T}IE AIH-AIIE PARI(.

ANDS

A HISTffiY ff ALIEMTION

by
,J.W. DALY, BEc, BA(Hons), Dip.yl,.

This thesis is submitted in furfilment of the req.uiremenLs for the

Master of Arts Degree in History, Uni-versity of Adelaide, 1980.
A war-d¿d Apri\ ¡qç{
 )

t'A d¿Íai.ted h,í¿tanA oú aone og theaø

erutoonlweytf.s lon the Adehøíde Pqnklnnd¿l
wotúd be arvt¿ing, ahowíng how {ttom
¿molL beginwLng¿ the in sígn L{icanf.
\ut oóandthz aqua,ttut, bg oald,íng a pieee
huø dqu.al.íng 0. cotLylul thue, ho.s
g,Lrdila,{"Lq gzouel itttp a bwí,t-ding o$
ne.specÍnbÍe dinen¿io ytÁ .,,

G.S. Kíngston
Letter to the Advertiser
12th November 1877.

sir George Kingston, speaker of Nhe House of Asselnbly r',ras Assistant

Surveyor General to Colonel William Li.ght 1n 1836.

I
 PREFACE

This thesis descri-bes the method"s by r¡rhich sectj-ons

of the Adelaide Parklands have been allenated since l.g56.
To complete thi.s task r was fortu¡rate to have the
advice of people v¡ho rea,d and commented on varlous chapters.
r particularly thank Bill Marchant, forner controller of
Drafting services, Land.s Department, recently retired., who
is probably the most knowledgeable person on ¡natters related
to the government reserves in the Adelaid.e parklands.
Harry suckling, the former Deputy Town clerk of the Adelaide
city council provided eomments and gave me access to some
valuabl-e private records. ÞTy supervi-sor, Hugh stretton has
stretched my understanding of the subject and. attempted to
hurnanise '"*hat could be a dry institutj_onal history. Noel
Lothian, Retiring Director, Botanic Gard.ens ma.de sorTre useful
comrnents on chapter Two. Don Ridley, Manager of property
services, Fublic Buildings Department and. John lvlayfield.,
Director of Edùcational Facilities, Education Departrnent read"
a.nd commented on chapter six. val Ellis, Director of the
Health, Parks and cornmr.rnÍty services Depa.rtment, Adelaide city
council made valuable comnents on chapters seven, Eight and
Nine. Finall¡r, sue Lysiak patiently tlrped. nui:Ìerous d.rafts,
little realising at tlee outset, the wortrc involved.
 I{any other unnamed people indireetly contributed. to
my understa.nding of the Adelaide Farklands, being one of
the finest examples of urban reereation open space surroqnd^ing
a rnajçr cÍty, but the responsibility of the presentation of
the ¡naterial contai:red in this thesis r¡ust remai.n mine.
 STATEMENT

This thesis contains no material which has been

accepted for the award of any degree or diploma in any
University, and to the best of my knowledge and. belief,,
it contains no materj-al previously published or written
by any person, except where due reference is made in
the text

Signed.
J.I{. DALY
December, 1980.
 T"{BLE OF COI'JTE}ITS

Page Nii"'nbers
fntroduction 1.
Chapter One : The Origiùs of the Parklands 4,
Chapter Two Preservation Under Pressure a7.
the acquisition of the Farklands

PART Oi\Tã
Government serves in the Parklands
Chapter Three l.Torth East Parklands - a clash 32,
betr*een instituiional use and
public acce,ss
Chapter Fou-r Public Institutions Al-ienate 76.
Open Space Along l'lorth Temace
Chapter Fi-ve TÌ:e Tmpact of Parliarnent, Ralh*ays 126.
and Culture on the Parlilands
Chanter Six Other Governrilent Reserves in the 158.
Parklands

PAR? TIÍO
:\del-¿¡.icle Citv Counc-fi-a*.ËFüstee of the Parkla.nd-s
Chaoter Seven The ,tdelaide City Co'".mc1l as 204.
Managers of th.e Parklands
Chanter Eight l,lajor Sports Users of 'uhe 23o.
Parklands
Chai:ter hline Recreai.Íon Use of the Parklanos 262.

Conclusions - And A Look Ahead 2gg.

Anpendices 296.
Bibliography 327.
 IT,TTRODUCTTON

colonel \'I1l1iarn Light planned either by accident or

design, a uni-que belt of Parklands around Adelaide. This
priceless urba.n open space is recognised. as a signifi_cant
contributi_on to tol,¡n planning,
Even before the location of Ad.efaide was deciced by
Light in 18f6 there was conflict among vested interests.
These inclu,led Governor Hindnarsh who wanted a city on the
coast rvith an adjacent port. Also there- hrere land. hungry
settlers who could not v¡ait for surveys to be compreted".
other conf,licts particularly related. to the use of tv¡o
thousand three hundred acres of prine land that surround.ed
a grorrring city provic-ed the unrierlying thene for this
dissertation; hence the titl-e t'A History of Alienationfr.
There were five rnain reasons for r.^¡riting this thesis.
First, the Adelaj-de Parkrands as an urban park system are of
ivorl-d inportance, thprefore they merit study in their ov¿"n
right. second, the vlsion of the parklands as conceived by
colonel Light has been blurred by expedience, ad. hoc planning,
and haphazard development. Therefore the extent of this
alienation should be documented. Third, pressure groups have
conducted successful carnpaigns resrifting i-n the alienation of
Parkland-s. Tìie process blr '..rhich indiviciuals, public institutions
and soorting organisations have achieved their objectives is
r'rorthy of study. Fourth, conflicts related to the care, control
 Zo

and management of the Parklands exist betr.veen the state

Government and the Adelaide city council. No overarl stud.y
of the Parklands development has yet been undertaken, therefore
an historical development of these matters would be of sonie
value. Fifth, changes in policv by the state Government and
the Adelaide City Council over the years have created anomalies.
Present day adninistrators and those interested. in the Farkland.s
v¡ould do v¡el1 to und"erstand hor,r past encroachments have occurred.
Special attenticn has been focussed on the nlanner, Co1onel
\{il]ian Light, the flrst surveyor-General of south Australia
in order to assess the influences from his fornrer experiences
and from his conternporaríes 1n Adelaide which helped to shape
the idea and reality of the Parklands. The dubious nrethods by
vrhich the Pariclands r/¡ere acq.u.ired and purchased b]' Governor
George Gawler, the second Governor of the ner+ corony, are
ímportant to docu-rnent.

Part one concenirates on the go1¡ernaent reserves in the

Parklands. These are identified. and their institutional uses
described in detail. over twenty-seven existi_ng users have in
many cases graduahy extended threir land over time, These
incrude government worlçs depots, rail and bus terminals,
educational institutions, cultural facilities, po]-ice, gaol
and hospital buildings. An additional thirteen institutions
no lon¡ger use the government reserves, for example the old
Police Barracks, Destitu.te As¡rlum and o1d Legislative Council
are no longer used for their original purposes.
 3

Part Two discusses the role of the Adelaide City Council

as the guard.ian of the Parklands and how Council management
policies related to the Parklands have changed over the years,
Emphasis has been placed. on the methods by vrhich sporting
organisations have been successful 1n exerting pressure to
obtain large areas for their exclusive use. In the final
chapter, an atteropt is made to trace the changing recreation
use of the Parkl-ands by the ordinary people. The values of
unstru.ctured recreation u.se and the natural environment are
important as part of the intangible pleasures thai many peorrle
fi-nd from the Parkla.nCs.
It could be consid.ered that not all the alienations of
the Parklands ï¡ere detrimental. An attempt has been made to
provlde ínformation on the underlying reasons behind the
alienation of each section. rt is up to the reader to nake
a jud.gement on whether the alienation l"ras justified. By
understanding how these have occuryed in the past, naybe future
attempts at alienation can be placed in perspective and
hopefully prevented.
 l+.

CFIÂPTER ONE

The Qrigins of the Ad^elaide parkl ands

Because the Pariclands have tieen one of the most successful

planning features of A.delaide, a great d,eal of heat but little
light has been generated. eoncerning their origins. Unfortunately
there are no public statements recorded. about the und.erlying
reasons rvhy colonel william Light, the fírst surveyor-General_
of the south Australian colony girded his capital city r,¡ith
Parklands. Perhaps no one ever th.ought to ask him! rf they
didr the records do not show any conversations on this subject.
There may have been some clues contained in Lightrs personal
and professional records, but a fire destroyed some of these
when his old house betv¡een North Terrace and the River Torrens
v¡as bu,rnt dor,.m in 183911

rramong those (records) of Colonel

Light v¡hich may be regarded as
irreplaceable was a private journal ô
of the last thirty yäars of ñis li-fe.rrZ

rn addition, Government papers and documents inclu.ding the

dispatches of Governor Gar.¡ler sent to London, .i¡rere thoughtlessly
destroyed:

rrthe boxes containing the South

Australian Colonization Comrnissioners ?

papers could not be found, although

a diligent search had been made
for them.rt 3

1 Begister, 26th January Lg3g. Reported the fire on ZZnd

January 1839, about 4 otclock in-the afternoon,
2 ibid.
1 Citv of Adela ide
Farkl-ands
ort on the Pur hase f the Ade aide
F
1BB )s ernmen er e e
 5

Because there is a lack of factuar inforrnation about the

origins of the Parklands, romantic and sonetimes improbable
theories have been proposed.. These falr into three categories.
There are the theories that maintain colonel Light used his
historical knowledge of the cities from great civi-lizations.
Perhaps the l¡id.e city streets with city squares and the
Parklands are products of classj-ca1 tïediterranean cities.4
Another of these theories v¡as that colonel Light d.rev¡ on his
military historyo and ihe grid. pattern of the city streets
resernble a typical Roroan camp of the first century A.D.5 This
theory could be extend.ed. to consj-der the surrounding parkland.s as
open space and therefore a defensive measure, in place of the
customary defensive wal-l that normally surround,ed Enropean
cities:
r¡Light v,'ould have been faniliar
the rnedieval practice of
r,v'ith
leaving an open space around
fortified towns as an additional
defensive measure - the
Aborigines vrere never so
trou.blesorne as to threaten anv
large scale hostile actj-on. n " 6

Tt quite conceivabr-e that colonel Light may have been

v¡as
influenced to some extent by the great city parks such as the
Tuileries in Paris and also the great parks of London, such as
st. James Park, Hyd.e park and l(ensington Gardens. Many of these

4 rt is interestÍng to note that for a variety of reasons

Ade,j.aide is sometimes called. rthe Athens of the south,,.
5. Gavin lrralkley, To',,"'n and Coun Planni in South Austra lia -
,{n i{istorical r orn proce
I¡ ngs o
gra caociety, South Australian Branch, e
Session L95I-52. p. '7.U-

6. sir Patrick ,{bercrombie, euoted in-rgii:lgi6]"-"' s recture

Gavin ifalkley r È rç'l
notes on The plannÍng of sderãi¿ã
 6.

great parlis:

rrr+grg
the prop.erty of the Crown,
and in th_e eighteenth century
were completely given up to the
use of the people n who ca.me to n
expect this as a rcatter of right."1

Hisiorians have concentrated. on the development of a substantial

body of knowledge rerated. to the importance of tire cit¡r in
o
hi-story." !',Tratever coloner Light l-earned. from the past; he
certainl-y anticipated by more than thirty years the urban
greenbelt and garden cities theories:

rrtv¡o generations of British and

I\Torth Ar¡lerican thinkers born in
the second half of the nineteenth
century ancl- doing most of theÍr
work in the first half of the
tvrenti-eth, developed a coherent
body-of ideas about urban design
and develoÐment. tt g

The second categorl of theories naintained. that the origins

of the Parklands l{ere inextricabl-1r }inlced to the influences on
colonel Ligh.t thrcughout his colourful career as a soldier,
adventurern sailor, artist and traveller. rt is reasonable to
assume thrat these experiences, particularly those related to
the vari-ous clti.es that he visited in his travels l,Jere of sone
significance in tire planning of Ad.elaide includj-ng the parklands:

7. Richard Kraus, Recrea -uion and Lelsr:re in l4odern Societ

Gooclyear publi nd
-_c) ompany e SO r ca
,
1971). P.r5r.
B. Lewis I''lumford". The Cit¡,' in Histo ry , Seeker and rJarburg
(London, Lg6l,
9, liugh Stretton, Urban Flannin in Rich and Poor Co untries
Oxford Universi V rESS o
 n

rrI-ight had travelled a great

deal, he was an artist of high
repute, and abo'r¡e all, he was
a soldier'. These three factors
!¡ere to a great extent resnonsible
for the resultant Adelaide and.
North Ade1aide. tt 10

childhood experiences in Asia r¡riilr his father, the founder,

planner and builder of Georgetor'm j-n Penangn l{ere an important
link witÌ: Adelaid.e, Both the father and th.e son !¡ere planners
of colonial cities. on his deathbed, colonel Light said. to
his old friend i.Iilliam Jacob that he:
rrjoi-ned the Sou.th Australian
venture because he always ¡,..'ished
to fol-lor¡¡ in his fatherrs foot-
steps as a builder of an empire.t'rr

As a cavalry officer, he served with i^iellington durlng the

Feninsul-a \'Iars. líis ability to sketch detai_}ed. and accurate
plans of enerny defensive positlons provid.ed useful intelligence
information. rn 1814, Çir Benjamin Dturban, chief of staff
to Lord Beresford, su-mmed up his service in portugal by saying;

"it is but justice to state that

I have never met a more zealous,
intrepid or intelligent officer.
He drarvs wel1, makes clear and
good reports. tt !2

rt is possible that an inter-est 1n the planning of cities and

ti.:e Parklands v¡as stinulated by his EuroÐean travels as a young

10. Parila Nage I, l'Torth Àdelai-d.e I -1 I Coud-re1r Press

(¿aerai¿e lq
11. 11.. Grenfell Prj-ce. Founders__grd pioneers of south Australia,
F.',f . Preece and. Són
1) Geoffrev Dutton, Found.er of a Ci!:¡, R.igby Limited,
(Raeraioe t96o). ffi
 a

English gentlernan:

fiin th.e interior amangernents

of streets and sq.ueres, and the
setting aside of the Parkla.nds,
it is reasonable to assume that
memories of other citiês played
a part.rr 13

Probably he also spent time in Paris '¡¡here he further d.eveloped

his d.eslgn and. artistic ta1ents.l4 rf this v¡as sor then the
fine Faris avenues and the baroque-style parks such as those
at versailles may have influenced the layout of the v¡ide
thoroughfares in the city and the sumounding parklands. Light
definitely did spend various periocÌs betr¡¡een 1814 and 1g23 in
Ïtaly and Sicily vrhere he prod.uced sketches that later appeared irr
a book.15 of the fifty-two sketches, t.r.renty-three lrere d.irectly
related to to',.ß1s, parks and other city features such as
fountains, scuares and buildings. An artist who drerv so many
tor'rns and. cities in his early life v¡ould perhans heve included
some of these feati:res in the plans for lidelaide and the
surrounding Parl,ilands :

ffit has been said that his plan

\ras influenc"{ by memories of
Catania,rr lb

7-3. City of Adelaide, l"tunicipal year Book t96j-67.' Section

prepared b]r Dr. C.
14. Geoffrey Dutton, Founder of a Cit (A¿er-ai¿e 1960) . p. g1.
11. Peter de.r''/intr. sicilia.n sg-qner::, from dravings by p. de wi.nt.
lne orl-sr-nal sl{etctìes by i.iajor Light, R.odwell and },lartin
(London-1823).
16. faula lTagel, Jþqth Adelaicie 1817-1901, (Adelaitle 1971)
E.1¿.
 ïn fact there are three sketches of this tov¡n and. also eight
sketches of Paler¡no in his book. i,vhen rnaking a critical
estj-nate of Lightrs v¡ork as a town ¡:lanner, Thonas Acams
pointed out that:

rrhis dravr-ings of Palermo shor,¡

horu he apprecia.ted the frame-
v¡ork of natura.I beauty around
the tov¡n,It aT

To e;itent the Parklands coulc be a part of the prod.uct

soÌi're
of Lightts early continental exi¡eriences. Although much of
his eariy life uas spent abrcad., he would. have made personal
visits to parks in various citíes througlr.out England. and the
importance of publ-ic conmorÌs and. the village greens v¡ould have
been understood. For example, tr^¡o hundred acres of cornnon lancl
arouncÌ the ci-ty of l{arrogate called the stray could have 'neen
visi'bed by Light as a boy '.,¡iren he l-ived r+ith his guardian a.t
Theberton HalI, suffolk. certainly, he would have visited the
grea-u London parks because these were popular places ,¡¡here many
people of all classes enjoyed the green open spaces. possibtr¡r
the id-eas of su"ch open spaces could have been included in the
planning of a ner+ coloni-al city. rt r,'oulct be difficult to
¡¡alii.a-te the e:<tent to r,..'hich influences in Colonel Light r s life
iinked to the origins of the parkland.s. At best they
']-','ere malr
have rnade a smal-l- contri-bution in an indirect r,vay to the
final pl-an:

L7. Thomas lldar¡s t The Pl-an anci. the p lanner 1836-3 , Uni-ted
trnpire, Vol, , a
 10.

frmanr,' a.ttenrpts have been made to

trace the i:l-an I s origins and th.e
sources of its authorrs inspiration,
Sone have seen a dírect connecti on
between Adelairle and a couple of
other tor,.n'ls ¡;¡hich Light haä either
served in or visited; but the
lj-kenesses are nore imag-ined than
real" tr 18

The third anC more rea.listic category of theories related

to the e¡i g_lns of the parltlands are to b,e for:nd in the
contenoorary writlngs of the l8JOts and- the specific instructions
given to Colonel I-ight by the Board of twelve Co1onj-zaiion
comnissi oners on his appointment as surveyor-General to the
colony of South Austra.lia. It r,yas questionable v¡hether mucir
to',,m planning exnertise could have been ex-oected frorn:

rra.n amateu.r body, rnixed in

character, u.nsalaried ancL
largely inex-'¡erj-enced. ro
tv

witiror-rt detaÍled knor"ledge of south Australia.n ccndj-tions,

e suir-connittee of the colonization conmission preÐar.ed- a
letter contaS.ning :-nstructions to Colonel Ligl:t, that trere
adonted by the full Board in Decenber' 18j5. The rnosi
far-rea.chí:'rg instru.ctlon rvas tl:e selection of a site for the
frrst and. major tor'¡n to be called Adelaide. This was an
â,¡,'êsorê responsibility in itself, bui the Colonization
cornmiss.ioners saw fit to list ten factors ti:at ti:.ey tirought
shou"ld be taken into a.ccount in ihe planning of Äd,elaide.

ta J.l1 Freeland. Architecture in Australia - ;\ iiistorv.

T¡ Cheshire(@--
I'T

19. A. Grenfe-!-l Pric ê The Foundation and Settlement of Soutn

.\ustralia 1 -1 al, e ê
 l_1.

Although no specific references v¡ere mad.e to the development

of the Parklands, there v¡a.s a general comment on the provision
of streets, ï'eserves for squares and. public walks that could^
have inffuenced Light in the development of the parkland.s:

ttyou make the streets of

ample'¡rj-11
v¡idtl:, and arrange them
v¡ith reference to ihe convenience
of the inhabitants and the beauty
and salul:rity of the tov¡n; you
will make the necessary reserves
for squares, public r,o'aiks and.
quays, rr 20

The specific reference to public walks coul-d have been taken

from a report by a ,sel-ect comrnittee of the House of commons
on Fublic lIalks three years before the South Australian colony
1'Ías founded. This l"ras probably read by the Liberal and
consei'vative I'iembers of trarliar¡ent r,.¡rio v¡ere on the Board. of
the colonization commission" This report outlined. the need.
for open spaces or Parklands in cities:
rrduring the last hal-f century
many enclosures of open spaces
ín the vicinity of tovrns have
teken place and litt1e or no
provisi-on has been made for
public r+alks or open spaces,
fitted to afford neens of
exercise or amusement to the
middle and humbler classes.tt 2T

rn addition, the recort rinked. public v¡alks a.nd. open spaces

direct-l-.¡ to the health of middre and rvorking class citi_zens:

zCI. Colonization mComnission of South ;\us tralia , First Annual

Repor"t 1836 ,r o i{is i'{ajestyrs Secretari¡ of sEfe-FEfe'
colonies, (1Bl bJ , Section 17 , P.13.
2f_, sel-ect comrnittee of the Flouse of commons. public HalÌrs.
Parli-amentary Papers (Government printer IF5ÐTF '
 12.

f'the provi-si-on of public r¡alks

and open spaces v¡or:ld much conduce
to the comfort, hea.lth and content
of the classes in question.u 22
It should not be tirought that the Select Committee was entirely
altruistic; because the report also emphasised the need for
open spaces to provide alternative recreaticn activities that
rn¡ould produce â nore effÍcient workforce and assist tne grovrfh
of industry;
rryour Committee feel convinced
that soroe open spaces reserveC
for the amusement (under due
regulations to preser.ve order)
of the hurnbler classes, nould
assist to v¡ean them from low
and- debasing pleasures. Great
cornplaint is rnade of drinking
houses, dog fights, and boxing
matcl:esr yet, unless soae opport-
u.nities for other recreatlon is
afford.ed to r*orking men, they
are driven to such. pursuits.
The spring to indr-rstry rvhici:
occesional recreation gives,
seerns c¿uite necessary to tlie
poor es to tìre rich.rr 23

Another specifi-c i-nstru.ction gi-ven to Colonel Light before l.le

left England '¡as that:
ttyou will nalçe yourse 1f
acquainteC, as far as practical
r,¡ith the ci-rcurnstance s rr'hich
n

have determined ihe s ites of

new to',,ms in the Unit ed States
of America, in Canada , etc. and
rnore especially in th e Austrafìan
colonies.rr 24

j'hi,t D 7
22. ¿vluo L c)o

ibid. P.B.
24. Colonization Conrnission, I'irst Annual lìeoort l816,
Section 16, P.Lz.
 lz
L)¿

Only ten weeks were available to Light from the tirne he received
his lnstructions r¿ntil he sailed for ,sou.th Australia, but it
is likely that some information related to ner.¡ tovrns was made
avaj-lable to hin. For example, there are simÍlarities betv¡een
Adel-aide and some American cities:

Îr1¡/i11ian Pennts
plan of
Philadelphia laid. out in j,6gz
with its five squares inter-
related j-n a chequerboard
arrangement of streets similar
to the city of Adelaide v¡as a.
forerunner of Adelaide and.
other colonial toì'¡ns.n Zj

One of the fealuures of Philadelphia rvas a systerir of open spaces

that separated the cj-ty from sma1ler vil-lages on the outskiris
of the Parklands or trli-bert;r lancls and. agricultural villages
in the countryside around philadelphÍarr26" Also, the LrEnfant
plan for iiashingion dral.¡rr uF in 1791 fol-lo'¡¡ed. the pattern
of squares. rn Lightts instructions, ernphasis r.vas placed on
the need to take into account examples of to,,"¡ris:

rrmore specifically ín the

Australian cclonies.u ZT

certainly infornation on the forner penal colonies of sydney

and ijobart would have been availabre to Light from
the Colonial Secretaryts Office in London:

)q charle-s c. Reade, to li.G. price ¡ lrd December a926.

