
