South Australian Archives.
llilliarn f . Goodrnan, and. Er i c C. Freund, Principles and
Practice of Urban Plenni , Institute f or Trainine iñ
c
IJ <I n a on ashington 19 5g). P,:.z:
)'7 Colonisation Comnnission, First Ailnual Renort I A?Á
Section 16, p.ZT.
 1À

rrthere r¡trêf€ consi-cLerable efforts

at tol¡r olanning in the Crowr
settlements of Sydney, Hobart and
otirer tourls in Van Diemans Land..rt 2B

A widely circulated book in the 1B5ors detailed. specif-

ieally with the planning of Australia,and mad.e particu-lar
reference to Parklands. This pu.blication v¡as surellr known
to at least sone of the colonízation commissioners and the
book nay also have been knor'm to colonel Light. rts author
ì{as a retired public servant, J.T. l{aslen, vrho had served. in
rndia, He never saw Australia, but offered. advice to future
planners in Australia on all- sorts of topics. rt v¿as first
published in 1830 then reprinted in 1g36 before Lieht sailed
for souih Austral-ia, some of the information such as the use
of rndian elephants for survêys was totally impractical, but
the advice given on the planning of to.,,ms and the prorrision
of open space tvas almost e;<actly v¡hat Light provided for Ad,elaide:
rral] the entrances to every tov¡n
should be through a partr< that is
to sayr a_ belt of paik about a mile
or tryo in diameter sllould entirell'
surround everlr town, save and
excepting such sideå as are rvashed
by a river or lake, This v¡ould.
greatly contribute to the heal_th
of the inhe,bitants in more vays
than one, as v¡el-l as nleasure
it r.¡ould. render the sirrrounding.
Þr'ospects beautifu-l, and give a
nagnì-ficent appea.rance to the tor,"'n
from v¡hatever quarter viev¡ed.r' Zg

28. Cha.rles C. Reade,

Th.e Exa le of Pi
n¿j neers, e on .
ÐZ
L.).

2A J.T. I'iasl-en, The Friend of Australia - A plan for Exploring

rile rnterror and f'or Carrying out a Survey of the 1,'lhole
Continent of Australia,' I{ùrst, Chance and Co. (London 18fO).
P.261"
 lq.
LJ.

One major source of inspiration for colonial ernigration

and planning r,ras the south Austral-ian Literary society v¡ho:

rrdiscussed all the main problens

before the expedition l-eft, and
tor.rn planning- would ah.rost'
certainly be one.tt J0

As a, li'uersl.j' society, thelr rnay have also dlscu.ssed l,ia.slenrs

nêrr¡ book with his theories on parks encircling a city. It v¡as
like1-y that colonel Light spent soae of the ten r¡eeks before
sa-iling talf ing ',''ith various members of both the Lj-terâr1r
SocietY and the Col-onizaiion Connissioners ,¡¡Jro would have given
him sone of their ideas on citlr planning. One of these r.,¡or:ld
certainl-y have been Rowlanc- Hill, secretary to the Board of
the coloni-zaticn commissio,.""*.31 No doujrt he framed Lightrs
v¡r-itten instructj-ons and. he probably gave the Surveyor-General
a.dditional verbal instrncti ons :r¡hich ccuIC have rnad"e some
reference to the Parhlands:

rrf was grateful- to hin (ttatthelv

Da''¡encort Hill) for su,(gesiins
to his brother (itowlanã*Hill)"tire
Parl<lands '¡¡hich surround Adelaid-e
and give us both beauty and health.
n

To Colonel- Light '..,'ho lai d ou_t the

city so v¡ell ve owe the rûany open
spaces and squares, but he dj_d not 2^
originate the i<Ìea'of the park lands.u)'

30. A. Gre e 1]- Pliçq¿, to !, !. Diamond, Chief Clerk, Adete.ide

Citl: Coun cil (L927 ) . File L]:ll.. Adelaicle Citr,'Council,
2r 'becai¡e
)J-o Roi'¡le.nd lIill l-ater sir Ro'¡rand. ïJill the great
Post Office reformer.
7? catilerine lle-l.en..Spence, An Âu.tobio{ranh¡¡r F.enrin-ted. from
I'T3" Rsgister" (Ade:Laideffied Adefa.j_¡le
Libraries Board 1975, p,37,
 16,

Even if the origins of the Parklands lrêre the distilled

kncvrledge gained- from various sources prior to Colonel Lightls
departure fron England.; it r,¡ou.ld be doubtful if -uhis informat,lon
v"¡as particularly relevant to an uni<nor,¡'n site in an unkno"¡¡n

region of Australia. Perhaps all that can be said regarding

the theori-es on the origins of the Parklancls is ihat:
rrthere can be no doubt that the
general plan of the present city
of Adelaide plan was determj-ned
by a v¡ise and thoughtful man
seeking to make the best use of
the geographical advaniage of
the site selected.rr 31

Inevitably, an ur:derstanding of the terrain and an appreciation

of the potential for its u-se as site forthe major city in the new
col-ony'vepe the t'ç¡o greatest influences on the origins of the
AdelaiCe Pari<la.nds:

rrthere r¡as no dis,puting ihe

fact that Colonel Villiam LiSht
was the firsi of the pioneer
tor.rn planners in Ausiralia to
design and carry out a distinctive
sirstem of Parklands i-n association
with ieis spaci-ou-s and far-seei-ng
plans for tkre city of Adel-aide
and its surrounding country., 34

Fortunatelyr Col-onel Light r',ras tire right man in the right

place at the rigl:t time,

C.I-I.E. Fenner, I'iunicipal Year Boqk 1965-67, Adelai-de

City Council-r'P
34. Cnarles C. Reade. Pari< Belts in Australia and I'let'¡ Zealand ,
( Lonclon i-925) . É
 \7,

C}L{FTER T1^/O

Preservation under Pressure

the acau.isition of the Parklands

f-u a miracle that the Parklands surrounding Adelaid"e

tr'ras

t/ere preserved essentially in the form first conceived by

Light, given the econornic, politica.l and. social pressures
faced by the early settlers of the colony. Fer,v cities
in the worlcl can claim such an outstandlng legacy yet the
controversial acquisition of the parklands by means of a
pui'chase price never actually paid., provide a precarious basis
on r'¡hich the Parklands \'rere officialiy set aside for ür^
enjoyment and recreation of the peccle.
Even before the Coì-ony of South Australia 1,¡as estaLrlished.,
the coloniaf office feared that, tire grandiose thecrj-es of a
seif-sunpoi"ting Colon¡r esnoused by Edr*ard- Giiibon I,.rakefiel-cl and
taken up enihusiastically b). suppoi-ters of the South Àustralian
Colon¡r would eventually throu rnore commii,ments onto ihe Croi^",n.
Sir Janes Stephen, the ponerful Under Secretary of the Colonial
office was one of the for.emost opponents of this ner,.,, venture,
Tn an ettempt to minimise the Government involvement and. allolv
economic forces to operate, land sales v¡ere separated fron
Government, in ihe south Australian co-l-onisation Act,1

1. Act 4 and. il¡il1iam IV. Ca 95 18 rof

ou US o Lç1 onA ct 1834.
An lict to erec'L Souih Australia int o a British Province.
 18"

Essentially Section Six stated that no Lands could be

sold except by public a.uctj-on, and the Resident commissioner
\'ras left to ceterrrine public lands for roads and. footpaths.
\/hat was not said in the Act became grounds for varJ¡ing
interpretations by officials in London before the first
colonists sailed, then later in the new colonl'. For example,
it r¡:as not clea.r what constituted public l-and.s for road.s, r.ralks,
squares and parlts. Also, rvhat lano could be reserved Íor public
use, and r¡;hat had to be bought at auction. Another potential
problem r+as rvho selected the sítes for public buildings?
The Governor or the Resident Cornrnissioner? At least Section Six
ïras specific about cash as the metl:od of payment for land at
a minimu.m price of tr,.¡efve shillings an acï.e, but this lvould
also be a problem r¡.'hen the Farklands r¡/ere eventualllr purchased..
Governor John Iiindmarsh recognised th.ese potential inherent
nroblerns befr:re taking up his position as Gove:.nor of the Col-ony.
lIe r,'rrote to the colonial secreiary, sir George Grelr, aboui how
the Government was to acouire lands for publíc purposes; this
letter was referred to the Board of Colonízation Commissioners,
probabiy because it was a matter reiated to land acquisit ion.Z
The Colonization Commissioners indieated that any land required.
for public gardens and government buildings had to be
purcir.ased; but that pub1ic r^¡alks and squares rnight be reserved. J

¿ Governor Hindmar sh to Sir George Grey, z}th January, 1836.

City of Adelaide ort on the Purchase of the A delai-de
Pa-rklands, 1885 a

3. Secretarlr, Colonizatlon Commissioners t Rov¡land liill to

Governo r Hindmarsh, 23rd January, lBJ R.enort on the
Pu.rcha se of the Farklands I Êfìq P t/
 lo

The same ouestion lr¡as then put to the Lords of the Treasury
v¡ho enphasised the need to reserve land for future recuirements
'¡¡hi'l e the price rJas 1o¡¡¡

ItIf possible, arrangernents

should be made v¡ith the
Commissioners to reserve from
sale otlier land.s not then
immediately requiredn so thel'
might be subsequently purchased
for tkre Government as occasion
might render necessarlr.rr 4

No definition of the lands io be reserved 'r,uas given by the

Lords of the Treasury, also the reservation of land without
pa3'rnent could be interpreted as contrary to Section Six of
the Act.
As .soon as Governor Hindmarsh arrived j-n South Australia,
he inimediatel¡r 6¡1¡icised- the site for AdelaiCe selected by
the Surveyor-General, Colonel- l^/iIliam Light. Although areas
for Government build.ings in the Parklands l;/ere mar-iced on
Lighils original map of Adelaide5r ilo atterni:t',vas made by t:,.e
Governor to purchase eiiher these Government Reserves or the
Fa:'klands as a. '.'¡hole from the Resicent connnissioner, Ja;ies
i{urtle Fisher. one major reeson for this failu.re to purchase
the Parklands l.,ras the lack of finances available -to the Governor
becau.se of the parsimonious l.ray in v¡hich the Colonial Office
treated the ner'¡ colony. Another reason for ina.ction by the

4, A.F,Sproome to Unrler Secret ary of State, 10th August, 1336.

Reuort on the Purchase of th e AdelaiC.e Parklands. 1885 , P .!2.
5, See l'îap, Appendj-x A.
 lU.

Governor coul-d l:ave been his desire to shift the capitel to

an appropria.te sea port, Therefore, fron the outset 1t ''".¡as
not clear r,.,,ho actu.al-l1/ ov¡Tr.êd this large beli of land" so close
to the city centre. Fortunately, responsibil-ity for selection
of the site of Adelaid.e was gir,"en by the Colonization
Conmissioners t,o Colonel Light. The first paraåraph of his
instructions wâs very clear:
ilIn entrusting you rvitir the decision
of this difficul-t question, the Conmission-
ers feel tirey cannot too mu.cl: irrpress 1'611
with the irnpor.tance of a duty, on the
judicious perforrnance of r+hich the pros-
perit¡,' of tl:e Colon;r so greatly depends. tt

But then *uhe Comrnissioners seemed

to ha¡¡e seccnd -uhoughts
because the j-nstructicns .qo on to state that he Ís to:

rrCcnfer' lii-ndrnarsh on the site for

the firs-c'¡itir
tc.,,,'nr¡ and rroa¡/ due regard to
his opinion and suggestions."

Thenthe instructions vrereagain uncomÐrornising when they

almost fcrecast the sirong will of th.e Governor ín this ma.tter:

rrl¡lithout, however, yielding t,o any

influ.ence rvl:lch coulcl have the effect
of divesting you i n any vay of the l¡hol-e
responsibiliti of the decision"'r 6

Fortunatelyn thg Sui'veyor-General adnirabl-]¡ completed his tasli

and Ìre was in no rvay involved in the difficulties that sumoundeC
the acq.uisition of the Parklands. After he subnitted his plan
of the City, h.e r,.¡as then engaged to the fulI on the otl:er land
surveys par-ticul-arl¡i as nel,'í settl-ers pi'essed for the al-l-ocation

6. Colonization Comnissioners to Surve./or-General, O+n

l,larch , LE36. Quoted in Colonization Cornmission, First
Annual Renort L836, P.B & P.9.
 2l-.

of country sections.
Marked friction and ill feeling between the Governor and
the Resident comnissioner commenced on the voyage to south
Au.siralia. Among the issues that created this tension vras the
disputed" right of the Governor to have priority of choice in the
selection of land for Gorrernment purposes. The interpretati-on
of Section Six of the South Au-stralían Colonization Act became
a heated issue on numerous occasj-ons. For examplen Governor
Hindmarsh wanted to increase the area set a.side in the Parliland_s
for the Domain of Government House, he suggested that this
property be extended 'uo the banks of the Rj-ver Torrens" Jarnes
Fisherr âs Resident commissioner, refused this reqr.lest tton the
grounds ihat es custodj-an of the public interest, he couLd no'r.
consent to this course.,,7 The Governor then wrote to the
Colonial OfÍice and agreed th.at Section Six of the Act placed:

rrRoads and footpaths in tl:e Cro',,rn, ancl

"bhat, publíc walks - and ín consequence
ti:e Parlclands - l.-'ould- be properly j_ncl-u_ded
in the term roads and footÞaths.t' I

realy on this sub,iect wp*s received b]r Governor Ìjindnarshn so

Itlo
his interpretation of '.'¡hrat ccnstitu-r,ed roads and footnaths in the
Act r'¡as never either supported or rejected by the Colonia.l Office.
On the arr"ival of the nev¡ Governor, George Gevrler, in
'v
October 1Bl8 r' tlte rnoi.ale of the Colony '¡,'¿s 1or+, unernploynent
high, and the economic situation at a crisis point. uThe first

7 , Resident Cornrn is sioner tc Go.¡ernor, llth l"larch IA3T. Reoort on

the the Adelaide Parklands 1885 D'rt
Purchase OI , L a L4.

(). Gor¡ernor to Secretary of State, 13th A nril, L837, Renort on

the Purchase of the Adelaide Parklands , 1gg5 , P.l.Z.
9. Governor, Geor geÐ Gawler, arrived in South Ausiralia, 12th
October, 18J8. ort on the Purch ase of the .¡\delai_de Park-
l-ands, tft
1885 t t oI
 ¿¿.

fev years of .Adelaidets histor]¡were traurnatic".l0 At l-east

one nroblen r*as solvecl by the combination of the Governorrs
positi-on w-ith that of the Resident Comnissioner. This eliminated
the confl-ici or/er wj:o sel-ected. Gove:'nment lands. Ironicaily,
the confusion over the future purcliase of the Parkl-ands iÁ¡as a
proci.uct of tl:e attempt to solve a wider problero by giving the
tr^ro positions to the one person. Governor Gavler ï/as now respons-
ible to the Colonization Connissioners as Resident Commissiorier,
and to the Secretarj¡ of State for the Colonies as Governor.
Immediatelv before the arrival- of Governor Garvler, the
-ê,d.¡ocate GeneralrGeorge Milner Stephen, pointed out that:

rrthe Parkland-s r.rere still in ihe occup-

atj-on of numerous persons i'rho had origin-
all- y sauatted there, and soÍìe of ','¡hom were
2 ì-llì arentl-1r utilising tne Parklands, for
'¡¡hi ch they weT"e raying nothinq, in order
to tu::n to ¡nore profita.ble account their
own town sections.rt 11

It '¡,'as obvicus that the Parkl-ands suffered because trees r.¡ere

cu: dor,.rn for fi-rer¡/ooCr and" the teriporar)¡ expedient thrat aLlowed
inmigrants to carnp in the Parklands pend"i-ng the allocation of
tireir countn' sections, created legitimate fears that the:
rroccLrnation r','hich, ha.ving comrnencecl as
a tenpo:'ary expedient only, night b]' acquies-
cence, have been converted into a public
right difficult to displace,'r A2

It did not take the nei',' Gor,'ernor long to real-ise that the
position of main-ba,ining the Ad.el-aide Parklaiicls in the public
interest req.u.ired nrompt and positlve action. FIe received frcn

10. Derek, i',ririie1oc1.,, ,ìde-l-aide I835-L97 6. Universi-t.,' of

Qu.eensland Fress , TTg7Tf .- ?.27:
11. lidvocate General to Governor liinci-narsl:r. 1 2th June, 'ì e?a
Report on the Purchase of the Adelaide'pa rklands, ME P.l3.
12, ibid.
 )7

the Colonization Comnissioners a terse d-i spatch ti:at among

otner things expressed anxiêt-r¡ a.bout ho,,v the lar"¡ j-n relation
to the i'ese:"vation of theír l-and.s for Government purposes \A/ã.s
being violated-, Especially, the Colonj-zation Comrnissioners
had llsome anorehension connected r,¡ith tl:e Reserve of Parlçlands
17
su:-ro-und.ing Adelaiclerr.r-'' The Comrnissioners also indicated
sii'onglir that :

"A proposed reserve of land for public

purposes shouid be bougi:t by the
Colonial Governrnent - the Conmissioners
are of the opinion thrat it would be
advisable at once to adopt this course
r,,'iih reference to the reserve land
surrounding .Adelaide.rr 14

As rvell- as iraving a specific direction frorn England to purchase

tire Parlclands, the Governor also faced nclunting pressures from
..vithin the Colony fiby private indivldu-a-l-s, to purcÌiase the
-tÊ
Parl^:lì-ands for specul-a-uive pur"pcsestl .L) It v¡ould have been
quiie legitina.te for these un-nâned gentlenien to exei'cise their
soecial surve:,¡ orders or./er 'iirastela.nds of the Croltn ','¡hi ch v¡as
ti-e statu-s of tne Parkl-ani,s of ihat tine. Prompt action was
requíred by the Government to prevent:
rrcertai-:r artful t,ricksters r¡¡ho sought
to deprive the neonl-e of land set anart
by Government for the beneflt of the
pu-blic heaith, and to supi:li,r a place
for popular recreation.rr 16

13. Secretar)¡ Colonization Comrnissioners to Government

South 4.ustra-Lj-a. lst Seateiäber, 1818. Reoort on the
Purchase of the hdel-aicle Parklands n1 t
14. ibid.
-tÊ
L). The l{onorab}e i{il1iam Smillee, Advocate General, Legislative
Council, Debate. 4th Seotember, l_849.
16. ibid.
 ¿4.

Colonel a forceful personality r,,rho favoured. brisk

Gav,'l-er was
rnilitary-like decisions, in this instance he acted inmed.iately in
the best interests of the Colony, but left a legac3z of confusion
related to the validity of his actions. A d^rana unfold.ad on hor,,¡
the Parklands r.nrêr.ê saved from a takeover by private interests:
rtl,lr. Arthur }iardy, in ljjg, Clerk of
Peace (now knor'¡n" ás the óió'*m Sofiðltor)
becoming acquainted v¡ith this in-t,ention
made knor^n: the fact to Gor.ernor Gawler on
the_ evening_ of April 15th, who thereupon,
qgalising the emergency and the respohs-
ibility thus thrust upon hi-m, gave his ovrn
personal undertaking for payment of the sum
required for thein purchase, and imr¡ediately
the Land Office opened on the morning of thä
16th that undertaking vras accepted aã security
for the pa]¡ment, and the Parkländs v/ere
secured. It need scarcely be said thatr oil
!4e speculative
Office,
gentlemen entering the Land
the same morning, they ro'eñe quietly
i-nformed that the Parklands rr,lere no longer
r1,,'astelands of the Cro!,rnrr but that thelr
pu.rcl:ase lfor the inhabitants of the Cityt
had been cornpleted that very morning. n IT

Apcarent,ly, ti:e Governor acted in his capacitv as Resident

Conmissioner to provide the Colonial Treasurer r¡i-th a promissory
note for Ð2r3oo dated 16th April , l3jg bei-ng far zrjeo acres
at í1 per acre .
a legal point of view, the ability of the Governnent
From
to reser"ve the Parkl-ands could be argued. in law. certainly the
interpretation of Section Six of tkre 1834 Colonizati on Act r,vas
ooen to qu.estion, but less than three months after the purchase
lras transacted an Amendíng Act rvas passed by the British
Parliar¡ent rel-ated to the south Australian colony.lB rhe povrers

T7 , Thomas i'/orsnop, ort on the'Purchase of the F ari<l-ands.

Frepared rmder e c ono ô v¡s 4 ar ES
Commi.ttee, City of Adel-aide l8th July , LBT?.
18. An Àct to A an Act of tire Fourth and F ifth rs of His
e ES Ot',¡êf t-s es o erec US ra ia
n o2 r rov eor nces ò u v
 )q

under the former Act v¡ere no\'r reÌlealetl ancl ner¡¡ polvers in Sec+-ion
Tlr':ee of the Amending Act íncreased the limited right of reservation

of l-ands frompublic sale, and extended the cro'r,,¡nts rigÌ:ts to

exemot from nu:"cl:ase iands required íor various other public
pu.rÐoses, incl-uding parks for health and recreation. lïo',* the
necessitir io purchase of the Parklands disarpeared. Also, the
ne¡¡ Act made ít irnpossÍble for any pårson to retrospectively clain
or acquire anj/ portion of the Parlcl-ancls.
There is no doubt that Gover.nor Gawler saw the potential
of the Parltlands as a future asset f,or tl:e citizens of Adel-aid.e
and rr¡as cornniti,ed to their preservation, FIe enthusiasticall-rl
toolt up the cause to remove tire squatters from the ParkLands and
within síx nonti:s of their acquisition, he introd-uced to the
Legisl-ative Council:

rrAn Act for improving the City of

Adelaíd.e and 'uhe Parkl-ands or public
lands thereto adjoining, anC for
preventing nuisânces therein.rt Lg

So enthusiastic v"'as the Governor about the preservation of the

Farklanrls that he had broad deialls of thie Bill gazetted. for
general inforna.tío'r',2A Thís Act woul-d estabf isir:

rra committeeof colonists to rnake

tl:e rules and regulati ons el-ected
by the householdersrr,

ampose:

rrfines of not l-ess than teir shillings

or more than €,1-00 for breaches, half
given to the ínformer and half to FIer
l"lajesty for. public usesrrr

L9. Le isl ative Council, First Reading, ,\n Act for Improving
,
OT \/É111 f1 It L] sances ere n. êY¡
"^ t
20. Gor.'ernnent Ga zqtt L-lt]n October, 1Bt9 .
 26.

also:

rrthe limits of the city and Pa.rk- ân

1and.s shall be defined in this Act.tt'*

It did nct go past ihe first reading, probabl¡i becau"se the

first Municlpal Corporation Act for Adelaicle l¡as being contenp-
lated and the responsibility for the Parklands was a contentious
matter. Althougir the Bill lapsed, a positive step v¡as taken to
clean up the Parklarrds by the appointment of Mr. Nick Boirs Bul1
as SuperintenCent of the Ad.elaicLe Parkl-and =.2' Immediately
notices treï'e issned to those v¡ho il1egal1y quarried sand., stone,
and lirnestone. Also, those vrho occupiecl il1ega1 garder:s and

cottages, particularly near the river were under threat,

inciuding industries such as brickv¡orks and line kil,ns v¡ho had
:.-- iiren onerated 'r.,¡ithout official nermission. Si-x keepers
uÐ till
o, ,n" prr}tfunOs ',A/ere attached to the pofi"o Force in early 1840:
rfThis body ç¿s instituted at a period
r¡henvery serious depredatj-ons ï,'ere
being extensively committed.rt 23

These keepers \.¡ere con.¡alescent destitute enmigrai-its who ldere

being supported by the Government. Everrtually the nu-mber dropped
as they eithe¡' recovered or obtained. emploirr¡snt until only ivro
rernained. A vrarning was given by the Governor that I'this num.her
is insufflcient for the object, and that unless an increase be
made the Parklands will be rapidly disfigured, anC rendered unfit
for the laud,ible purposes for which thelr r'rere intend.ed."24

27_, ibid.
22. ibid.
23. Govern¡nent Gazette JOth Apri.1 1840.
24. ibid.
 27.

Although there is no doubt that the Parklani.s continued to be

abused; the provi sionof paid Parkland keepers and the issue of
eviction notices prcvioed the first occasion on r+hich public
responsibility had been taken for the preservation of the
Parklands,
Doubts about palrment for the ParklandS 1.Iêrê first raised by
Captain George Grey successor to Governor Gav¡lern in a despatch
three years after the No love v,¡as lost betu¡een the nerv
",r"nt.25
Governor and ]ris predecessor; this d-espatch could therefore be
construr.ed as another effort to und-ermine Governor Gawlerrs
achievements, ttso did Gre¡rr âh able, hard-, and ar¡bitj-ous young
.R
rÍìan, serve brj-s own ends by destroying Gat¡Ier,"'u Grey insisted
that Gar.¡lerts promissory note had ne''¡er been discharged. He
tnen left the issue open for futuire misínterpretation by tkre
cl-a1¡n inat:

rfhaving no rûeans of discharging thÍs

debt, I have allowed ihe rnattar to
rest '¡.¡krere I formd it, until the ultirrate
in-uention of the Government regarding the
Colonlr shouid. be made knol','ri.rr 27

No doubt Gove:"nor Grey knew that orìe of tile firnr optíons for
the Colony rvas to abolish the Colonj-zation Conmissioners, in
order to elirninate divided rule and to have South Australia
treated as other British colonies, r^rlth the Governor in sLlprene

25. Gor¡ern or Gre;'is Colonization Cornmissioners, llth Septenber

1841.
.I ÕOE Ì)
F-e ort on the Purchase of the Adelaide Parklands
*/r I¡

¿o. fiiiitel-ocli, Adefaide la37-I976. P.42.

¿1. Governor Grey to Coloni d._L Secretary, l-1th September 181+1.
Re-.:crt on the Purchase of the Acielaide Park1ands.'-!,885
T) ..lA
 29.

control. This occurued by Act of Parliament in the next year

u¡iren all debts of the Immigration Fund vlere cancell-ed and the
Colonial Office assumed. responsíbility through the Governor
for the eqoenditure and revenues of the Colony.28
Over ten years after the acquisition of the Parklands, the
issu.e of the validity of tl:e purcha.se of the Parklands..was again
queried in the Legislative Council i+hen Ca.ptain Bagot raised.. the
raatter and- claimed that the rrthen Government of -uhat day resorted
to the tricking of a nock purchase, to prevent others exercising
a perfect 1egal ríght.u29 The Advoca^te General replied by
saying rrthat Fïis Excel-lency had done r'.¡hat was rigi:t, and had
done it legal1y,u3O Anoiher thirty years were to elapse before
Thor.ras Worsnop, Torvn C1erk, Adelaide City Cor-:nci1, tr\¡as directed
to investigate this matter and in a report tabled on thre 15th
July, f879 he expressed satisfaction that tire sal-e of the
Parlclands actua1l1, had iaket plt"".51 Not so the Coi.Lncil-, n1:o
lnstru-cted the To!,ry] Clerir to investigate this matter further;
partÍcu-l-arly to find out if the title deed.È vüere ever granted,
and r,¡ho noï.r o,,,vïled them. trlo doubt they hoped that the sal-e of
tne Parklands to the Government would be invalidated and they
cou.l-d then obtain oi.,mership rath.er tha.n ihe care, control and
management they now possessed on behalf of ihe Gor¡ernnen'b.
Also, the Government Reserves and Railway Station in particular

28. An Act For the Better Government of South Australi-a 5 and

b'i V ctoria U. bl , J u-Ly t
)c, Hon. Captain Bagot, Legislative Council, 4th Ssptenber, 1849;
Advocate General, The Ilonorable li'I. Smillee, Legislative
Councj-l-, 4tn September 1849.
3I. Renort on the Purcha-se of the Parklands.
Thomas \^,Iorsnop,
Prepared under the direction of the By-1ar,rs and Salaries
Commi.ttee, City of :\del-aide l-8th July, 1879,
 to

r';ould have been aprize worth a great deal in cornpensation.

A London firn of solicítors, i'iessrs. ''r,lilkins, Bl¡rth and.
Duiton v¡ere retained to investi-gate this matter. fn relation
to the purchase of the Pari<l-ands they conclud.ed that:
frthe matter seems to have been looked
upon as a sort of financial jugglery
b]' one de'i:artnent of the Government-
making a contract r^¡ith another
departnent, never intended to be
carried out - âs a rnatter of fact,
therefore, no purchase actually took
pla,ce in the sense of anv money passing
fron one person to anothärr or by any "
person acting as trustee on behalf of
the Cror,,,rr,ll 32

Bui the report further claimed that ttthe original reser.r¡ation

of the Parklands becane legalised and -uhe necessity for purchase
Cisappearedrt ,tt ,nthen the Act of Amend.nent wa.s enacted in July
Le,3e. Tlte report also found that the titfe deeds had never been
j-ssued, bu.t tiris did not diminish the cro',.rnrs rights over the
7l!
land.'- Apnarently, the col:ncil irad approached. the solicito¡s
retained to the report on the possibilitlr 6¡ a å6Or0OO
"orpile
claj-m that rrra.tepayers money expended by the corporation j-n
the innrovernent and preservaiion of the parkland s,,.35 ?hey
z4
argued that ilthe unceasing care"r" of the parklands r¡¡as a clairn
to the title by virtue of their occuTlancy. The sol-icitors urere
of the opinion that this rtcould confer no legal estate in the

32. AdelaÍde Cit_v Council, Recort on the Purciiase of the

Âdelaide Pari<lands 1B , ernmen er P.18.
ibid . P.2a.
34. See P.23 For reference to tnis matter.
zÇ, AdelaÍde City Council, Rerort on the Fur"chase of the
AdeIa i-de Park-l-ancls 18
35, ibid . p,ZO,
 30.

land.s thernselv es" .37 No hope was given in the report to

justlf.,' the Adelaide City Councilrs aspirations for ihe
acquisition of the Parklands, trend nothing in our opinion
short of an Act or Acts of the Colonial Legislature can rlow
alter thrat purpose, otr deprlve the public of the enjoyment
of these lanCs as a par¡'r.38
To cl-oud the issue further, other papers that may .have
been related to tt:e acquisition of thre Parklands v/ere probably
destroSred rvhen the oríginal Government House used as a store
room ÏIas burned down on l2tir January, ]841. Also, it was
unfortunate that after the Colonizati on Conimissioners were
abolished in l-842, all despatches sent to the Commissioners
in England íncl-uding any from Governor Gav¡ler dealing with the
purcha.se of the Parklands t¡ere destroyed.
The first and major battle for the presen¡ation of the
Farklanris had been l'rorf r thanks to the positive if sorner"¡hat
obscure way in rvhich Governor Gawlei' acquired one of the
greatest property assets ín terms of open space thai any city
could possibly d.esj-re.

20 ibid. P.2O.
ZA ibid. p lo
 3r.

PART O}Ttr -

GOVER}JF]ET'TT RESERVES Iid THE PARKLAhTDS

 CFIAPTER TF{REE

North East Pa.rklands a clash betv¡een

institutional use and nublic access

In ti:e section of Parklands bounded. by Frome Road,

Botanic R.oad, Fiac}rrey Road and the River Torrensr ho specific
institutional use !,¡as envisaged on the original plan.l By
<lesignating this area a Government Reserve ,2 tlru Legislative
council unconsciously created an inevitable clash betl'"'een
institutional use brought about by pressure groups and public
access to thr.e Parklands for recreational purposes. sone of
the early users were not interested in permaneni buildingsr
and the boundaries consisted of rough fencing sufficient to
keen 1n horses:

rraÞart from grazing police

horses it had noi; been put
to much use.n 3

First the .Adelai-de I{ospital, ihen the Luna-uic Asylum r/¡ere

butilt l¡ithout spêcific bor-urdary surveJ/s, because the Parklands
\,rere plenti ful and the Government su_rveyors 1.¡ere busy r,¡ith
i.enands -for country surveJis. rt v¡as not until the Botanic
Gard-en v¡as fi-nally al-located a site vith *rr"l¡sr¡êd bounCaries in

1. See Anpendix l4aps A and B,

2. lulunicipal Corooration Äct for tire Cit of Adelaide 11 of
c ll
e

3 I''lax Larnshed, The Peor¡lets Garden : A C nte Histo of

the Adelaide o Õ. en -1 oa rnors
e a.L e c en a
 22

1855 that boundaries were autornatically fixed" for both the Hospítal
and the Lunatic As;,'lu.m, Changes to the Hospital_ bounôaries:

to prove a fruitful source of

frlu{ere
dj-snute and to set a pattern for con-
troversSr r.,¡irich was to persist long
after the first Committee (of the-
Botanic Gard.en) had gone. rr 4

ïn time, other institutions in this area would al-so be

caught up in complicated land disputes, resulting frorn poor
early ad hoc planning.
An early aniencment to color:el Light t s original plan of
the parl.,lands r¡¡as the relocation of the Hospital by George
Kingston, who rvas deputy to colonel Li.ght. Kingston rejeci,ed
tÌre east parklands slte because it was:
Ittoc loui-lying; instead, a site oir high er
ground overlookin.g the meandering of Fi ¡aq.l-
Creek into the Tor.rens 1,¡as chosei-j.tr 5

tsefore the first hospital bui.li on the corner of

r,.¡as

Hacleney Road ancL Botanic ,l.oadr âh infirmary tras established on

tire site that rlwas nrar:ped in the mcst defying obscuritir'r. b Ê.

Perhaps it was ila hurnble hut adjacent to the Holy Trinity Church
and not far from the Black sv¡an FIoter"T; or ii may have been

4. ibid P.zl+.
5. A Great äospital That tla c\ erved Adelaide for l-06 years,
Publ-ic Service Reviev¡ YL)
C
e¡ternber 1947, P.4.
6. R-egíster , iiarch 1881.
7. Fub,l-ic_!S_ir{ice_ Rev_ie.¡.¡, 29 September A)ta7.
 4lt

ilon the North Terrace, close to the present site of Hol¡r

Trinity ChurchEi or in the Parkl-ands opposite ihis spotttg or
'rin conjunction with iire Emigratj.cn Barracks . . . probabiy
ihe Barracks \i¡ere erected. on the \nlest Farkland.s',10. One thing
is certaj-n, ít vras a prÍmitive r¡.¡ooden structure used temporarily
until- llay 1837; then the house of Capialn Robert HiL:L on Town
Acre Sixty Seven rr'as rented untÍI the first major hospital vias
erected in tlre Parl<lands in 1841 o ,

Governor Gawler recognised the need for better hospital

acconmodation v¡hen he j-ssued- thre Ad.e1aide Hospital Prospectu.s
in 18f9, noiS-fying his Íntentions to devote 9.500 from public
funds tov¡ard. the estirtaied, cost of {2r6O0.1f This r¡¡as a
courageous gesture considering the Soutir Australian Col-ony v¡as
on tne point of financial ccllapse. llo records of the first
Ìrospita"l boundaries now exist. 0f the original buildings,
the Coloníal- Surgeonts liouse on -ühe corner of Botanj-c and
I{a.c,iney Road has been retained. as rrYarrabeert the School of
Ilorti.c'-:,-]-iure; the original- ga-be-}<eeperf s lodge is nor^¡ tl:e
Ea.st Lodge and the I'{orgue is used as a. r,.,rorks):op. Ii, seeros
likely that ti:e Governor r^¡as not particu.larly concerned v¡ith
detailing the exact boundaries of hospital land, after all
the area v¡as pa.rt of a large Government R.eserven nainly
unused e:<cept for pastui'ing horses, sheep and cattle, with
an occasional agricultural aird liorticultural show.

J. Escourtt^ liughes, A |listo of the Ro ai /rdelaide

I'iosniial
^ (Griffin Press
o ibid . P.3.
10. ,-Reqister , 22nd Septenber, L84J.
11. Public Service Review , 29th Settember, 1947. P.6.
 ?Ê

Also, t} e problems of l.;eeping up v¡ith country surveys and.

the untimely resignation of Colonel Llght as Su.rve)¡or General,
put pressure on the fev¡ skilled staff '¡¡ho did not resign 1n
s','ncathy tvith Light. Probabiy instituij-ons on Gor¡ernment
R.eserves trrere l-or^¡ among surve-i¿ing priorities.
The Governor laid the foundation sione for the new
I{ospital on r¡/ednesday 15th Jul--v, 1840; thr.ee da3's l_ater tjre
Register reported that 'rthe foundation stone of this builcing
1^/as laid b;r His Excellenc;r Colonel Gaw.l-er, on the site originall¡r

marked ou.t by +'he late colonel- Light at the north-east corner

1)
of the tot'/ntt. " This reference u'as nct correct as alread"y
indicated, George l(i-ngston, Lightrs deputir selected this site.
Ah¡ost as soon as the Tiospltal was opened in 1845, niajor changes
to the'care of tire neiltal-l1r sick 1'¡ere being contemplated. "Up
until 1846 there beiirg no i::siitution for the care and nainten-
allce of persoi:s of unsouncl r:incl, it r,;as tl-le practice to kee¡
any lr-tnatics r^¡ho were difficul.c ic nanage in the Adelaide Gacl',.I3
Public pressure determl:r:.ed that the Lunatic Asirlum be given e
high prioritl¡r so logic su¡igested t]:at it uás con.¡eni-ent to
buíld th-is instj-tution ad,ioining the hospj-taI on the sane site:
rrThe sagacious headsof L ocal Govern-
tÌlis
ment have deternined on e recting-close
prcjective (nel,¿ Lunatic A sylum) to the
I{ospital ahnost adjoining it" This place
is certainllJ/ convenient f or the Colonia.l
Surgeon and official visitors and mav
appear nlaus'ibl1r econonii cal- as far as tiie
necessary water suppl-y and a fer¿¡ similai
essentials. rr Lu

12. Ree+_s.-rji, l8th l'1a./, 1840.

]Z Flenry T. I(a¡', 1870-1950 i Conmernorating tÌte Centenary of
Glenside llospi--ual, Griffin Pressr-licielaide lg|O . ?.9.
l-4. Adelaide Tines 7th i{ay,, 1849.
 )Qo

The As.,'fum 'í/as opened in 1852 accommodating sixty patíents

and some staff at an estimated cost of å,41000.15
The problens of r,¡el-fare for the destitute poor not{ became
an issu.e, because the new Lunatic Aslilun r¡ras also used for thrs
pllrÐose. There :dere rrfrequent complaints ihat the destitu.te
poor r.iere placed" in the same building l¡ith the lu.natj-csrr.16
The result rr¡as that a Gcvernment Sel ect Comrnittee recomnended
in l'Iovembe:' 1851 tnat î-7 1937 be spent on ad.apting the Lunatic
Asylur,l for the d.estj-tute poor. This same Committee also recom-
mended an expenditure of not exceedinï î"38r000 on the construct-
ion of a nelr hospital building.fT The location of the :-{ospital-
tr¡as not stated in Government Select Cornmittee renort; but it

was buil-t in 1855 on the present sj-te bounded by Frome Road and
ltorth Terrace on the opposite corner of the Government Reserve
occupied. by the old. I{ospital- lvhich nc1.,7 was to becone the Lunatíc
Asylum for the next frft¡r years.
The second I{osp-i-1¿1 buil-t in the parklands occupleC tlle
frcrt part of the Frcme R.oad site and aoparently, t}:e land set
aside although not deflned, was a significant portion of this
Governmerrt Reserve. ¡tït provídes an interesting refl*ection
that the large area set asiC.e for hospital purposes all those
-t¡ears a.go has certainly be.en a por*erfr;.l infiuence on the rather
haphazai'd r¿rav in '¡¡irich the i{ospital has developed over more
ti:an 100 1is¿¡=',.18 Not only has the Hosnital continued to
develop on this site, but additional parklands have been alien-

't-l
l-5. lr-Õ. v , Glenside l-losaital t
D
r .II.

Ih\ lìegi ster t 7t^:1 June , 1853.

T7. Publ-ic i,/or1<s Renort , lio.8P, ÇtJ:r l'iovember , lB53 "

ta Hughes, ,,\ Hrstor'',' of the Adel aide Floslital.

ated as tire nedical se¡'vices have groi.m; much to the particurar
consternation of particularlS' their neighbours l,¡ro nor,v include
the Botanic Garden, Uni.rersity of Adelaidêr and^ the South
Austral-ian Institute of Technology.
The id,ea of an agricultural sirov¡ was der¡eloped early ii.l
tne life of the Colony. Thj-s was consistent v¡ith the emphasis
on the development of agricultural- and horticultural knotvled.ge
irnportant to the l,'rlakefieldion theory of si,rster¡a'uic land colonis-
ation. rrlt r¡Iâs not until 1844, that a shor'¡ of any magnltude was
held. This wa,s within the parl(lands entering at a gate at t]:e
corner of Frome F-oad Bridgsrr.19 Four i¡eers later the ligrlcul-tur-
al and liortic:;l-tu.re1 Scciet'./ l//es established. and gained. the use
bj,' conr¡eniioil ratirer than statute of a. s-ignificant amount of
Governnent Reserve land in an a.rea adjacent to the Hospital in
Fru-'nie Road. Over iÌ-lg ys¿¡s the Aericul-tural and Horticultural

Sociei-¡ becane â Fo\^,,êrf-,1l pressure group i-n d.eterrnining the

fu.ture use of this area of the parklands. 'r'/iihin six r/ears of
its found.ing, the Society assisied in establishrng tne Botani-c
Garden b'j' bri-ngin,c, nressu,re to bear on the Government to allocate
part' of the laird not used for their own si:or^¡s.
At least fo';r attenpts t^¡ere rnade to de.¡eiop a Boianj-c
Garden in the Parklands, beca.use both Colonel Light and the
early settl-ei's of Adele,icle placed a higir priority on this public
recrea.tion a.menit;r. It i.,rould have been irnportant for peopì-e
faced rr¡ith tl'le harsh, arid, brov,rr 'oushland of the sumner months
to recal-1rwj-th sone nostalgia, the trnglish gardens wilh tir,eii"

'lo Ilarol-d J. I¡1nnisg, "The P.oyal sl,owrr, Proqresg iI-rluq[rgli€r.,

8th October, 1934. P.f1i.
 ea

green lush. plants and trees. Also, there vras a grorving av¡are-
ness of the Ìiealth values fron pai.ks and gardens as ihe 1Îlungs
)n
of the Citytt.'" Colonel Líght had made provision for a Bota.njc
Garden in his original plan, a site '¡,'as locaied on ihe Torrens
River near a line dra.r,¡n fi'on ldest Terrace to l.iills Terrace.
It occu.pied bet,..¡een five to ten cl:ains on eiti:er sj.de of the
river and includ.ed a bend in il:e river tl:at formed an island.
The total len6ith of th.e si-te was approximately fifty chains.
Today this site l'¡ould^ be fron the l{indmarsh Briclge to tie
To¡'rens La.lte i,ieir.21 As l¡ith many of Lightts original plans
for the use of the parklands, the síte of the Botanic Ga:-den r,vas
soon cha.nged. In th.is cese for good reason, because the island
area ttr,,¡ould" be liabl-e to inund"ation, if not destruct ion" .22
A second location vas establisi:ed in L837 on the sonthern side
of tìre i'iver ex-tending easil,'ard frorn Thebartori i-n tile dírectlc'l
of tÌle gaol-, nortli of tlie corner where Ì.ioi'th Terrace ani i'iesi
lerrace rneet. This is nov¡ pa.rt of the railr.ralr 5r""d".23 À 'uhircl
site rvas al-located by Gover:nor Garvler in 184-0 to John Balley
'/¡ho r'ras appointed Colonial Botanist to New Zealando bu.t becau.se
of delays he anC his family cane to Sor"rth Au-st:'a.fia. The l-and
selected r¡¡as situated or: the River Toruens near the present
Zoologice.l Gardens on anotlier b,end in the river near Al-bert
Bridge.24 trUnfortu.nately, the economies of tJ::.e Grei, rssime l:lit
2q
tne veniu-retr, - and. Bailey 1{as retrencj:ed., The gard.en continuedL

20. Lewis. l''iumfoi'C, The Cit in llisto Seeker and llorburgr

London l9íL. P

2l-. See A;per:dix, l'1ap C.

¿¿. Lanshed, The Feo¡lers Garden
)7 See i\ppendj-x, l'1ap C.
24, See Appendix, l{ap C.
)q Lamsh,ed, The Peo nl_e_t_s GcrCen, P.2!.
 ão

to produce fruít trees on a I ease arrangement for a number of

yea.rs. An earl-1r Toirn Clerli of ArJ.elaide, Thonas I'iorsnoir record.s
that a trsrnal-l reserve had been made in the par.l.,lands 1n ihe
early da"¡s of the Coloni¡ for a Botanj-c Garden, but ii r.,¡as too srnall_
for the purpose anc was let at a trifling:-ent,,"26 ile could
^a

have been referring to either ilre second or third Botanlc

Garden site. For the ne;ct fifteen )¡eers as the Colony grew
and stabilisedr ilo formal moves were made to establishr a Botani-c
Garden, bui an interest in ilris project was still present, pari-
lcularly aaon8 some members of the Agricultural and Horticultural
societ;r r,vho forned a sub-conmittee to pursue thj_s natter,

trlf however, contrary to all reasonable

exnectation, His Excellency should de-
cline to grant a site in the Governnent
Reserve, tlie Corporation, rye belj_eve
v¡il-l be asked for a fev¡ acres betveen
East Terrace and Ðoct,or Kent t s section
which r^¡ou1d be the second best situation.r77

For nnknol¿rï] Fêasons, ti-ie Governor offered. a different site

to the sub-ccmärittee of ihe Agr'-icultu:'ai ancl rlorticultural
Societl,', situated t'between the footbridge and the old Frone Road
Bridge bounded on the no:'th by the river ancl the sorith and v¡est
blr tile Government wall (stone rvall around borindary of Go.¿ernment
äcr-rse), the stone quarry and the Gol,ernment buildings and e>:tend-
1ng to |Iorth r"""."".28 ïn repor.ting the Governorrs offer, the

26. Thomas. 'l',ror snoÐ. LIiTI Ò-+

] U of the Cit of ;\delaide
J. liilliams [ ê laíde,
,'rC.L

1lo Regi- ster l+th .Tune 1853.

28, Repisier 9th l,Tay , 1854.

 ¿IO.

R.egister i,vas critical-

of the siie because |ttìrer e Ì.ras no-r, more
tha.n ten acres (out of approximatel-r,r eightlr acres) of tolerabl3r
good land and part of that, is being uncl-errnined by the river.¡r
The Regisier continued io su.pport the site near the exhibition
ground, and concludeC. their article on a critlcal noie. rrrt is
regretted thai rnore suitable l-and- ín tlie eastern padd.ock has not
been d"evoted to this purposet'.29 Eventually, the present site
origi-nal-ly proposed by the Agricultural ancl l{orticultu¡'a] Society
and surpported. strongly by the ñert,spapêr was offered to a Botanj-c
Garden Comrnittee, established as a sub-comnittee of the Agricult-
ural and, Iíorticultural Society.
Fressure tì'rrou.gh the ner,*spaper and. -uhe .ågricultural and
Horticu-ltural Society, p:'o.rideci the necessary irnnetus:
t'ï{aving re-opened comesllonci.ence with tiie
Government in April last'on the subject
of the for.rnation of th.e Botanic Garden;
your Cominittee have much gratification in
announcing that l{is E>:cel_1enci"' the Governor
r,^,'es Diâased a-t lengti: to consent to the
arpronr.iation f or that purÞose, of for"t¡r
acl"es of that poriion of parklancis sj-tr:ãted
be-br.¡een tire Frone Road Brictge and Fiackne¡r
and the conlÐanyts l'1i11 Road anci bet';¡een the
river and hospitalrt . 3A

I'Jo for",na1 dedica.tlon t^¡es proclaimed eiti:er bi,' parliamentary

:lict or thror-rgir the Government Gazette. rn early rg55, letters
were exchanged between the Chairrnan of the net^rly íormed Botanj-c
Garcl.en committee, '/. Younghusband and trre Acting colonial
Secretary, defining the fortlr acres in detail_.

ibid.
ZN
-i-cul-tr-ira1 and iiorticur tural Society, Annual Report
185 4-1855 t
Ða
L aaa
 l4L.

"That portion of park-t ancls between the

llorth Terrace and. the P,ir¡s¡ Tomens, in
the- nei¿çhbourhood of the hospitai, áu
marked ourt b..' tliem r,¡ith corner pegs r
foi'nring-an area of about foi"ty äcieå, ihe
ea.st and rvest line of which is six-ueen
chai-ns_, and north and soutn lines, tr.;ent1r-
five chains. " 3l
The Acting Colonial Secretary confírined this def,inition
of the lanC on the 16th of l.larch L855 t'that Flis Excellenc¡r the
officer' h¡j.rnlnistering tlie Government has approved tlie site
selected b1r th.e Botanic Gardens Comnittee - and the Surr¡eyor
General has been instr.ucted to have the boundaries marked on
7)
ti:e iroundrr.'- Even wheir tire fírst Bot,anic Garden Ac-u r,¡as
passed j-n 1850r ilo definltion of the boundaries appeared- in the
.t\ct. rt .,.¡as not until- Lg94 that the Government Gazette, noi an
Äct of Parlianent, officiâlly defined the Botanic Garden at the
sa,ne tine as the Boianic Farlç was l:and.ed over to the care, control_
anc managenent of ti:e Bctanic Garden conmitte..33 Fortunatelyr
-uhe pu.blic popurarity of the Botanic Gar.den anc the leading

ci-uizens t''''i:ro mâCe u,l-r the Corimittee .lrrovided. sufficient political

nusc1e -;o guard against too rnanf incursions on the Botanic
Garden land.
',iithin tlie fi-rst fe','¡ rnonths after '¡ork ha.d conmenced on
tlie ',,'rer:aration of the .garde:is, rtthere r,¡as a further clash wlien
tlle Governmen-u a.sked tl:Le Connittee to give up tl¡o acres of their.
grou,r-^rd to the Flcslital-. The-7 spi:-ited.l'¡ refused., sa1,.íng there

r"'/as no other suita.ble area avaÍl-ab1e, and the site having

been
fi:red., their heC rnade their plans,, .34

3l-. 'r'i. Tcu-n,3liusband t'{LC to the lIon, The Cofonial- Secretarlr, l-ztln
I'larcit, L85r. Pa.rlÍanenta.r¡,, Faler lío. 74, LB5g.
2-
)1c Parf ianetiita r.' Faner , i{o.74, IA59
ent Gazette l5tir i;larch, 1894.
L¡.mshed", T.e Fec¡let¡ Gar"Ccr: Ð )1,
, L.--t.
 42.

B)' havitrg no specific land grant, the first Botanic Gard.eüs

Comnittee aga-i-n faced ti:e matter of land for tire irer* hospital
t',*o J/ears later' ',.ihen an exchange of one anci a hral_f acï.es of
land sol-ved the probler¡ on a basis acceptabl-e to bofll the
i{ospital- Board of l,ianagement anc the Botanic Garden Cornnittee"
Tire liospital obtained adclitional- lanrl to the r.ear of its site
and the Lunatlc As;rlum sumendered an equival-ent por.tlon of its
land" 'uo the Bo'¿anic Garder:. Oveï. iiie 1re¿¡s the Botanic Garden
Board have usual-l-y rvon the n:ajor battl-es against the surrouircling
instituiions l"¡i:en atteüpts have beeir made io diminish larid u.nder
its control. An increase fron for.tir acres in l_855 to for.ti,r five
acres *rocia¡r, not incl-t-rd-ing the Botanic Parli is su-pporting evidence
of 'uhis ciain.
Enclosure o-f the Parkiands rvith a fence, by its veri¡ nature
alienates the pubi-ic: in acldiiion, nost fences beco,-ne a loilg
tei'rn fixture a;rd al-: aestlietic eìi-escre, Tliis proved to be the
case r:,4ien ti:e tín fe:rce arou-nd t::e Exhibiti.cn G:-cunc l¡as erectecl
on the request of tire Agrj-cultural and tTorticultural Societrr to
the Governmeil't in 1864 to, lrappr"opriate to their u.se an inci.ease
of tÌ:e area of -bhat por'-b-ion of the pai'hlancìs on rvhich the Exhibit-
ion Euil-cling -qtancls and r.¡irich has hiiherto been used b1, theur".J5
Alsc, the socíety exÐressed a wish. -to enciose 'rand because
incone rvas l-ost ',"Il1en SLro.;,'s ,i¡ere hel-d. Unfortunate)-y, tire Cabinet
agreed to both an i-ncrease in the land and its enclosur .,36 The
tin fence \^/as to be ti:e subject of nucir coinnlaint, because i-t r¡¡as
an el/esore over the years until final-ly removed in early 1935,

35 . FresiCe::t, Ro al ,4.gricuftural Society to Comnissioner of

Crov;n Lands, Tr oclçet csc ljlo /te64.
Cabinet lïi nute , 4tÌ.r Julyr 186/¡. Docket CSO LSIO/te64.
 l,z

Up until 1866, tire sectíon of ]and. containing seventy-five acrr

bounded br¡ Frone Road, the R.íver Torrens, T{ackneir Road and the
nortÌrern boundaries of tl'ie Lunatic As\rlun, Botanic Garden ani,
E:'Jribítion Ground.s was par.tl5r used as a Polica padd.ocl<.37 Ti:e
longer term Governmeni plan ''*as for the Accl-irnatization Sccieiir
to occup).¡ this ar:d create animal enclosures alon¡.: rhe
^r.ur3B
lines of the Zoos that r^¡ere popular j-n London and Er-rrope, but
the Society disbanded, relinquishing their cla.im to this l-and..
Tr¡o coitenders l-aid tlTeir claims to portions of fllis prlne
secti-on of the Goverttment Reserve. The Botani-c GarCen Board made
a bid in r'¡riting to *ui'te Chief SecretarJ¡ reqLlesting that tlie lar:ci
surrendered by the Accl-j-matization Societ¡r be added. to tìre
Botanic Garde:r, and rrdevoted for the cul-tiva-bion of objects
sÍmilar to tnose intended by the Acciímatization societ5r".t9
A rnore auclaci ou.s request v¡as made in a second letter. ien days
later, not onl1z requesting the åcclímatization Societr' land, br-rt
also ti:e-Exhibrtion Grou.nd and the Lulnatic Asylum nrop""t;r.40
The reasons fo:- these arnbiouìous recuests l,rere thr"eefol-d - First,
the Boiani-c Garden al-reacÌ-,' i-ncluded birds a.nd manmals for which
aviaries and cages were bu.ilt, therefore thre Zoological featitres
l'¡eÌ"e already integrated into the Botanic Gard,en. Second, if
tire Exnibition Ground beca.ne part of the Boianic Garclen, tÌre
close ties ak'eail¡ Ín e>listence between both organi-sations '¡,'ould

See ,,\rpendi;1, l,ian D.

See A'n¡endix, I'laÞ D.
Z(l Dr'. P.S. Schonbur.gll' to The CÌrief Secretari', Bth August 1866.
Doc}<et CSO 1.52I/Le66.
4a, Dr'. P.s' sci-ionburåh to Ti:e chief secretarir, l8th sertembern
1856. Docket cso I52I/L856.
 l:ll

a11o.;¡ tìre l-and used naj-nl:i for annual shows to be extended

into all-year-round- use by the Botanic Garden' Third, tile
clain to the Lunatic ,\sylurn could. be justified- because a new
Lunatic Asylurn was to be built at Parksicl.e, tirerefore the
future u.se of ih-is area r.¿as unCer consideraiion by the Gor,'ern-
ment. The repl-J,' from the Chief Secretary indr.icated. that the
Gor,,ernment t s intention \^/as to retain. the Exhibition Building

and sufficiant land a.round it for the shovr; but the Gover"nment
showed I'r.rillintness to place at the disposal of tire Eoard of
Governors all the rei:aini ng Sround except that porti-on set apart
for -ul-:e use of luna+.ics."41
As the Botanic Gard.en Board r,¡as staking its claimn
the Resident Med.ieal Officer of the Adelaide Lunatic
As,,rlurn wrote to tire Cnief Secretary requesting a portion of the
pariila"nds fo::inall-'f all-ocated to tl:le Lcclinatizatlon Society'42
Tne Snl:ve=.ror General_ 'v,¡as recjuested. to cornnent on this prcposal.
FIe poiirted out to the C]:ief Secretary, the iniention to build. a

Lunatic 1:isr¡1ua Itupcn a tnol'e beneficial sitert. He aJso reconnend-

ed -uhat I

'tuntil- tne l-ancl" is urgentl'¡ requ.ired for

sone otner public pu.rpose, ít u'ill- be
better to a1low it to renain as a- padclocl<
for the police horses. It is deeply re-
gretted. tnat ihre Acclimatization Society is
to be di-ssolved - it is ny opinion its
r¡ant of success 1s in rneasure o'.'¡ing to
the anxiety caused b-r' the laie calarlitous
drou.gìrts tô nan.¡ of tjre principal- promotors
and i earnestl:¡ hope tnat irnnrcved
seasons nay re'ti''le the Association and
public inierest, its object and ihat the
ia::cl üìar¡ ./et be reqilired.
¡' f or the pl'lrlloses
of that Aàsociat,ion. 43

41. Cirief Secreta::y to Dr. F'.S. Schonburgh, 24Ih Se'-tember,

1856. Docket CSO L52l/!e66.
42. iìesident l'ledical Officer to Chief Secretarr', 2otr^, June,
18 i,5. Docke'¿ CSO ]-Aí:,O/L965.
t. -7
Q,1 r7.1¡6r'¡11- f, c,"¡'-i,. l. *¡ l-l''i af (a¡-r.ainrrt Dnnle ct e 1c I ^]A¡ t1çt t:
 4j.

The Acting Police cornmj-ssioner \,,¡es also asked to connent, and

he indicated that:

rlii:e three acres ai the end of the

grormds attacired to the Lunatlc Asr¡lum
r,¡as fenced and a"lienated fi.orn the police
for some tine - he had no objection io
this being a.cproprie^ted by the Superint-
endent of Lunatj-cs - I certaínly object
to ,giving r:p so large a porti on of the
police padd"ock as that '¡hich. is maniced
off 'r;i,cclimatization Socieiy" on the plan. t' 44
The chief secretar'¡.' reported to cabinet TrAn apÞropriation of
al-I tire paddocl< dov¡r to thre Torrens for tkre use of lunatics
and the Botanj-c Gardens v'ror-rld o I think, be strongllr ob.ìected to
by tÌre publicu.45 Apparentiy cabinet cíd not agree, becau-se
the Gover"nment granted ihis land to the Botanic Garden Boar"d
íor a botanic park" Ceriainly by setting aside land for an
unenclosed. botani-c pa.r'ie,the Go''¡ernnent on this occasion eould
not be accused of aliena."ting ihe Parkla.nds; rather, this r,ras a
l.'aii of enhancín¿ç t}:e pubiic recreatíonal use of a previously
bar::en erea of scatter"ed gui:ls and snall areas of scrub, suitable
onl-y for the agistnent of Ì:orses.
Frosperous ys¿¡* on the l-and and a growing confid.ence in
the Colony prompted tne :igricultural and Horticultural Soci-etlr
to nress for rnore land., because agricultural sho.,.¡s lrere growing
in popu.larity. The secretary r,rote to the conrnissj-oner for
Lands and Inrnigr.ation :'equ.esting tiie lower !-rortlon of tÌre Hospital-
land, frcnti-ng on to Frome Ro"d,46 (Af,proxinately r,¡here tne
Dental lÌospit,al- is toda'¡.) The l.iinister of Agricurture and

44. Acting CgrnmissÍoner of Police to Cirief Secre-bary,

Docket CSO 1060 /te56.
45, Chief Secretary to Cabinet, 3oth August, 1866, Doctrret
cso rlTo/ 1e66:
Secretary Asr-icultu¡.al and Horticultural Soc ie t1r to Commiss-
ioner foi L:nds, llth June 1E78, Denartnent of Lands Doclcet
c,so L728/a878.
 46,

and Xdurcation :'epl1ed that rrit is not considered advísable

to alienate an¡,' poi'tion of the hospiial- ground-s for that irurÐose,
but tiie Board" of l.îanagement (i.u. Flosi:ital BoarC) are wiliing to
allocate ti:e .rigricultni'al- and lÌorti-culturral- Society the use of
ihe l-ov¡er portion on the understanding that the Bcard rnair cl-aim
possession if required on giving reasonable notice,,.47 ltbout
the sarTre time, interest ii: zoologicaì- matters wa.s rev-ived r¿,¡ith the
refornatj-on of tl:re Accl-ina.tization Society 1n July 1878. Tr.vo
years later', the ne'.1¡ Society was pressing for five acres of land-
in the Botanic Park. rtThe attainrnent of a separate Zoological
Garden was attenCed br; neto-ciations that aroused acrinony".48
Vari ous reasons for selarating animal-s frcrr botani cal collecti-ons
were refl.ected in let-ters to the ne.ì.¡spa'iers, these inelude the
inhureanitir oí confinin,g animal-s in srnal-l- spaces, the horrible
snell, the dangers of l-oose tigers and other carnil.ora in cl-ose
proxinitii to il:re car"ri-age wa)is, i'oaring, belloi.;ings and. other
noises na.de b;r beasis, al-so ihere l¡as a feai'that the numeï-ous
and beautiful trees '¡¡hich trrere a featui'e of ti:e Botanic Garden
','¡oulci be d.estroSred. Earl-:r zcological philosopiry becane mixed.
up ';ri1.ir accl-imatization theorj-es and rrtrie ini-bial ob;ects of the
Society lrere the very anti-ihesis of modern ideas of zoolo,ru.49
The Botanic Garden Bcard slroagly fought tlie nove 'rbut the
Socie-fir hacl- t're blg baitalior.s".50 They suggested that the Zoo

47. ibid, l,linister of Agricul-tr":re anC Education to the

Secreiai)¡ lìcricr-:ltu:'a1 and- ilorticultura.l Society 25th
0ctober, l-978.
lL^ T amqì^¿:rl Tìre Peorlers Garden Ð71
¿.o C.¡. Ri:ln The P.,r',¡af Zoolo¡:i-caI Societr¡ of Souil: Australia
1,q74_l 071
¿vlvLtt-. (G::-i-ff iñ fress 1978).

50. LarilsÌ-led, T'le Peoplels Garrlen t

Ð 7-l
L . JL.
 L'-l

be given the síte of the old Botanic Garden on the opposj_te

side of the P,i".¿er Torrens because there .v/ere lrunoccupied"
iroriions of the par'klands 1n close pro:<init;r to the síte aslied
for".51 other argurnents 1,rere used.; b,-rt to no avail, and the
Ì{ouse of Assernbl-y resoh,'ecl bl,r . J_arge riraioriti¡ t}iat:

r?Tiie pi-ece of land- contaÍn.i;rg abouit thir.teen

acres lying north and v¡est of t]:e mai n drive
tlirou.gh the Botanic Reserve be pl-aced" under
the contr.ol of the Soutn Australian ;i.cclin-
atization and ZoologÍcal Society for zoo-
logicai- pu.rposes only.'r jz

This Governrnent decision 'v,'as finally gazetted on the l_4:h of

April 1883 ','¡ith the schec-ule defining the lanc. Tjrls is an
exanple of how ihe Gcr¡ernment can over-ride the wi-shes of one
organisation ',.¡]:o ha.d no specific boundaries in their Äc-L. uThe
Board had been wcrsteC in i;s flrst conflict r,¡ith the new neigh-
bour ju-si along the Torrens, ju.st as ii wa.s to be worsted se.¿eral
times aga.J,n ,,+hen the Zool-ogical Societ',, r.eached ou.t for.
qa
ov*arreì nn^ft JJ
v/!ee..:9!vf,lú a

To be objeciive, ii r¡ust be adrnitted that ü;e Zoo area

r¡a,s exceedingl-y sna]l-, being the srnallest first class capital-
cit;" zoo in hustralia. Tl'le ab:'-lity of the Gover.nmei:t io simply
cha^n6e ilie boundar-ies rn Gor¡ernment P,eser./es v,,as further e;npiiasize<i.
r'¡ilen tle Accl-imatÍzation ancl ZooloEical Socie*r,;,r apnlled pressu.re
to the Br:tanic Ga'dens Bcard trrrourìh ihe chief secretar-¡,,, request-
ed another two åcres of the Botanic Far.k to e>lteird its southern
fence to v¡i-uhin a chairi of Botanic Drive.54 on u:i-q occasÍon,
the Bo+-anic Garceü Board again strenuously r.esisted any encroach-

F't
)Lo ibid . P ,3r.
)a-. iio'-rse of .À.ssenbI:.', , September, 18g1.
e2
Lansiied, Tl¡o Fcnnlalo Garden ¡ D?7
L o
))o

l¿t - Tn IRq<-
 ì,o

ment of la.nd, burt agreed to meet a depu.tation frorn tre Acclimat-

ization and Zoological Society consisting of Sir Thomas Elder,
and Chief Justice \/air. The Boa¡'d eventually agreed to cede the
land, "on the disiinct unCerstanding that no further concessions
are to be aslied for fron the Botanic Garden Board",55 This lvas
an ootinistic requesi not to be fu-lfilled, because tv,'elve \¡ears
l-ater after protracted dj-scr-lssj-cns over an additional five acres
of Botanj-c Farjç, ti':.e Botanic Garden Board again gave in to
pressure ani. ceded a narror"¡ striÞ of lancl betr¡¡ee:r the boundary
of the Zco end Boruani-c Ðrive consi sting of one acre twentlr
nerches, brin:ing tl:e Zoo bounC.ari' witÌ::-n ei,gi:t feet of Botanic
Dri-ve. TÌ:,e ;:roviso placed on the accession of this land r/,ras,
I'tnat tl:le Z,:t: placed no carnivora or other aninals objectiona'ole
to ''¡isíiors to t:ie pai'k on the area" .'" iil'rile the Botanic
ç,Ê.

Gar"de;: Board were on ihe defensive in relation to encr"oachnents

fro;: the Zoo, initiatir,¡es !¡ere agaín being tai<en by the Board as
it cl aineC the Exhibition GrcunC lands on ihe r'¡esiern side of
the Botanic Ga.rde:: frcnting Frc:"ie iLoa.d. TÌre suggesiion r,,as tira.i
e inuSer.in Oí eConOnic bota.ny, OI an acuA:'iurn, or a consert¡atOry
be buil*u on this site.57 Cther po.rrerful insiiiu.tions includina
'¡,ne .^-del-aide ï{ospital, Univer"sit¡r anC tlie Education Depai'tnent

lrere also interested in the lxhibiiion Ground at various ti-mes.

One of the ea.riiest orofessj-onal sports entreprenelrrs in
ACelaide r"¡as John I'lilneran au.ctioï:eer, estate and financia] agent,
who sar,¡ tire opnortuni-ty to naiie profits out of snoi't. He r,vrote

66
t2.
T :;¡<ì- ad The Feollers Garclen -t P-5U-
t av ta Tì.e 'i'r'a.nsfer of the
I anC nroritul_Eateci in il^ c. Go't¡er-nrnent Gazette 25th I'lor¡enber 1897.
5t: i :'id . ': . a,''4. Ixira 1¡nci -l i^oil';1¿;ated in Govei-nnent Gazet-ue.
15th June, f899.
57. ibid . F.É4.
 La

to the I'linj-ster of Ed.',rcation in 1893 reo,uesting a clote for the

l-ol','est rate to lease the 5:<hibítion Gi'ounds v¡Ìren not rec_uired
b.¡ tne Agricultu.ral and Horticu"ltural soci etj¡ or any otl-er
Sroulrs. I'The obieci for which the gz"ounds r.¡oul-d be used would
-oe A-uhletic Eriertainments
of e.ll- icinds and if large enough,
qa
perl:aps Flony raci-ng and cour"sing.tt)Q Various governnient officers
were required to coninent on t]:"e request; first, ti:e su.rve-vor
General pointed out tliat the lancl t¡as never vested in the Chief
secretar-r,', nor ',','ere anir 9f the b'r-rildings upon the Farklands
held. under legal authority, Another officer59 d""ru attention
to the peculiar occupation rights of the ,-r.gricurltural anC iÌorii-
cultu:'al Society, ire indicated that tliere is:
rrno record of t]:le terrns upon r^¡hich tl:e Societir
occupi-ed these grou"n:ls. I belie.,'e it is du.rii:g
tire pleasure of the Gover"nneni - no e:tclusive
use but -bhe practice is to give other
l¡oCies cerrnlssion to u.se -tire Erounds after
the.i aï't'ange with the Societir to pa-r for
Societ'¡rs Ðlant.il 60.

¡{¿rri:ê i'.ilne did not fo j 1o:r¡ ur his or"iginal letter because no

lease was t¡llen out for tjrese "lurÞoses. The records, ho'-.rever,
hi¡l:J-:¡;ht tite ad. hoc r¡.¡e1¡ i7- t'¡i:ich :iov¡erfi.tl pressure ;qroups \.¡ere
able to use valuabl-e centrall-y located public land fo:: liitle
oi' no cost.
ivl','5f.er.',,r surround.s tire origins cf the Government E:rnerinentaf

Oi"cj:ai"d rnarked on earì-ir nl-ans and now occuîlied. by the Munlcipal

58, John i,iil-ne to l',iinister of :Cuca-tion, lOth October legj.

Docket i'ir!8(E lA94/lSg3,
59. F. Ðuffield to Su:vei,'or General. Bth Decenber 1e9J.
Docket i]lðrtr LO94/tAg3,
hf
vV. ì i ñ I
:!4uô ^
 Ãô

Tranways Tru.st. Probabi-y no definition of the site boundaries

\'¡as consj-dered necessâry beca.usethe land r,¡as oi,med. and used by
the Government, ceriainrlr, the old Lunatic Asylu_n land
situated on tire corner of i{acL,ney anci Botanic Road r¡¡as used in
part for vegetable gard-ens a.nd orchard.s, in order to supplement
the inmates t food, and to proi,'ide outdoor iherapeu.tic occupation.
Also, the police occupied. sone of tj:e land- in this area for
horse paddocks. Other sections of ihe Government Reser\,,e urere
used for crcp experimentaiion, orchards, ancÌ r¡ines; for
exanple, the 01d Exhibition Ground had a lucerne pacldoek on
its north sicìe frorn the lggCts. An experinental yr.neyard
and orch.ard were also planned for i]:is land, but the rpro ject
languished until money becane nore pIentiful,,.61 The
Gove¡.nment Deüonstraticn Orchard carie into prorninence because
of ',-r:e oubric debate over attennis to find- a central site for
the nel"¡ electric tra*mtvays transl.ort deroi, rvhen ihe i,{r;nicipal
Tranwairs Tr';st ',.¡as abou.i to be established in 1g06. progress in
the form of a nei¡ transpor.i system at ihe ejrnense of alienating
*uhe Pa"rklands
became a public issue, the result was inevitable,
ì:ut few could anticipate the ramifications contained. .rn the r,¡ide
po';.rêtrs in the I\ct.62 Particu.Iarly the Adelaíde City Councj,l
a-nd
-to a iesser extent oiher Councils
Ï/ere constantly out-manouevred
by the l¡lunicipal Trarntr'ays Trust i','hen Ðolvers to alienate additional
Parl',lands and ciiy streets for tr.acks uas r,¡ritten into tne Trarn_
Act, The rnaÍn problen was to find a city site for the Trust,
"'ra.l/s

61, Lamshed, Tlie Peonle Is Garcle ¡lt L o l)c

I'ir-rnici - Tran"'¡a s Trust Act 9L3 of 1906.

 5r.

and the liacknelr Road l-and beca¡ne a pi.ime site; particularly

wheir unexpected resistence rvas met b',¡ the net,¡ Tranways Trust in
-uhe selectj-on of a su.itable city derot for its operati-ons, An

aprrlication to the Governnent for approxi nately fou:- acres of

¡ar]<lands on East Terrace be-frveen Rundle Street anC. Grenfell
Street receii¡ed the curt repllr frorn Cabinet tnat it had trno
synpatiry l^¡itli the pror:osalrr , bJ probabl-v* fo:: two reesons. First
the land in questicn ca:äe urrder the care, ccntrol and ma.nagenet
of the Adelaide Cit;r Council and" therefore it r¡as not Governmert,
Reserve. Second, the possi-bilit,v of unsightll.' buÍldings such as
a large iran car barn so close to the city might have been taken
into consi-deratío:i. The Gove:'nrnent thei^, announced the allocation
of a l-arger nine acre site for the depot on the northern part cf
the Government Deinonstraticn Orch.ard in llackne-;' Road. Because a
lease of Governin:nt land for a specified period, of t-;ne and a
rei:t needecl to be deternined, anotlier Act r¡,'as necesselî. so t''e
Tra.riwa-¡s Trust Ci'c'rvrr Lea.ss 4ç¡ of ]907 r,¡as debàted i¡r boih Flouses
of Fa::lianent. Sone speaicers raised the al-ienation of t!:Le ;:arh-
land.s issue. For e:<arnnl-e the Prenier', Richard Butl-er, maintaired
uj r.1 u .

rrthe land at Hachnel; Road had not been

used as a park for more ti:an fiftir :v'ears.
It ]rad been in the past a harbour and
breeding grournd of all- sorts of i-nsects.
ïf it could be put to tÌ:re profitable use
proposed it I'roulcl still be the propert',¡
of the people.t' 6l+

{clv_Sltisqr, Znd Ðece,nber lrfnT

Iiouse of i:sse::b1.., Seconcl Readinq Debates 17th December L9A7.
 q2

Tr,.¡o speakers ooposed the proposal on the basis that in

future J¡ears the Bctanic Garden woutd need extensio.rrt,65
l'/illiam Joseph Deirny, the second menber for AdelaÍde v¡as
ambivalent on the issue; he malntained that "Adelaide is v¡ell
off for parklands and was in that respect, the best off city
of its sj-ze in the wor1drr66 - a sta.tement made no doubt r¡¡iih
a great deal of pride and still true toclay.. He then ''¡ent on
to nake the point that, ?'if the T{ackney land v¡ere pari of the
parlrlands tÌ:e Government woul-d not think of touching .:tu,67
This certainly was true in relation to the East Terrace proposal
rejected oui of hand by Cabinet, Later on in his speech he
made the positive statement that there are ttno differences betl'¡een
pai'lelands and Cro-.'-'n lands ¡.,¡hen botir ivere used for public
ÁÊ
purþoses". "" Then he qu.eried tire renial- f igr-rre and length of
t1:e lease, naking ihe connent that this was tta remarhably
good barÍaintt. oY tiis sirong statenents against +ri:e prolosal 'v,¡ere
then confused -/,,i:en he ttui.ged menbers to take a broad. ra-uional-
viev; of tire cuesticnn anC not let anl/ sentimental feel-ings about
tl:e narlçlands prevent thern fron acting in the best Ín-terests of
tl:e whole State".7O A local en¡:-ronnental vier.¡ vla.s put by
Thonas Smeaton, iÏernber for Torreirs v¡iro stated tha.-u rrthe Govern-
ment has no right to imnose a disabil_ity upon the people of

65, Tne lfon, Samuel James líitchell-, I'Tenber for lrlortliern Terri-
tory ancl The lIon. l'/illiam David Ponder, llember for Adelaid,e.
â^ i{ouse of ,¡issernbly, Seconcl Readin,s Debates , ITth Decenber L9OT
ibid.
ibid.
Áo ibid.
7Õ ibid.
 q?

Hackney, whcse frontages would be more or l-ess depreciated.

in value if sheds 1¡/êrê placed there',.7l Only one rnenber in
the Legisl-ative Council objected to this Act. The l{on. John
Le:,'¡is of ltrorth District maintained that the r'land ought to
have remained part of tlle people I s recreation gro',lnd as it rvas
in the origi-nal ded.ication".72 The sentiments r,;ere fiire, but
the fec-us .,,/êFê rrr:"ong, because there was no dedication of this
landi rnaliþs if 'uhere hacl been, the land rniEht not have been so
easil;r alienated. Inevitably, the Act wâs passed and l'1r.
Theo¡lore Bri:-ce, Adelaide Cj-ty Council representat-ive on the
Municipal Tramways Trust Board turned. the first sod for
tlle erection of the Heckne.,¡ Ðe:rot on the 21st of l.,,1air, 1908.
Tension between ihe Adelaide Cit:¡ Council and the Tramwa¡'s Trust
existed fro¡r -uhis neriod wi:en the i,1a.¡or of Àdelaide, 1.1r. Franl<
Johnson refused to attend the opening cerenon-v because represent-
ation of the Cor,.:ncil- on t?:e Board r.,,as not sufíici-errt.73 This
antagonism becane evident at vp,r"ious t-imes, for exa-uiple,
Councillor" Sullivan du.ring an -Adelarde Cit¡r Council Finance
Comrnittee l,feeiing cl-a-imed rtthelr had tire ?ram,.ra¡rs Trust nutilating
their squares and stealing awa¡/ tireir parhlands their represent-
ed. the neople, and they ought to conserve their interest=',.74
Pa,rt of tre Oi'charrl co,iti,:lu.ed r:o e:tj-s-t i-n this ?.ree adjacent
to ihe l.lunicipa.J- Tramr,ralzs Trust land, but inevj-tably the need
for more l-and dictated the southerly expansion of the Trust.
First of al'r, in r9z5 '.,¡hen a stor"age shed r^;as erected follov;iirg
rf

7L. ibid,
72, I-esislative Council, Second Readi:r,r¡ Debates 19th Decenber
ì oô7

.i-idvertr ser l-Otl: i"larca , L9O9.

11. Dail.¡ Ijerald. 16th Januarlr, 191-4.
 ^1,

the introduction of the Trr;st t s first tr,+enty motor buses .r75

F'ina11;'2, ¡fthe orchard had to be completely removed by the end
of 1928 to provide parking space for the rnoiley fleet of
bu.ses purchased fron the arivate operator ur, .76 Acts ì,Jere
passed in L929, L935, and L937 to provide the i{unicipal Trari:wa1.s
Trust with addiiional land. The alienation of a significant
portion of the Parklands t"ras now complete, but the Tramv¡a)¡s
Trust r,vould renain a thorn in ti:e side of the Botanic Gai'den
Board ',vho were faced r^¡ith a fu.rther al-ienation of a snall
section of Botanic Park and. il-1ega1 parking problens by Trust
enployees that are still noi resolved.
Tl:e future of boii: the forner Lunatic Asylu.m grc:-inds and t]:e
ol-d Exhibition Ground becane a live issue, when the last of the
rnental patie::ts had moved- out to Fa:"kside in 1902 giving t]:e
Adelaide Flcsoital- use of these rather" forbidd.íng buildings as
a Consum'Jtive Hospital and Cancer Bloclc. Irío rnoneJ,¡ ìr/as spent in
rnodernisi-ng the buildings because their future t¡as in doubt,
and ine>ltricabl.rr tied to tl:e futr-rre of the Old Exhibition Ground
site. cri-uicisrns ri,'ere voíced about the dilapidated state of
tiris aree along Frome P'oad. rrThe ord E:'-nibition Building is
Iii,tle better tha.n a lumber yard' .77 A sinirar statement rvas
used ';,¡hen a depu.tation fron ti:e Botanic Garden Board, inclu_ding
the I'iayor of Adelaide net l*itir the conmissioner of Lands to
again press for ihe acqulsition of the 01d E:Cribition Ground.,
t'Frone Road, one of ihe most magnificent di.ives, is an eyesore

75. J.C. F.adcliffe and C.J,l,.i. Steel e Adelaide P.oad Passenger

Trans¡ort Te36-l E . Âdel-aide L ibraries Board, (South
US ra a Qq

/rl ibid, P,85. See Also Appendix I'fap E,

7a R.egister 21st August, l-9L2.
 EÊ

by the unsightly iron fence on one sj-de and a very unsightly

ru.bbish d.epot".78 rhe deputation arso protested about the
Þroposal for the Old E>ùibition Building to become an Isol-ation
Hospital- duri-ng the influenza epider:ric in 1919. This meeting
r.,,¡âs folloiçed up by a letter to the Commissioner of Lands
emphasising ihat:

rrthe Boianic Gardens Board protests the

action of the Government in proposing to
hand o\¡er the Old Exhibition Ground. ior
ihe pur.nose of an Isolation }lospital,
and enters iis ernphatic protest against
su-ch a. suggestion. Tire Board again
brings before the Governnent their oft
repeated application for this site as a
necessa,ry and suitable one for the nuch
needed extension of the garden.rf 79

Cabinet considered tire Boianic Garden Board request and^ decided

tirat trthe prcposal cannot be conceded to,'.80 rf nothing else,
ihe proiest ''.,;as effeciÍve in sr:opping the Adela"ide Hospital
ursing the land and buildings for their purjloses,
Bl' -che earl¡r 1920 t s i-t r'¡as clear that tÌre .r\gricultural and
ilortj.cultural SocÍety were to nove to r,,trayvill-e, Now the
Ädelait1e Flospitaln Bo-banic áarC.en, and the Universitj, each
applied pressure to ihe Government in their efforts to obiain
the oid Exhibition Ground site. The Governnent took the easy
v¡aj/ out and did nottritrg for the next ten years, allor*ing the
tin fence along Frcne Road and the OId Exhibition Buildings to
deieri-oraie fu.riirer.

lÕ. Botanic Gard.ens Boárd to comrnissioner of Lands, october,

1919, Dochet tSrS 6gj2/l-gl-g,
{:Ia Bai-Iey to Commissioner of Cror..r¡l Land.s, Z4tin October,
1919. Docliet LErS 6917hgt9,
80. of Cro',.,'n Lands to Botanic Gard.ens Board,
Cornn"rissioneÌ'
20th Januariz, L92O. Docket L8<S 6982/L9I9,
 )o.

Over the years, srnal-l pieces of the ParklancÌs, particularly

those i-n Go¡"'ei"nmeni resei'ves have often been alienated for variou.s
pul'Ðoses sirnplir b]r means of a proclamation in the Government
Gazette. Little or nc ou.bl-ic discu-ssion u.su-ally followed such
an arbíiarr¡ rLecisir:n, for example a sna.11 triangular piece of
land '¡as taken from an area between t]:e Old E,-iribition Gr.ound
and the Botanic Garden, and a.dded to the north-west corner of
the Fios¡itall- Padcl.ock. This squar"ed off the block on ',.¡hich the
dental Ìrosnital v¡as about, to be erected.Sl
À ra^dica.l change occuirred to tl:ls par.t of the Go¡¡ernment
Reserve in ccnjunction r,¡ith 1936 State Centenarr/. To celebr-ate
this inr-ortant occasion, proposals for rnajor projects of -State
significance !¡ere being cor:sidered. For sone years ti:e Edu.cation.
De:artmeni had been investigating various cit¡"' sites for a ner+
;idelaide Bo-r's Hiah School. The Director of Educati-on, 1Í.T. ;\deir,
su"ggested tc the i'-inister of Edu"cation thai as a cenienar,l'
project, the Gol'ernnent shoul-d ,investigate ihe possibil-ity of
acqu.iring the Old trxhibition Grounds on Froi,ie P.oad fo:- a ner.rr
a)
i{igh School."-'- Th.is recoÌr,nendaiion was enti:usiastissfry taken
up b.,, both the l,Tinistei' of Educatior: r,yho suib¡:iited it io Cabinet,
and a specíal- Comnittee was appolnted t,o investigate the proposal
in d,etai1. The A¡-cliitect-in-Cirief advised the Commíttee that
both the OlC Exhibitj-on Grouncl and Infectious Diseases iiospital
(forrerlv the olcl- Lunatic.Asylum) were on Governmeirt R"=""ï". anC.
rrtiter,r afo tl:ev'efor"e ava-i-la.ble to ti,e Government fcr âir-,./ rr.rrÐose."8l

El. , 29tl Se'rtenber, 1921.

Governnent G.azette
0¿. I. A}len, Sunerintenrlent of Ectucation to lf.T. Ade;"',
Di.reCtc:. cf iCucat:'_on 21St l'4ârr-,1r- lo¡6- Docl<e-u 2D LIO6/35.
e7
9)o Archi'r,ect-in-CÌrief to Comnittee of trnquir¡r, 28th June, 1937.
Docket ED 1106/35,
 57.

Consideration r.¡as given b)r the Committee to acquiring part of

the Botanic Garden adjacent to the 01d Exl,ibition Ground for
integratíon into the proposed Adelaide Bol's I{igh School. The
Cornnittee soon realised, "it is more t]:an probable tiiat an:/
suggest.ion to absorb portíon of this public park v¡ould meet wiih
strenuous oppos-iiion".84 E.¡entuall¡,, fcur acres on the westeï'n
sj-de of tlie Bota.nic Garden !¡ere taken for the Hospital and tlle
01d Exhibi-tion Ground so that this latter area could be increased
to ten acres for'-uhe Adelaid-e Boys Fïigh School- site. Ðr. E.
Angas Johnson, Chairman of the Botanic Gai'den Board and a member
of the Cabinet Comnij-ttee fough-i, har.d to avoid losing tr,is land,
bui ti:e opportunity to gai-n an additional ten acres on tire opposite
side of the park, fornerl-;,'ihe Old Lu.natic Asylun, was a conproriì-
ise. Lgreernent to this +,,rade-off exacted additional- provisíons
frorn the Gc"/er-nment to i:neet a-]1 the ccsts to re-erect fences,
reinove gl-ass l:ouses, nu-rsei'y sireds and re-allocate tne Cu-ratorrs
house, plus e:rtra funds to establish gar"dens on tne site. In
fact, tì:e Botaníc Garden continued" to use the fou"r'acres up until
]-945 befo::e it i*as reqr-iired b)' tl:e Hcsnital- for e:<tensions connect-
ed v¡iti: nurses accornmod.e.tion.
A strong subrnission was consiri.ered by tlie Committee from
tre llospÍtal Boa;'d thror-rEh its representa-uive on the Comrnittee
Dr. L.11. Jeffer-ies, DÍrector'-General l':edical- Services for the
vrnole of tÌ:e Ol-d Exhibj-tion Building to extend the Hospital, br-rt
the Conmittee found that the v¡orld trend. in major cit;r iloslital
adninistration placed emphasis on snal-ler regional hospitalsrrather

84, Con¡nj-ttee of Enqi-iir-r, Re1l6¡¡, Docket ED 1106/1935,

 EO

tiran ver_v lai'ge cent,ral- completes, the:,' al-so reconmended:

"th.at fu"ture additions shourld be located

convenientlir as possible with regard to
essential services íor tne siaff and in-
mates. For thi-s verr"r cogent reason tire
buildings shrould be con:ra.ctly grouped as
poss-i-ble a.nd this cons'Litutes a sound
reason for vierving witn disfavour tire
proposal- io reserve the uhole of the Old
Exhibition Grounds for irospital extens-
ions.rr 85

A strong case \./as argried for the Adelaid.e Boi's Fiigh School
to be built on the 01d Exhibítion Ground site. The Directcr-
General of Education, T,'1.J. -{dey sar+ arirrantages to be gained fron
student and sta.ff conta"ct l+ith the Universityn School of I'ii-nes,
L.t-w!rlJ rrrju
T i 1--^ø"^r.-l +l^^ itrt Gallery.
¡\ *.1- ñ^11 ^-*' rlThe Comrnittee knor¡¡s no other site
l!rF'^^ n^**;
".i:e
a^
so adnirablr.¡ ada'oteC for colleEiate purpcsestt.--
A terse coi"n,:rent l¡.:as nade,sn a sr"rbmi.ssion frort -uiie ArcÌ-.itect-
in-Cnief . 'i'he Ðï"orfosel was
tc :'etain tne stcre and- v¡or"ltshop area
bet'.'¡een tjre Ficsrital- P.eserve and tne Ol-d Exhibition Gi'ounds,
bec=use it r.,¡oi-:.]-d be e costl-r'operation to aove to a less central-
site. Ti:e Connitteets comnent fias d.irectrtrit '','¡as noru ccnsid.ered
that ti:e progress of other" imporiant public institu*rions shoul-d
be held u,p because the land i-s being used for Government irur-
poses of l-esser in-lo:'tance".87
itrithln iirree rnonths, Cabinet received and adopted the
ConmitleeIs reconirilendat.i ons, se-Lti:r,q asicie tire Old trxl:ibltion
Ground to'clie west and at the rear of the Botanic Ga.rden, plus
a small section cf the Botanic Garden for tiie future Adelaide

85, Chairnan of Comnittee of Enqttirl' to ,'',cting Frenlier, 28tb'

n L937, Doci<et nD 110 t /L93i.
Ju.ne

ibid,
i_bid,
 qo

Bo_1¡s forrrer Lunatic As¡iluril and ten âcrês tr¡/âs

F{iEn School-. T}re
to be pl-aced. uncler. the care, Co::LtrOl- ar:.d rnanagennent of the
Bctanic Gard-en Board. A sna.ll- section of the Botanic Garden
was ceCed to the .¡-rclel-ai-cLe Fiospi-ta1- for future building extens-
j-ons. The re-distrj-buiion of th.e forner Lunatíc As¡,:lun site
resulted. in:

Botaäíc Garden forinerll' forty acres now forty-six

acres
A,delaj-de i{osi:ital fornerl',' tirlrteen acres nol'I
seventeen acres
Adelaide Boys i{igh Scirool- ten acres 88

Tl:e onl-y authorit.v for these radi-cal changes to the Park-

land.s uas a Cabi-nei appr.oval on the 2nd. Ar-lgust 1937.89 lrTo
or Sazette procl-anation gave cíflcial
parl-iamentar";ø appi'ovai-
recogniiio:r -to -uhese decisicns. In hii:dsight, various or"ganis-
ai,iOnS ,¡IhO ';¡ere +r.O ha-,/e CaÌ"e, COÍl-urOl and nanageneni Of tireSe
Gove:'iltrent P.eser'.¿e a.reas vfere either naive, oÍ 1:laceC great
fait:: in their abilit-;.' -to uiijrs-uâ:lC ¡he '¡¡hj-ns of political
baciçs-LicLing. On t}l,i.s flinsi' Cabinet ninu'ce, tì::.e Eotanic GarCen
Eoard imned-iatelir arranged tl:e denolition of the Ol-d Lunatic
lis 'lun b,,iild"ings, e>:ceFt for the nurses qu.arters on the coÏ'ifer
of Botaníc ancl Hackne)¡ Road; these ì:uildin,3s a're ho';r used b1r
tl^e Der,a,rillent of Fu:'t:,er Eri.ucaiion ii: co-operation l'¡itil tl:e
Botanic G¡räe:r to house tlae l-lort,icul-iura.l- Certificate Course,
Perhaps, 'Dos.sesSj.on .¡¡eS cons-idered mcre proof of olrnership
ti:,an the tecl-in-i-cal-ities of official- Go''¡ernne::t proclanations.

ac
tjO See /iplend-j-;< i'Iap E.
¡

cat
(_: :; a Cab j-nei :\pi:::o.¡al 2nd. Au¡:u. st 1937, Docket ED LIO'>/L937 ,
 50,

Tpn \¡aqrs la.ter a letter. fron T.pr.ltr. Lothian, Direeior,

Boianic Garden, raised t:ie issr-:e of the GarCei: boundar,,,
:.djoining
tl:e FIosi:ita}.90 Trre rjosrita.r- was a.bout to extendr and requj.red.
*ulte land u-sed
uc t_i_11- this tj_ne by the Bctanic GarcLen. A siight
alteration -bo the bou:_rda.ry ,.tas a,r:pi.oved by Cabinet t,,linute to
allo'¡¡ the arbor, fern house¡and conr¡eiriences io renain lnsiCe ihe
l-and used by the Garden.9f TÌ:is adjustrneilt h.ad riitre effect
on the land areas. Anoth.er letter fron T.R.N. Lothian a monihlaier
raised tlre r,.'jrole issue of the Botanic Gard-en boundarles. i.ie
aslied, 'rtl:a.t steps be taken for the rsolaiion Block (forrilerly
the old Lunaric:tslrir-rm) to be set aside and gazetted. for tire
purposes of tl:e Bctanic G¿¡¿s''rr.92 lufhen off:l-cers of the Denart-
nent of Land-q investigated tiris req.uest the¡; questioned whetj:er
the Cabinet arpr-cr¡al j_ir IgjT ilgives legal occupation ovei. the
Inf':ctiou-s Diseases i{ospital site by the Bctanic Garden Bcarci_,
ttíz, Secticn 9,J) j:,ct.2Zl] of 1935 tj:e Boa::d rnâ=,., rvith
tire
co:^sent of tl:e Governc:' augnent, dlrninish or" al-ter ilre bounc.aries
oi the Gard.en" .9i Becauise ccr:,selit b',- flie Govei.nor was never
gi.ren, the Dei:artne::t recornn-:erci.ed a fresl: dedication of the
Bo-uanic Ga'r'Cen tc incl-uoe tl:re Old Infectious Diseases IJospital
and' al-so ihe Bota.nic Gard-en P.eserve. This reconr¡endation
l+as
taken to cai:i netr but not anpr.oved. lio reasons were given for

90. T.R".l'i. Lcthian, Dírectoi" Beis¡1" Garden to D-irectoi.

Lands, 16th l.jarch 1948. Docket n/l- treiollé:l':- """"' of
ol Cabrnet i'jinute 29t!t ljovenber., l_g49. Docke-v DfL hS2C/L937.
i_b id "
OZ c':rief Drau¡ihtsman to Director of Lands. Docket D,/L 4B2o/L9,37.
 6l-.

this unusual decision: perhaos Cabinet rcished to hold its

options open on the unol-e of tliis Governrnent Reserve, because
of mcunti-ng nresslr.res for extra land fron t}:e Universii;,r, Botanic
Garden, llospital, and the School of l4ines. It 'lvas not '¿n!il
three ),'ears later and fourteen years after the Cabinet ha.d nacJ.e
the decision to hand or¡er the Old- Lunatic ,ttsylum grounds to
the Botanic Garden, that a. proclamation in the Government Gazette
defined the Boianic Gar"d.en and- tire Botanic Park bound.ari"".94
Even then, the boundaries r,,¡ere rrrong and in the next month this
dedication l.^Ja.s .,r¡ithd.rar'rn for minor corectlons to be **d".95
Unlike the Botanic Gard-en Board r"¡no imrnediatel-y occupied
the Ol-d Luna-u1c Asylurn site on the. flins¡r prernise of a Cabinet
rninute, the Ed.u.cation Derartment was still battling for funcLs to
establl-1sh tire Àdel-aide Boiis lligir School on the Frorne R.oaC site.
:-rdnittedll¡, State finances lcere stj-l-1 tisht because of the
De'^ressjcn bi-rt tire need for the iìigh Scltool ..','as evident b¡r the
nou.n-cíntì cr-j-ticj-sm of ccnditicns in the existing Ìii¡h school-
buil-dingsr'rb1/ AnrilL L939, the ne,.,., Preiílier and. ;lrcting l'ilnister
of Eduica"Lio:rrTon Fl-ayford., had been d.r'ar,¡n into the contr.overslrrr.g6
Fcr some une>i1;lained reason, other parl<land sj.tes foi" tjie l{igh
Sc,:ool were stil-l being considered, eveTl e question in the Ilouse
alluded to pressu.re for this l-and- to be set aside for other
irr.:rposes. rrSone sections heve since appeared -uo be working,to
prevent the r,,,crk 'oeing carr-i ecl out" ,97

o¿. Govern¡nent Gazette , 22nd llovember, I95!,

Gcvernnent Caze-ute zci\ lJecenber 1951.
o,. Colin Theile. Grains of i.iustard Seed /- -
(Iducation Depart-
ment So,:tn Aust rali-a 1 9'/ 5 )¡ Ð 1ÊA ! . J-ge.

A'7
) I a
irl tllhann
4r¡ViirrJvV¡¡a cnn Fiouse cf .¡-5ss:þ]\. , 19th October, 7939.
 ^t

This rvas certa.ínl-y true, because during the saae month,

the decision r¡¡as ta.ken to a.ba.nd-on the Frorne Road site and
bnild the Hi-gh School in the Farklands on l'lest Terrace. I',ihy
such a rnajor shift in Government policy occurred and the
repercussions of building the l{i-gh School on Parklands, is one
of the rnost ccrrtro''¡ersial eramples of Parkland ali-enation by
pressure groups, and it r*il1 be fu.rther e:<amined in Chapter Six.
the Frone R.oad land once more becarne available, but the
Old Exhibition Gror.rnd site nou served as a store under -uhe
con-trol of the Army during the 1939-45 lforld iíar period. Even
du-ring iiris period r,¡hen the war news Ì;as verl/ gloorn3r, plans
',.;ere being discussed by the University to e>rnand into .the Old
Exhibition GrounC site. In 1942 there ì'¡ere discussions on
using ihe ten acre slte for U-niversitlr denoninational residential
colleges. .A question l'ras raised in the Legíslati'¡e Council on
thi-s matter end it recei,ved a blunt rrnorr from tne Goverr.r."nt.98
I'lithin tlie nontn a deî¡utation fron the Universit¡r Council rçaited
on tire Prenier io di-scuss acçu.isj-tÍon of the site for futlire
llniversitir pu.r'po"u*.99 Sir \,li11ian Goodman said -uirat 'uhe:
lrUniversity col leges r,'¡ere essential to a
University, but íf the Government had any
doubts a.s to the pi'ooriety of any prouosal
that night ultímaiely be subnitted to the
iJniversity Council in connection '¡ith
tnis la.nd, the Council rvould have no
ob;ectíon to the transfer being made sub-
ject to tire land 'oeing used for the
purpose approved b]r the Gor.rernrneh.t.rr lOO

98. E . .T. Barclolptr, Legislative Cou.ncil r Parlia¡aentari' Debates

l{.
zAth October, L942,
99, Delegatlon Sir liiì-liarn t'litchel-l, Sir Flerbert Angas Parsons
and Sir i,/ill-iarir Goodnan to I,'linister of Educa.iion, 14th
lüovember , 1942. Docket EÐ1105 /35,
loo. ibic,
Cabinet ci-ecided not to grant tl:i-s reqr..iest anrl stated ü:at it
r,,ra's rrproÐosed to retain the land for iire time being for the

present valuab-]-e nur'Ìlose it is fulfilling, nanely a. rtbreathlng

spaceil and a. l:1-aSrg.round for" the school, and. foi. Yi'iCA rnernbersrr.lOl
To nake sure this land- r'¡as not used in the futr-rre foi. denominat-
ional- collese residences, Government Gezette prcclarnations r-elated
to the condítions of use fo:' tl:,is section of the Government
Reserr¡e had -"he clause inserted rtrnot intended for ecclesiastical
or denominational- purpos"""1o2o in ihe Gazette sci:ecrur-es.
Conflict bet',,,'een the Uníversity and. the School of l'!i nes
over tiie u,se of thj-s ten ac:.e site flared up again ín l-9l+j as
both ir:stitu-uions pi'epa.red to neet the post r,,¡ar bcon in adult
educatton broucht about ì:¡;' the rehabili+,ation courses for ex-
servicenen. T}:e Princina.l of the soi;th Au-stralian school- of
l'iii'les r,¡rote to the i'linister of Education on behalf of ti:e
counci] noint-in.3 ou.t "ihe u.:'gent need for gror:nc sna.ce for the
future exte:rsi-on of the sci:ocl of l,íinestt.loJ h" also requestecL
sec,;r'it:r¡ of ienure.for the ;\dela:ce Technical High school to use
the old E:<iribj-tíci: Ground site for a recreation ground, es h.ad
been tl:e cese for tl:e la.st twenty year.s. The scirocl of l"Ilnesr
ain '¡:as to use ¡art of this .¡aluabl-e site for. a technical, scl:ool
buiidin,q, and stil1 lear¡e sone of the land. for recreation
Purroses. i'lithin t.¡¡o n"ionths t;re I,'iinister of Educati-or: receivecÌ.
a i]njversit',r deputation who also l:ressed. tþeir cl-ain to tþe Old

101. Preini-er -uo Chancel-l-or Universiti' of A¿si-ride, 4Tn

Decenber', 1914. Docket iD -tA6,"/193:_.
LA2, Gor¡ei"nment Gazette , L2+-\ .Tu,ne , 1-952 and JOtit i{a.,' , L957.
l^z Princinal, Schoo'l of I'iines anci Industries to t'iinister- of
trCucation, 22nd /r.ugust , \94j. Docke+, ED IIO6/L935.
 ^t,

Exhibition Ground for Universitr¡ ì¡urÐoses.lo4 This aoproach

by the universiti.r to the Governrnent led to a strong reacti-on
fro¡r the school of lriines Principal, Þh". R..l¡i. parsons, when
he was unofficiall¡i infor.ned by Prc-fessor Kerr Grant, tne presi-
dent of the School of l"lines Councj-l ancL a member of the Unlver.siti¡
council thai tie univensit;r ',,;ss interestec in this l_and for
'rce'tain rnedical buildings,r.105 The school of irlines counci-l
tr'rere unable to discuss thre ¡natter because it rvas confirl-ential,
The Principal- of the Schcol of t'lines wrote to ihe i,iinister of
Education urging the Gove:-nnent not to .con"rrnit land until the
school- of ilines council cou.ld present its ciai",106 Again the
Governrnent conrronísed.r and t]re l-lniversity, not fo:. the last
time, obtained concessions in p:.eference io the School of lTines,
.'¡¡hen a little over half ân âcrê r¡¡,âs approrred ¡tnear the äosnital_
foi" /tnatomJ¡ ìlu.rroses".f07 The balance of tne land r.¡as stil-l to
be used rnainlir to ;rovide pla1rj.¡g open space for tÌie Adel.aicie
Tecl":nical l{i¡h schcol. l'lithin six months anoiher successfu}
request fron tlie University of Ad.elaidre to the Prenier provided
aiditional l-and for^ a slightl.v ',rid.er anaiomy building and. a roac
access. As wjtii all othei. Universiti.,, land obtained on ihe other
side of Frone lìoar1, ¡hi s section of the Government lìeservê r¡.¡âs
gazetted for the first time under the care, control and rnanage-
nent of the Univer.sitlr of Adelal¿u,1OB

'l rlâ sir i{i11i-an Goodnan to t.Tinister" of Education, 4th october,

L94r. Docket DL \jzo/1937.
't
^Ê Prj-nciralr_school of i,jjnes to i{inister" of rducaticn, zznd.
October' , LgUî_. Docl<et ID ì_LO6,/L91!.
106. ibid. .

LO7. J,'rernier to Sír ir¡illiam Good,man, l-2ür Decenlrer, Lgu5,

Docl<et DL \Ezo/Ig3T.
IC!. Go¡¿ery¡lsnt- lla z_ette. l5tj:. October, 1oL'7
 A^

Än intriguing exannle of pa.rkl-ancÌ pol-iti.cs resuhed in

trade-offs bet'veen the Adelaide City Cormcíl and the Zooiogica.l
Socieilr over the C,efinition of the River Tomens boundary of
the Zoo, The Director of the Royal Zoological Societr¡ wrot,e
to the Director of La-nds in 1950 requesting the total erea of
the Zao to be proclai,med under i¡one conprehensive titl-ett.1O9
For many years, erosion anc. reclanatlon r,¡or1< had moved the river
bed in a north-east directlon, leaving a naÌ'ro!,i strip of land
betr'¡een ihe boundar'1r of t,l:e zoo and tl:e river, with an
approxinatel-y tt+o acre pi ece of land near the bend in the Rlr¡er
under dispute, Originaily, the Governnent Reserve bouridaries
i,¡ere clearl-y d.efined as the centre of the riverrllo but ri,hen
the zoo land i+as ded^icated. in 1883,111 its boundaries l,,¡ere
terninai,ed at the banks of th.e river. The Adelaide Ciiy Counc-i-l,
assuneC. that under tÌ:e R.ir¡er. Torrens Improvenent Acir112 the-i,-
!/ere i'esnonsíbl-e fo:r tire care, control ancl rnanagenent of tiie
riverbanlis, even ',,,¡l:en thelr ad.ioined. Government Reserwes. Under
this ni-se.nprehensiono the Ccuncil issu.ed a l-i-cence -uo the
Zool-o,aical Societ:¡ ín L937 for the pa.ddock adjacent to ihe zoo
forned b'¡ the bead in tire riverr so tirat horses destined to
prorride animal- food conld be agisted on this site. tr,Then asked
l¡j. the Di-rector of Cro'"',rn Lands if the Council had an¡r objections
io tirj-s proposal ,1I3 the Tornr Clerlç pointed out:

109. Directorr tì.o1'¿1 Zoological So_ci etl¡ to Director of

La.ird.s, 7tLi July, 1950. Docl<et DL 4664h9jo.
110. l4u.nicical Cor.porati s¡s Act - 11 of 1849 n Sscticn 79,
òC-]ê(1LìIê rJ .

111-. Governmeni Gazette Iztn Apr'íl 188J.

,

112. River Tori'ens lrncrovement Act t3 of L86917O.

llJ, Director of Crolm Lands to Tor,'¡n Clerk, 23rd October, 195L.
Docket ÐL 4654/1950.
 66.

rrthat tiri s land v¡hich is co::siclered

to be t+" Çity Ccu.ncj_l propert-¡ i.rill_
be r-equired in fl:e futur.e for tne
extensioir of the River. Tor.rens tseauti_
ficaticn Scheme. In viev of th:-s, the
most strenuous objection rryoulC- be'
raísed to any pl.oÐosal to includ.e it in
the zoological Garcìetfs.îî 114

cpinion suppo:-ted tlie

cro,r¡n La,,r that fl:e Ad.elalcÌe
"ont"r.Jion
City Council had no control over this l.and. A conference
bet'"'¡een reÐresentat-ives of the Zcologiial sccietlr, Adelaide
city council- and the Lancls Ðera.r-tnent r,las neto115 at rvhich
the Tor¡¡n Cl erlc naintained strongll, thad ilr.¡hatever the legal
right , we have got tì:e land r ì,je have ur]t the mcral rights ir
the r'¡orldt'116. Tire confer.ence resorvedl that ilre .¡rrderaice
Citir Ccuncil a.nC tjre Zoological Societ;,r autiror.ities l¡oul_c]
fu¡'ther -í-nvestigate the natter, and ccnfer r¡iill a vier¡ to an
arrair.geneät sa.tisfactor';r, to both part-ies, -fcr. subnissicn to the
iiinj-ster of Lancj.s. Eventr-:al.ll¡ t-:Lis a.rea ,,,.ras su.r.ver,,ed arcl nro-
clainecl e ccrno:'a-tion R.ese-.rull7' rn t!,r" r-on* ï.un, the public
trobablii l:a'¡e gaj-neC b'r not e:<tending the Zoo fence to tjie
River Torre:ns" I.Io doubt the zoo ar-rthcr!-ties could he.¿e used
tlre river for scine ÐLr.rtcse, bi-it publ-ic access tc both bani<s of
tlle river prorridec a continuation of a. poJ-:.c-¡ rilaintaineci si:ice
Cof oi:el- Ligh,t f irst sui-ve;,,ed tÌle par.ltlallds,

r! uu'ri,r:.Ç point
,"1 f'rrni¡a
^^i-"1- for
f^-. the futl:re or
-t--^^ -Ê..+----- -ì lrru Adelaide Technical
I{i3h sciiool, âs ar: i:;.te6ral part of il:e school of l,lines, too}<
placer âs the eCuca-uion empiiasi-s in il:e School of l.ij-nes mor¡ec

1 l-lr . To',.¡n Cl-erh tc Dir.ector. of Lands, 6tl: October, 1g51 .

Doclret DL, 4664/Ig5C.
't -l q,
Conf ercnce held Zth , !95?,
l"îa1,'

1l_6. Transcr.j_pt of con-ference Ttir i,1a yt 1952, Docket DL 4660/}95C.

rl7 . Governmel + Gazette , 24th Julir, 1958.
U
 67.

to¡,'¡ardtransferring ti.:e matricula¡ion and trad.esnenis courses

io the Departrnent of Further trducation. The questÍons of separ-
ating the Technical l-ligi: School- frorn the Scirool of l"lines and
the future si-ie for the sckLool 1'¡ere raiseC b-v R.ÏI. Parsons
Principal of tne Sci:ool of l"iines in Ja¡iuar)¡ 195C. "i'iy irrivate
opinion is that u]tiriatel)' the Technical ilign ScÌ:ool sirouli be
renor¡ed fror¡ ol'tï' present i''icrth Terrace building and leousecL in
a buil-d.ing of its oi,,,'ï'r.ri,118 He advocated the Frori:e Road. site
for tlris puri:ose, "out tl:e Gorrernment noved tne School i,o
11q This decision released the Frone F.oad land for
Glenunga.--'
bui-l-d.ingsr:'ather tiran the necessíti¡ to ¡rovide recr-eaiíon space
for the school chiì-dren. The Director of liCu.catíon, E.
l,iancle:-Joì'res, leeld firn ideas on ihe need to retai;:. tiris la;ld
fcr +,he Educat-io;: Denar^tneni; :

rrTo alienate tl:,e ':,¡hol-e or an1¡ portion

of tr,is area for" ar:i,' otÌrer pu.rposes
',','ould nili-¿a.'Le a.grairis-b its use shot-1ld.
a nai'i onal eÌ:lergency arise rnaking
i::aining fcr defe¡:ce oi' n:unitions cr
tl:e ai::craft industr-,,' orlce agai n a:.i
¡¡,:gent natter¡r . 7-2O

The unailocated l-ancÌ foi'mer'l-.,¡ set asiCe íor the Fiigl: School v¡as

bei::g wirittl-ed. a.i{a)¡; the Universitir taking appro:<-i-nately one

acï'e adjacent 'uo the Iiospital land for an anatomi,' bltil-dingj
uhile the Education Ðe¡artrnent iook a tr.¡o and three quarter acre
rectangul-ar secticn cn tl:ie be,cl¡, poi'tion of the land adjacent to
the Botanic Garder encl Botanic Parlç. This ,i¡as ¡lazetted a School

llFj. Fri-nc:lnal, Schcoi- of l.Íines and fndr;stri-es tc l'i:ni-ster of

Educe tion, lOtì: Januarlr, 1950. DocLret ID LIO1/:935.

119. TÌre :idelai-de Technical I{irn School \'.rss noved to Glenr-rn¡a

in L963 and is no..+ named the Glenunga l{igh Sc}rool.
r20. Director of Education to Director of Lands, L?th October,
1951. Docket ED 2259/l-947.
 AH

R.eserve 121 The various r,.¡ood, cori'ußated ironrand. brick

bui-ldi:ngs inclucing the old Exhibition Building were used. as
a training centre for the Comnol:",'ea1th. Reconstruction Training
Schene after" the Second iiorld iiÍar, then as a i'fotor Trade Schoo'l .
The fu.ture of the four and- three q.uarters of an acre
balance of the origl:ral ten acres of lanC fronting Frone
Road was about to be decided. i'Io considera-uj-on was apparently
girren t,o retalning ihis area for open sÐace, now tl:at the
decision had been made to talce tire hdelaide Technical High
School out of the city. Tn J-q55 the Council of the School of
l'lines rr,'rote to the'lilnister of Education to:

rrrespectfu.llir ash that the vacani land

on tl:e easier"i: side of Frorne Rcad,
lnnedj.atel-y adjoining the Botani-c Park
siroul-d be placed undei' the care, control
and- rnanagement of the Council of th.e
Sciiool of iiines r¡ith the ob-iect that ít
ma¡"' provid-e for futu-:'e eni-',ailsion.rr 1,22

Cabinet aoproved. ttiis request ,I23 bu-t before it couJ-d be

gazetied, a of negotj-ations took place to transfey' a
"u"i"=
srall -.ortion of the proposed Schocl- of ì'iines land "to the Scnool
Rese:'ve ín order to straighten tiie eastern bounoary. Th.e Sch.ool
of iiines Coui-lcil agreed, on the cond-ition:
frthat if at any ctirer future tine the
Educa.tion Departnent rerno.¡eC its Au.to-
mati¡¡e Ti'ade Schcc] io sorne other site,
the School of lÏines Council shall then
be given first refusal of the 's,nole
areâ un<i.er consideration.'r 124

IzL, Government Gazette , \zih June , A952.

1)) Pri:cina1, Scirocl of ilines aild lildr,istries to l".ir:ister of
Educatior, 9t,i Aus,-:st, 1955. Doclcet DL 4g2O/1937.
5t':: Ser-rtemberr 1955.
-t
LLa.
tl, Approved Ín cabinet, 28tl: l'roven'bei', Lg]:5. Docket DI- h8za/37.
 69.

Tire balance of ti:e land. fronting Frcne R.oad was e.,rentuaiì-y

d.edicateC io the Scl:ool of ltines Council- rii
in 1957
L)) | -I25
, glvlng
them a significant area of laiìd in thj-s Governrnent Reserve
sou,1;ht over fort¡.' yeors, The Read Building was erected on the
no:'thern sectior: of tnis la:-rd. as a school of pha:-nacir in 196g.
r'¡hen 'ul:e Edu.ca.tion De:artner:t decided to concentrate tile
Auitonative Trade school at Kill<enn]¡, this al-lo'.,;ed the Frome
R.oacl sci:ool F,eserve to ha.nds. rn July r95g this area
"lrurgu
l".ras re-dedicaied as a l{osnital ,Leserve along with trvo
aCditionaj
s¡,ral-l sections of l-and. to provice access off Frome R.oacr .126
The request by the School of l'iines for first refu-sal a.greed to
b)¡ Cabinet eleven years prevJ-ously seened to have been fo::gctten.
Other signiflcant changes to the land in this Rese¡,.e occur-
red on the main i{ospital section, Three sub-sections v¡-i-*rhin
.Lnis u"".- l'¡eï'e dedicated to ti-:e Instltute
of l.{edical anC Veterin-
a:'i,' sci"ence, and a snal] Reserve was cr-eated. for the p:rbl-j-c.
Bu.rl-dings De-parttrei:t uncer the care, control anû'. na.nagenen-f oí
the iiinister of .L27 T.r:,e al-l-po,,verfnl publ-ic Buildings
",lorl;s
Departnent eventually obtained a Gazetted. Reserve in th-is ar.ea
"

ratifi'iilg theii' hisioricel use of tl:e old Exhib"ition site as a

'.'ioÌ"kshop anc store o:'iEina111,' sought by the -¿li'chitect in cnief
in L?37.
Àuoiher e;rj:ansionarJ/ inol,e b¡,r the LTnj-versÍty connencec]- in
l-9'.-'7 v¡hen the v-i-ce c}:ancell-or vrote tc the r'linister of

L25. Gor¡ernrnent Gaza*'f-a JOti: J,:a1/, 1957 ,

êêâ SO r''rÐp ôñ ¡-
L25. Governnent Gazette 25ih July, 1968.
ôê r'l cn pÞer.dix p. Il.
L27. Go.¡ernrnent Gazett â 28th October, L965.
See also Anpendix IJ
J r1¡
 70.

ìta
Educatioîr*'- nointin,g or"lt that the Ausiral-ian Unj-versity
Conrnissiotlts Fourth Renort recomaended tlia-u the Anatonry Buil-ding
be exte.':ded." He recuested t'¡¡o additional areas of land ad;acent
to the existing Änatomi¡ Bu.ilding. Th.e snall section ',râs Ðârt of
the llospital Reserve and r,¡as not significant; but the largei-
sectio'r of appro>linatel)¡ one c.,uai'ter of an acres frcnting Fror¡e
R.oad lras part of the south Australian rnstitu.te of rechnology

Reserve, who fought strongllr t6 r"etain their land for futili'e

e;rtensions related to either a Student TJnion I'acility or a
Libr"ar¡,r. After four years of negotiatlons the South Aust:'alia.rr
rnstituie of rec:rnology council agreed to tra.nsfer the land- in
question,rru:'cvided tha.t an adequate area is rnade avail-able cÕn-
tiguous to our present Frone Road site,, .!29 This conditi-on,
was pai't of an elaboraie plair io anal-gamate the Soutir Australian
Institute of Teci:nol-o6i,, ,;¡itli the itdel-aj-cLe College of Advanced
fCr-'ca--ion on ¿. ller../ ca:Ðus u.si:rg tra East E::d Ìlari."t.1J0 T,ri-s
,irai^'d.iosÊ schene ..','es ¿¡iven ¡olj-tical- supoo:'t r¡hei: tile lrenier
ad'¿i-seC the Irst-iiute Council tl:e.t:

ftCa.bi-net ap:rcved resu"mriion and i.e-

dedi-cation of parts of Seciio':: iI3
fc:" devel-opment of Uni-¡ersit1.' 6f
Adelai cie ad"di.tional- I'ledical Ser.¡j ces
Br:il-di-ng - ti:e Governme¡:t wil-1

129. r'/ice Ci:ar:ce1lor G.l'i. Bad8er -uo I'iinister of Education,

17th liovember", L957. Docket I:-.s-bi-uuie of Technology
Lo /-ta6t
./f ¿-r'-,t a

l-29, Director, So uih Australiaü Institute of Technolog¡r to

the llinist er of Eciu.catj on , 5*"h iiovenbei' , L97L. Dochet
f nsti-uute U]- Teci:nclo gy 49 /1957 ,

D.J. À:rders tv hairrila:i iiorth Ter"r-ace Lancl I-Tse Corirni'btee

(1

net rvith Tr eS ou-ch ;:i.¿stral-i-an I::is-uitute of Technol-og¡,r

Counci-1 on l-+
I¡: .finr.íl L975. i)oct.e-r, I:tstitute of
U

Teci:no1o¡i,' Lr6 / I o.'-?

 .71
/ -La

end.eavour to ensure as coripensa"tion

the provi-sion of a suitable site
for tìie pi.onosed para i'ledical- School
in the llast End ?^rearr. LjL

Againn tire fns*"i"fute of Technol-oåîJ¡ uas the loser, this time

the Universi¡'¡ ob-bained- a:roii:er secticn cf theír 1anc, c'.;t io
date, the Fai'a i'ledical Scirool in the East Ind has nct er/e;f-cLrated..
A n-rnnii:"g battl-e over car parkirg has bee:t fougi'lt bet',veen
t}:e Botanic Gard.en Board and the e::nplo.¡ees of tne Municipal
TÌ"an',.,,aj¡s Tr.i,ist, whr.cir resulted- fina_-j_l-y in tlie alj_erration of a

t'."¡o and a Ìraií acre strip of l.and in Fiacknel," Road for an enplo-1¡ee
car park; also an unresolved dj-spuie over iilegal- parking in
tha Botanic Parie by Tru.s'u enpS-o5rees higl:l-rsliis tire poli-tica1
presslìre exerted bj' u-nicns. In L9'c5, the Conmissioner of i.-i-gh-
i'¡a'¡s r",¡rote to the Director of tire Botanic Garde:- recu.es'uii:: a
strip of l-a;:d ad;lace:r"t to the ivlu.r-ricipal Tram-l^¡âvs Trust .¡,'oi'k-
sho! in .i:,acl<ne.¡ P.oad to pro.ride anE;l-e par"ìririg for Tn:st
g::.i.. -
or¡nrn.,rao
IV_, UçU a
t72 'l-ho
Ialç r.oi.'lr¡
¿ Uç.iJ f-om thg Bo-,,anic Gar.d.el Board. r¡as
J¡

trt-ô/rt-irrn¡a'1.

ríThe Boar-C has i:lstructed rne to

ad-vj-se i¡ou that it is not ;roposeci.
to alienate ariy po::tion of land
unc',er its cont:'ol ncr does the Board
ccn:rder ii is responsible for pro-
vioing land- for car parkii:E for the
Ì'iuni-c.i-pal Tranr.;a.¡s Tru.St. rr L33

.":Ðarelltl-);" l:lanS fO:' a four laire roaci would iiave allowed

tl¡e rli 711.,'¡..¡q De,laftne:.t tO acqu-ire tlii-s land-, bìl-u tÌ:is was iìoi'J

111. P¡'enier. to of Tecl"nol--

Fres-i-<je;:t Íjcuit,.i Ar;sr:ralia:l Iir sti,tu'¿e
o.T)' C,¡u,:ci-l , 2.,t':. I.-a:.c::, 19-5.. lochei Instrtr-ire of Tec:l-
coi-o¿., t 9/47.
17) Ccnni:r:,ioner: of il-i-qh',ra.,'s to Directcr tsc-t,anic Garclen, 7ih.
', g 1o'r.
.rrrr L) ¿o Dcclcei
rvv:\u v ulr 29I/65.
tsG ._./Ll vv.

'ì 7?
Secretar'.r' Boiani c Gardel. B,¡arC to Connj ssioirer of llighr,,'a.,'s
Ju.l-;. , I9i 5. Docket IG Zot/ r:6.
]l-tj:,
 72.

rrot :reeded. Discr:ssions over the next two 3rs¿¡s final_l¡r

led io e meeting'betrveen the t"iinister of R.oads and the Botanic
Garde:r Board. Tnis resulted íi: a baclcdor,¡n by tile Board:

rrTl:e Boai'd approvedti:e alienation of

this area of t}:le argument put
because
for".*ard concerning the necessity for 13t+
the l*idening of the maj-n thoroughfarerr

Coni:ensation of to the Board by the Higitways

$101000 vias given
Department one year after tire acquisi-tíon of the la:rd^ r.¡as
I ÁL

gazetted ."t
As the number of emplo3ress at the Tranways Trus-u ifackner¡
Depoi increased, so did the need for more car par"liing s'oaces,
Il-legal use of Bctanic Fark for parking greri io a point v¡irere in
]-977 barri ers .¡;ere erected on the roadva;,rs to the parli. An
organiser of ihe Austra.lian Soci-et¡r of Engineers (tire union
reÐresenting Bus Empl-oyees) approached the i'linister of Transport
t zÉ,
to restore enpJ.oyee par'liii:g privileges."' iiegotiations itith
tire Bcta:iic Garden Boa:'d i'esul-ted in a strcng stanC against
naking &n;r gott"ession:

rrTl:e Board is greatl;i concerned that

politícal pressure is ncv¡ bei::g put
upon it. to give perniissi-cn to a smal-l-
grou,p of people to contravene íts o1,",Íl
by-laws to tire disadvan-bage of the
general publ-ic. If tlte Board did so
it ltoul d logical-l;r ha',te to allow ever:,r-
one el-se tc do the seme thing, arid this
would lead to the whole park being used
as a pe,rking area.

L3L¡. Secret,arir of Botanic Garden Board- to l,iinister of Lands,

24th June, LÇ('8. Docxet BG 291/66,
1ZE Govei'nment Gazette ,
L-)) t 4t1^^ Se,-tenbe: , L9í:9.
lrlnister of Transpor.t tô l'iinister for the E::vii.onmentrzgtln
Iuiarcir , 1977. Docket ¡.T. 782/72.
 .77

I wish you to i<now that the Board

of Governoi.s is deter-rnined to resist
this pressure to ihe utnost of Íts
abili'u.¡, and earnestl:,¡ requests you
as Fliirister to su.ppo:-t it in tiris
stand,rr l-37
Aunilateral decisicn 1,,'es nad"e b.,' the I'ii-nisters of Transport
and Envii'onment to over-rule the Botanic Garcle¡i Board, because
in July l-977 tire l"linister of Transl:or"t inforned ii:e Unioi: that:
rrlt has now been agreed tha.t engineer-
ing en.n1.ol¡ees engaged at the deiot r.,,¡il_l
be oerrnitted to parli thei r notoi :¡ehi_cies
in Botanlc Parl.: u.nti-I such tine as ilre
pla.nned r.¡orl.lsirons at Regency park are
connleted.tl j-38

Sone tl+o hund-red rrarÌ<ing permits were issued" to enginee:-ii:g

enc1o1'sss at tire denot on the und_erstand.ing that once fift¡,,
slleces lrel'e fj-11ed, othai' en:ol-oyees ',,.'oul-d. have tc find al-ter-na,ti.¡e
pai'l<j.ng acconncd.ation outsid"e of 1;ire Botanic park. A;{ain, íy)
1978 tne tscta::lc Garden Boar.d raj.sed t.:,e natter of ennloir¿s par"k-
in¡ l'¡ith the r:ev l.linister. of Comnuni_ti,r Development; i-t was ¡oiirteC
out tirai .Li:e pr"oclamation of the Bo,anic Ga:-den;:,,ct and Fìegulat-
ions j-n L978, "require the Board tc pro,riCe pariiing facílities
for onl1' users of the Bo-banic Park and tsot¡.nic Gard.enrr .I39
DÍscussions tooli place bet.,,,'een t}:e Itlinister of Connnnitir Develop-
ment and the I'iiüister of Ti'ansport, and the result v;as a i.ecuest

L37. Chairnan, Board of Gcverìiors to t'1j-nister for the Erviron-

rnent. lOtir l,]ay, A977. Docl.:ei DT TB2/72.
L)i-. I'iinisier of Trans:o¡"i to secretar'¡, Australian societ-.' of
Engineet s. 27in .Tul-i', LraTT, Dockêt nf 7BZ/TZ. -

'ì za
Secretar)' Boa.r'ri of Bcta^nic Ga.rCens to I'rj.nrster of Ccnnunit..'
Develor:nent. gtir llovenbei-, 1?79. Docket BG 63t /Tg.
 74.

to the Boai'd to r¡defer any official a.ction in ihe matter until

tne transjler (of Bus Ðepo"t to P,egenc¡r Pa.rk in ten months)
occltrs".. 140
"

Tt would- be interesting to -cneclilate on '¿¡nethrer the tr.ust

Cepot in the Parklanri.s l¡il} have public use -r¡hen the existin,q
depot is moved to Regencl"' Par.k.
Over tne ..rears, tire Botanic Garden Board and the R.oya.l
Zoological Societ.v hal'e fought to retain, end" v;herer¡er possible,
extend their rel-atively smal-l- areas. This had led- to a susoi-cion
of anlr I*roves by either parilr to widen tl:re use of their areas at
the exDense of tl:e other. Even as l_ate as f9Z0 the F.oyal
Zoological Societlr l¡¡ere entlu-siastic about a prcposal to coni¡ert
;]:e Boianic Parl< inio a joint Boianic Garden and" Zoological erea
in.,,¡h.icn, t'a.s man.,i mammals and birds as possible be allolved to
roen freel'.141 Disappointment was reflected. in the comment iiiat:

fr-bhe cro_oosal- did not get off ti:e gror:nc

because the Bo"La.nic Gardens Boai.d iefuserj
to even consider or discuss ihe i:roposa._l_;
â long sia:::ding atiitude '¡¡iricir, rmtil
recentì-y',.,ras aì-most int¡ariabi-1f adonted
to',.¡arc.s appi'oaches br¡ the Socíeii,' seeking
to alleviã.te the restraints imno,sed br¡
its meagre eT.ea. t¡ L42

The d.eve-!-o¡rneni of an open range zoo by ihe Zool-o¿;ical Society anC

satell-ite gardens by the Botanic Ga¡'cen Board, may have eased
the urd-erstand,able tensions re-,]-ated to n"ra.'Íntaiiling at any cost
their" re-Latir¡ely smail areas of ti-..e lide]-aide Farlt1and.s. A sign
of tjrís change na¡,'be seen in ihe arÍcabl-e egreerilent b1.r lhs

1l¡0. l'Íinís-uêr of Connunit.,¡ Der¡elopnent to Secretarr,',' Bctanic

Ga r d.en Bo.o rd. 2l-st beca;nber, :.cZA. Doclcet FG 5j4 /ZA ,
11+1. P.oy21 Zool-ogicel Societir Annual- General lieetins :l-970.
ì /,ô Ri:i, The Roval Zooloqical So ciet-¡ of South Austra_l-ia ,
 75.

Botanic GarCen Board to cede approxiroatellr tv,,o acres of the

Botani-c Park land on tlee ncrth side of the carriagervay d.rive
to tl:e Zoological Societ'r .143
A large proportion of ti:e Government Reserves in this
area of ihe parklands âre nor..¡ held by powerful institutions,
Buildings have obviou.sly linited the Fotenti al pu.b1íc recreation-
al use of this parkla.nds area. T}:e ad hoc planning ba.sed on
expedi-ence caused ì:y the demands of pressure groups is highlighted
in this area of the Adelaide Farkland"s, rçhen measured agai-nst the
original plan for ihe parklands draurr up by Colonel Light.

143. Gor¡ernment Gazette , 24th l{ovember . 1977. See also l,lap H.

 /O.

C}ïAPTER FOUR

Public fns títutions Alienate Ocen Space

Along I'lorth Terrace

Only the Government Donain, a small Guard llouse and the

Barracks \,",êr.ê identified as Got¡ernnient Reserves in tkre section
of ihe Parklands bomd.ed by North Terrace, King l^iillian Street,
River Toryer:s and Frome Roadf , on the original survey nap
prepared" by Colonel Light. Plenty of parklands al-ready enclrcled
Ade-l-aid.er so early governnents did not find it difficult to
justify the al-location of pr-Lme parkland sections to cultural
and edu.catj-onal public institr-rtions sucl: as the Library, I{useum,
Art Gal-lêrl,rr llniversity ancl the Scliool of I''lines2. Gradually, aS
each of -these institutionsrand others laid cleirn to t'¡hat must be
considered the most val-uable real estate in the city of Adel-aio,er
nore space iuas alierrated. Inevitable conflícts between the
insiitutions and the Governnent rvere onll/ solved in an ad hoc ì,'/ayt
r,¡ithr no overall planni-r:g policy; although atternpts vrere made to
rationalise the gro',.rth of each instituiion as they competed for
space in the Parlcla.nds.
As soon as Governor j{ind.marsh arrived on the 2BtY1 December,

Ig36, he ,".ra,s quici< to criticise the site for the city chosen by
his Surveiror General, Colonel Light, bu-u lvi-uhin foui'nonths he had
established himself and i:is fanily in a three roomed r.rud-wa1led hut
on tjre Government Domain fronting l'iorth Terrace. Origi-nall¡r, the

1. See Annend.ix, l'Iap I.

2. South Australian Scliool of Þlines and Industries, comnonly
knov¡n as The School of -r'/iines. Becane the South Australian
Institute of Teciinology in 1950.
Government Domain was located on llorth Terrace to the ','¡est of
its present site, facing the terminaiion of King l'lilliatn Street
at l.lorth Terrace.3 Pressäre l',ras applied on the Resident
Comnissioner, Jantes Hurtle Fisher, by Governor }iindirLarsh to
extend the Goyernment Domain to the river, but his reo,uest was
refused.* This incj-deni added a further reason for the gror';i-ng
L

animosity betr.,reen the two key aclninistrator"s of ti':e Colon1r.

Accorcl.ing to George Kingston, Colonel Lightts assistant and
subsequentli,r Actlng Surve.vor General :

'lon proceeding to ;naric out the reser.,/e it

\'/a.s seen that oving to the rapid faJ.I of
the 'r¡¡estern half of the ground it v¡as not
well adapied for building purposes. It
v,iastnerefoi'e tlrought acvisable to remove
the block a little to more level ground
on the easi (ttre p,resent site of Governnent
I{ourse), r¡¡ithout, ho},'ever, a}tering ihe a.Ì'ea
of r;he reservetl. 5

l,fl:en Governor Ga',vler arrivecl in October 18J8, he saw fit to erect

a more su-bstanilal resid-en.ce to the east of the originaì- dwe-Lling,
an¿ thj.s alloi¡ed King l.lil-lian Roa,cl to eventualllt becone a througli-
vay to l{or-,-h Adela.icle in line with King 1"Ii}liam Street, bi¡ cutting a
portion off -"he Govern;tent Domain.6
The need. for a Gor,'ernorrs Residence in the cer:tre of the
city ',.¡s" ouestioned- on nl-lriercl-ìs occasions, In 1912, àfr
item lias r-Laced on the Governnent estimates for the purpose
of a ne./¡ GovernÐrstResirlence'rbu.t this 1,'.'âs rfo-u folloi,¡ed up by the
Govei'nnent of tire cty"17 A Royal commission in 1915 ccncl-udeci that

3 See Appendi;<, liap I.

I+ Thoma s Renort on -'Ìte Furch;'se of the Fa.r'kl-ends g7g P.2
t'iors.nop ,

5 /rcl'¡er-tiserr 12th i'iovenber le77, Article by Sir George Kin¡:ston

S-c-€-ffiÏ' the House of Assenbll'.
6 In 1854.
.7
BoV¡l Co¡rmissign, Noill TFrï'ace Reserves_@,
Paili¿:rnentarir Fa¡e
 '7e.

llGovernrnent liou.se could fulfi-l]_ all its

functions if it were moved to some other
suitable site. It is considered that the
Government Domaln could be used to better
advantage as a site for an important
State or ci.vic buildlng rvith public
gardens attached.rf I
As rvith most Royal CommissÍons, nothing came fron these
reccnÌrendations. The real issue i-n the Flour.se of .A.ssembly debates
af l-927 rvas not the allocation of a corner of the Govern¡nent
Dornainfor a inrar i,[ernorial - this 1,ias an acceited, patriotic
necessitlr, but rather the proiection of the Gor,'ernrqent Donain
by Act of Parliarnent. The /rct spelled out very specifically
that the area r.¡as dedicated.rtfor the purposes of beíng used. as
a site for the residence of ihe Gor,'ernor - reserved fol. all time
and shall not be used for any other purposes.t,g rt v¡as argued
strongly that:
rrl.re
have surrounded the City of Adelaide
rvith an abunciance of parklands; no city
in the Conmonweaiti: has a greater area of
parklands ad;oining ii than this c:-t;,.,
therefore, it cannot be agreed that it is
necessary -"o close Government Ï{ouse in
order that the gror-:nds may be used for
recreation purposes. tr 10

The real fear rvas best expressed by the conment that because the
Governnent Domain r,vas not specíf ical]y d.ecLicated by statute,
rrtlle Government sometimes rnighrt try to over-ride Parliamentary
authority b:¡ edninistrative acts.,,11 Ìto ciranges have been mad.e

Norih Teruace Reser"ves and Raílway centres Roval commissi-on,

Fj rst Prog:"ess Report 19i6 Þq

9. Government Domain Aci,17BO of l_927 , Clause 7, Secticn 2.

10. Commissioner of Crotvn Lands House of Assembl-¡ Debates I
Bth Septenber 1927.
11. Flerbert S. Hudd, House of ,Ass mbI.¡ De bates lfth September I92?,
 ,7o

to this section of the Parkl-ands- it has never been available

for public use, because from the founding of Adelaide this area
Ï¡e.s designated for the specific purpose of a Government Ðomain.
Tiiis position could change because a resld,ence for the Governor
v¡as donated by Sir Edr¡¡ard Hayrrard in I97I to be vested in the
Cror,.¡n upon his deat n"lz I'tro doubt the future use of the Go'r¡ernment

Domain rvoul-d be re-assessed at this stage and consideration given

to the possibility of public use for recreation purposes.
Another najor priority for the new Colony r^.ras to locate and
erect police anoL militar¡¡ barracks. Governor Hindmarsh as the
Crovrn Representative had brought rvith him a contingent of I'larines-
in addiiion, t}:ere v¡as a snall- police force to keep pubfic -l-ai'¡
and order, After Hindmarsh was reca11ed13, the acting Governor,
George Stephens, expressed. concern thai rrthis province v¡itkl a

population exceedj.ng four thou.sand persons is abandoned to the

orotection of eighteen trolicenen."14 As a distinguished militar-u-
officer, Colonel LiEht was experienced in nilitary tacties .tained
from ser.,'i_ng with l¡iel_l_ington j_n tire Peninsul_a i',lars. The barractrrs
sited on the brolv of a smal-l rise west of the Government
r.,,'ere

Donain overl-ooking the River To.""t".15

],r,¡ithin sixteen months of the.foundi.ng of the Colonlr, tenders
for the erection of the 3arracl<s and Stables lvere cal-1ed,f6 The
buildings enclosed a o.uadrangle, 'rwith a fetr ships guns, their

L2. Tne Carricic Ïiill t/esting Act.4l cii 1o71

IZ In Jul1r llgi8.
Der*k iíhitel-ock , .Âdelaide LeiT-!976 (Universitil of
f --

Oueensland, L977) . Þzo- a))

'1 tr,
See ÂppencÌix, i4ap I.
'l í- South Australian Gazette and Colonial Regi-ster, 28th April
-r oE /)
L\)-)L.
 80.

muzzles dipping oui at the embrasure, stood in front.'17

Behind. the Barracks, tire land d"ropped away steeply to tla r,*e11

shraded, plain bett¡een the police ilarracks and the river (','.'here)
the volunteer artillerir performed their drill on l"londay"s and
lÕ
Fridays."to This area of the Governnent Reserve becane colloquiall
kilo',.,îì âs the Itpolice paddocktt until- it r¿as built on by the
Universi-iy of Ade-i-aide. IVo official d.edication of ei¡her the
barracks cr the pol1ce paddoctr( l,¡as ever vested in the police
force; althcugh at least one atten¡t r¡as maCe by a Pol1ce
Cornmissioner in 1888 to fornalise this si-uuationrv¡j:en he
T.ecomnended that the police paddock be dedicated for police
purooses - maíniy to agis'b Spâ.re hcrses and stolen animals. -

Tire Surveyor General rtas asked to conrner:t on this proposal; he

informed. the Connissj-oner of Cror,ø:r Lar:ds tnat:

rrT qt¡onslr¡
v4¡/f,rJ arlvise the Gol¡ernrnet'lt not to
d.edicate tlnis land, but to keep i-t, avâila'ble
íor Governrnent purposes it is nore converiient
-uo allow -bhre land to be used at present, to
be avaíl-able at any monent should the '¡hole 19
or any portlon be required for tire Go'¡ernmentrr.

Tnis policlr to keep options open. on thre use of

Go.¡ernment
Government Reserves in the Parklanos allowed for fu;ure flexible
decision-making as t'he city expanded.
Throughout the Parklarids various cottages and sheds v/ere
erected for both Government and Cou.ncil emnlol'rees who \"¡ere
requii'ed to be near lheir v¡ork. In the Parkl-ands near the

L7. Soutn Australian police Jo.rr.nal. Vol. 50 üo. 5 1969.

ìo
I(-)¡ Register Bth l"larcir 1855.
-lo
Archrives G.P..G. 456/t9ga.
 o1
L)J_ ¡

Government Domain and Police Barracks, there v¡ere rfa few

scattered sheds to ti:e westward, (of the Bamacl',s) and a roïI
of neat little bo:<es near the Torrens are occupied by -uhe
Sappers and luiiners".20 Tiris detachment of fifteen Sappers and
l'liners from the Coi'ps of the Royal Engineers, arrived with the
new Surveyor General, LÍeutenant Frome, in IB3g,2I Adjacent to
the l.¡arracks r,¡as the first 8ao1, Ì:ui1t of r,¡ood surrounded by an
insecure paling fence. DuÌ'ing July 1BJE:

rrthere are no\,r prisoners confined in the

l'¡eatkrer boarded building used as a gao1,
and perhaps trvice that number of desperate
runaway convicts in the neighbourhood of
the toi',¡n.rf 22

hnmediately the nerç Governor, George Gawler, arrived he eryanded

the public r,+orks prograame although tire Colony r,ras on the verge
of ba.nkruptclr. A ne\"¡ moï'e substantial gaol r.ias erected in 1B4O
on the Gcvernment R.eserve in the r"+est parl<-Land s.23
As par''t of the South Austral-ian col-onization polic5r, the
Aborigines r,¡ere to be treated r:umanely and educated in the ,/¡ays
of the,,^¡hite nan, One of the fírst public officers to be
appointed r*as the Protector of Aborigines, who established a
naiive location that consisted of rÞi,êm sheds for natives and one
house occupied b-v the German iiiissionaryu24 ad jacent to the Sappers

2A, R.egister Bth l.'larch L85i, See Appendix l4ap J.

2I. 19th September 1839.
1¿. !',4rite1ock, Adelaide l837-l-975 , pzo
L.JJ.

L). See Chapter l-,-i;:, P.iB6, for further discussion on the

Adelaide Gaol.
24. Inventorr¡ of all Government, Buildines or'¡ned by the
Government in 1849. Docl<et CSO 443/L B4g.
 8.2.

and l4iners Bp,.rracks. ¡tHere the native chÍldren were taught to

read and r,¡rite and the girls to ser,¡ under the supervision of
lrlr. and. Irlrs. Ross .u25
Lightts original plan of Adelaíd"e included the Guard House
Reserve on l{orth Terrace between Government House and the
- 26,.but the subsequent plan tirat appeared in the Second
Barracks;-"
R.e¡ort on ,oronization of South Äustral iar27 did not identify
this particular Go.¡ernment Reserve. Tt is likely that the area
Ì,.ras never used. for ihis purpose; certainly, during the 1840ts a

Guard Hou-se was located on the Government DomainrzS and today

the Government Domain has a Guard House on the corner of North
Terra.ce and Klng ltrilliam Road. The original Guard House site is .

norrr pârt of the Public Library complex; in any case, the si.ze of

the Guard. House R.eserve was too srnall to be of any consecuence in

the alienation of th.e Parkland-s.
At least three Por+der l'Íagazines v¡ere situa.ted betv¡een ltlorth
2A
Terrace and +,he River Torrens.t) In tþe early d"ays of the Colony,
this area l'¡as ideal- for storing explosives because the ground was
i'ockv, ariC and rough: it also droppeC av¡ay steeply to the river
and ihei"efoi'e gave protecticn if an explosion occurred' The
Po'r¡der I'iagazines were i-solated, and yet strategically placed in
relation to the i'{ilitary and Police barrac}(s. Explosives }.'ere
also used in relativel-y large quantities by the stone quarries

2\ Sou.thliustralian Police Journal. Vol. 50 No. 6, 1969.

sos ee lìD'r) e ncl x .lvlaÐ J.
¿o. See ê.-pendix, I4ao A.
Colonization Commi ss j.oners, Seccnd Annual Reoort on tire
on the Coloni-zation of South Australia , !8i8.
28. Iu'¡entor]¡ of all Government Buildings ov¡ned by the
Government in 18 49.
29. See Appendix, ilap J.
situated in tire Parislands, pa.rticul-arly the large quarry behind
Governmeni F{ouse on ,-çhat is nor.¡ the Tonrens Parade Ground.50
Eventu,ally, increased public use of the Governnent Reserves
forced the Por.'¡der l,fagazines to be relocated. In 1882 a portion
of the gaol reserve in the l{est Farklands v¡as set aside b.ri an
trAct to provide e- síte for their own Adelaide Gunporvder l,iagazineJ'3
Äs the Parklands begatr to be der¡elopedr Po.¡¡der itlagazineÊ rúiere one
of the ferv uses that c"isappeared rather than increased their hold
on the Parklands. Obviousl-y explosives ancì. people d.o not mix.
For the first tr+ent;' yeers, Government Hou-se anC the
BarracJrs vrere tne only niajor buildings on the North Terrace
Government R.esei've. Beirind Government House there was a stone
quarry esta"blished in 1841 b], the first Adel-aide City Council.J2
Permissi-on 1,¡as given by Governor Gav,'ler to the Corrncil to take
stone for roadmaliing purposes and the construction of nany nearblr
citlr builclings st-:.ch as the Police Baryacks and the Old Lunatic
As;r1s*. The Colonial A¡ciiiiect argued strongly aga.lnst moves to
close tÌre stone q.u.a.r:'ies in the Parlçl-ands. lle used the economic
argument that stone wou.ì-d tîhave to be ob-uained frorn 'une hills at
an increased cosilr, in a.dCi-tion, rtihe qu.ali+-ir of sione was much
su.cerior as regards appep-rance and facility of r,¡orkingu.33 ¡\
quarry in the rniddle of an expand'ing city v¡as not acceptable, e.nd
e.rentually ii was filled in with rubbish. By l-892 the ground was

See Append--i-x, l4ao J.

Ad-elai d.e Gun Por,,'der -,{ct 247 of 1882.
7t See Acpenclix, i'iat J.
Cc-l-onial Ärchitect r,,l.B. Havs to Co-Lonial Secretarl,-,
18th ,Tufy L855. ,¿\rchives G.R..G, T133 i7/lji3.
 r¡l,
UT

levelled to become the nerv Parade Gror-rnd on whicii a Drill Hall

was re-erected having been noved frorn the síte now occupied t'y
zL
the l.luser-m.)* Tne change in location of the Parade Ground and
Drill HaIl to Í-ts present site in 1892, allowed the Comnonv¡ealth
Government to possess one of the prime areas of pa.rkland v¡nen the
State defences becarne a national responsibility at Federaticn in
19Of . Other valuable parlilancl sites were also taken over by the
Commonr,,¡ealth Governnent at this time¡ but the figirt to return

tiris area to publ-ic open space was to receive constant support by

both State Governments and" the Adelaide City Councj.l over the
years without success. From the beginning of the Colony, the
poli ce and, nilitary presence d.orninated ihis section of the Park- *
lands. Gradually other users Ì¡ere able to lay claims to the broad
acres used. originally for military and police training pui'i:oses.
Anogre¡ significant encroachment on this Governmen-c Reserve
was the ranbling collec-cion of buildings knorr¡n e.s the Dest'itute
llsr¡li;m, bet.,,¡een +,he Barraclts and" Gorrernment Don:ain.J5 lio land'
v¡as vesteC in the Destitute Asy},rrn, but over a period of one
the buildings have been extended, renor''ated
hundr.ed and tr"¡enty yea.rs,
demolished. and rebuil-i; they have provided a variety of welfare
and other services, first as a fernale hostel, then partly for
military quarters. One buil-ding r¡as used as a school for chilcl.ren
of the English Regiment stationed in the military Barra.cks, then
i-ncorporated. as párt of the Destitutê Asirfsp. An unemplol''rnent
centre r"¡as situated in these build"ings during the 1930rsr and in
later years they v/eï.e occu.pied by varíous Government departnents.

zl, See Appendix, Ìviap K.

zq. ibid.
 AR

From the of the Colonv, even with a careful selection

commencement
of migra.nts, some people ì,/ere unable to provlde for themselves.
'fhe poor, the sick, the deserted vrives, and children l^¡ere called
Ithe destitute poorr, and they needed sone public assÍ-stance;
so Government accommodation wa.s provj-ded, first at hnmigraiion
Square in ti:e l,rest Parklancis, and some were also lodged in a trvo
roorned cottage in the parklands near Ir{orphett Street".36 From
the early 1850 | s, the destitute poor lrere housed in the Lur:.atic
As-v1u,m on the coï'ner of Botanic and Haclçney Roads. This caused

a great deal of public concern and:

rrit has been a matter of very ju-*t
conpl aint to '."¡hich v¡e have called frequent
attent'ierr, that the destitute poor l{ere
placed in the same builciing rvith the
lr.rnaticsrr. 37

In I'lor¡ember 1855 , Ð3 r5AO uas placed on the Government estimates

to upgrade and enlarge the former itiative School near North
Terrace for ihe destitute poor'. Also, in the lBlOrs, an
embarrassing number of female irämi-grants arrived in ti:e Col-ony;
they u¡ere housed in the forrner Sappers and lu1iners quarters
adjoining the Barracks. This area becaiqe knov,tr as the Female
Depot.JB Questions of moralitlr, particularly related, to singÌe
vrornen inmigrants 1.,'ere raised and 'rthe vicinity of t]:e Female
Barraclcs is
l^r i ^^ 1l^-*^^r-^
Depot 'uo the Pol-Íce ^+.i -r'1 .r-^
ì ^ still to 1^^ regretted . 39
be *^^-^-r+^¡t

Archives Docket C;-1,0 443/tA49.

2 1-7
Register , 7tY\ June l853.
2A See Appendix, l,lap J.
ZO Register , 7th June 1853.
 85.

81, lB53 the excess of females i,/as graduall-y absorbed by i-ncreased

employment opportunities in iroth the city and country areas t oT
as they found husbands. The i{oments Depot rena.j-ned ernpty from
September 1855 until it was conver-Led into Miliiary Barraeks
to provide accommodation for a detachment of the 4ûth Regiment
r¿rho \','ere stationed in the corony fron lB57 until october rB53

r+hen they lllere sent to llew Zeal-and. For three years the Colony
had no Im,perj-al- troops until- three conpanies of the 14th
Reginent arri''¡ed in l.{ovember 1866. The buildíngs t¡ere then
periodicall5r i"encvated and u.sed as milltary quarters r:ntil the
l-ast Imperial troops departed. in August 1870.40 Eventuallyr the
Destitute Asylum took over these buildings for menrs doi'rnitoriesr-
and rooms for tailoring and boot repairing. Efforts 1,',1ere made to
upgrade and extend the Destitute ltsylun frorn tine to tine, for
exanple, iil tS53 a Governrnent Sel-ect Comrnittee did noi recornmend
ex'pend,i-tutre because tire relocation of the Lunatic Asylum on the
corner of Botanic Roa.d and äackne;r Road, vras being considered and
the Select Cornniiiee felt the Destitute ;f.s',¡l-url could eventually
use the Lunatic AsSrfsm site in the Par-kl-and=.41 i/arious additions
¡¡/êr.ê built on to +,he Destitute "àsylun over the years as the aoor

increased in number. Infirnary r'rards for rnales, lying-in hospita.l

for d.esti'bute '.r,rorlìêr:, kitchen, laundry, school rooa, chapel,
femalers Sec-uion, ba.ke hiouse, coal hou-se, dead- house, tai-loring
and boot repairing roons, and. r¡arious store roorßs Ï/ere all part of
the sprawling, unco-or.clinated development of the Desiitute Àsylum.
Er¿entu,ally the iul:-liiarl¿ rJarracl<s and. adjacent builcl"ings were
converted and also became oart of the Destitute Asyl-u,rn.

40. ,Archives lJotes A 419 86.

â'ì .R.enort o f the Select Comrnittee on I'Jer'¡ iJorks and
arl amen rì¡ aÌle1. O. ovember lB Êe also P. 3(
Chanter 3 of, -uhis Thesis.
 97.

Fron -uhe earliest da.ys, the citj-zens of Adelaide placed a

great deal of intpo¡tance on the developnent of cultural and

intellectual ac-r,ivities. Fublic speaking classesr a subscriptj-on
lib¡ar1r, and varj^ous rnechanics institutes were established l'¡el-l
before ihe Souih Australian Institute Act of 1855 brought' together
under the one o::ganisatlon, the public librar')¡r museua, adult
lectures, cJ-asseS aild variou.s cultural activities. The ;\ct
proudly aimed to frprcnote the stuc¡r and cr'lltivat'ion of art'
L0
science, lit.erature and philosophy."*^ llo provísion for the
oi¡nersni-p and ptoperty rvas',,ritten into this Act; but an initial-
annual grant of €.500 was maCe on the Governrnent estinates. It
was not long before the Scuth Australian Institu-te Board pressed
the Governmen-b for. head.cuarters. Various siies \'¿ere canvasseC:
rrif the new Parl-ianent I{ouses shoul-d be
decided on, the present Legislative buildi-ngs
r'¡oulcl be dedicated for the i-rse of the
Institu.te ancl shoul-d ilat buiidíng not be
available for this ptr.i'pose a't allr. or only
at some Cistani nericd, the Governrnent will
have designs aid. es'liniates prepared for rhe
er"ection òf a suiiable buil-dinE for tire
Ins'titute in sotite oiirer locality.rr 43

Anparenily, *uhis site was consicì.ered unsuitable because ii was

mu.ch l-ower. than lJo:'tÌ'l Terrace and the building could rto-u be shown
¡o advantage. Ânoiher suggestion rvas ihe corner of lior'-j:h Terrace
and l(ing l,/illian Road., but this l^¡as reserved for the fuiure houses
of Par1ia:rent. Eventually, the present site on the corner of
Kintore Avenue and fiorth Teryace l',/as agreed to by all parties '

lL) South Australian Ilstiiute ,irct, 16 of r3rs /16.

t,7 T-T ¡f LI^I
t.!r1'1 ¡ Lid, Içt^ The First Flundred Years of *"he South Australi
l¡iuseum 185 oã e ecre ary ÊCf êlâ1'-y" ou
i\us.Erarlan Institute, l,lay L857 .
------ .
 ,âR
Lva

and the building conpleted in 1860.44 Various Acts 't'¡ere passed

during this period lay1n* dor.rrr. library regulaiions ' contrcl of sub-
Lrbanand.country institutes. but the Board. had no -l-egal care'
coni;rol and. management of the l''lortÌr Teryace property. Ït r+as
not until a re-organisaiion of the Insti-uute Lr.nder the Publi.c
Li-braries, l,luseum and Art Gallery Board in 1884, vriren tne west
wing tras about to be openedrthat an area of 3l acres lras proclainec
as being placed und.er the care, control and management of the
l' Ê'

Public Libraries, Iiuseurn and Art Galler;r Boe.rd.-r Earl)¡ plans

inclu¿ed provision for an east viing and a large central building
between boih wings i-n front of iire present north l'iing.
Fortunately, this central- building was never erected; tnerefore
by default at least some pubiic open spece norv exists between
the east and ''¡est ,r,rrg".46
A prosperous period in the 1B70ts gave rise to a resurgence
in pu--rlic expenditure on build,ings and de''¡elopnental projects,
Not only t¡ere additions to the Library and I'iu,seurn erected during
this decad,e; but works vrere cornÌnenced by -uhe Adelaide Ci-uy Council
to beautif-v the iìiver Torrens and pro''ride an ornanental lake t
t'for tire purposes of public recreation, amusement, health and
enjoynentt,.*/ Three seciions of land along -lhe rj-ver r¡/ere
lL"7

describecl in the 1{ct on i'.¡hich sheds, landing stages, and other

build.ings req.uired for t''¡ublj-c use and recreationrr could be
erected. Oìte of these pieces of land v¡as on the south side of
ihe rir¡er ancÌthe east side of lr,d,elaide Bridg".48

See :l,Ðnend.ix, I'iap I(.

LC Public Libraries I'luseum anci. Art Ga-ì-1e 296 of

h^ g¿s l\ppendix, I'"1ao 1(.

1,.7 River Toruens In¡rovenent Ac ï1 of tB69 /7O.
¿.R See ,'\-pendi:<, l'Iap K.
 Duringthispei'iod'ofprosperit¡rrlrlalterlù'atsonl{ughes'a
r,vealihy pastoralist v¡no found copper deposi-ts on his 1"ial1aroo
proper"t-v, nade a generous bequest ín tB72 that led io the founding
of the Universitlr of Ade-Laide in 187¿r. The Governnent rvas norv
obliged to ma.tch tiris substantial gift ¡¿'iti: a contribution of
land for. an approoriate University site. Five ecres of prime
Government Reserve fronting on to North Terrace Ì¡¡as proc-Lained in
l+o
the Act.*Y This was the first occasion tnat a sectiott of the
Gor¡ernmeni Reserve in the Adelaide Parklands was legall¡r alloeated-
to an institu.tion by Act of Parliament. Sone resistance to tire
use of the Par"klands for this e:iclusi'¡e purpose was voiced" in
Parliament d,uring the debaies on thre 8i11. The llonorable J'
Fisher becane cuite er¡otional on the subject:

?rthe parl<lands ''¡¡hich \rere intended to be

the g1or}t of the coJ-ony l'rere being
alieñated , acre by acre, so iilat i¡oung men
amongst us ':','ou.lC not "inprobably live to
see ãlrnost every ecre of then afìetiatedr
and the citir Ceprived of -bhe ad''¡antages
vhich tire1,' i.rere in-cended to have.rr 50

A contrary point of vie',,¡ was expressed b1r tire Honorable A. Liay

'..¡ho said:

ttno l:etter site tha.n the one pi'oposed

could be chosen as a University, close
to the llosrital, Botanic G?rden, and
adjacent to the Instítute (Public
tt
Liirrary and" T'luseun) . l1
T.,r¡o years l-ater another Act was passed to exchange t.ire original

five acres opcosite Pulteney Stree-b for an eq'-rivalent area of

Ào i\del*aide Uni-versifr.r lilsl¡ 1E74. See I'pnendix, l'lap li.

50, Parl-ianentar'¡ Deba-lee, second Read'ing,
-Ðfn I-louse of '1'ssenbl)¡
october ]-B7 4 .
51, Pa Debates Second Reading, Legísl-ative Council
2A ctober' l-87
 90.

parklands slÍEnt1y west so that the footpaih through the Parklandst

from Pulteney Stree-u to Frcme Roa.d" vrou-!-d not be cl-osed off to tire
public.)l L\lthough not êvê'"i/oflê r¡i*s conpletely happy abcut the
University being located. in the Par}<le,nds, no one could foresee
that in the next centurir; the Universit-v rr.rould alienaie nany
ad.ditional acres of parkì-ands as the snallest Universlty canpus
in Austral]-a foughi hard -uo êxpêrld its ed,ucational facilities.
Up until the 18BO t s, the eastei'n end of the Nor-t h Terrace
Parklands was rtan unauthorised rubbish tip, far frcm being
ornamental they t,rêrê the bete noire of those living ne3.r Nortir
Terrace .n2) Dramatic changes r,/ere soon to take place r'¡iien the
Jubil-ee nxhibition t^i'as sitedL on slightly 61¡u" eighteen á"t"u of
4t,
parklands frcntlng l'{orth Terrace.-- Not ever}¡one agreed thai
ACelaic1e siioulc sponsor a nassive exhibition to cel-ebrate tire
fifiie-uh )¡ear of |he Colcny and at the sane time fifii'r J-eers of
eueen.Victori-ats reign -hut the t'tayor of Ad-el-alden Edwin Snitht
latei- Sir Edl^;in Sniih, r,.¡as an ei:thusiastic advocate of the Jubilee
Exiiibition, Iiline sites hiere consid,ered by a P'o1ral Cornmission set

up in 1881 by the Gcl'ei'nor:

Itto make arrangements for the inter'-

national exnibítion to be hel-d in
,rdelaicleu 55

These sltes were located in various sections of the Parklands, In

recommendi-ng the I'lorii: Terrace site, the Comnissj-on reported that:

tr,) See Appendix, l'4aP K.

/tdl'erti ser , 22nd June L937.
Þ\ 1! See Àrpendix, I'iaP I{.
EE Gorrernorrs S;reecli, Onening of Farlianent, 31st l'iay 188J.
 o't

rrthe adop-uion of this site r,¡ould in

pro\¡e a lasti ng benefit to
man:/ l'"'ays
the comrnunity. Ii rnay be finally pointed
out thai in this recornmendation littl-e or q,Á,
no encroachment is made on the r¡ar1<,1-ands.tr

It r¡as apparer:t that the nenbers of the Royal Comnissicn did not
consider this section of the Governrnent Reserve to be public
parklands, bu-t others could see its value ¡

Ifor nany reasons the eastern section of

I'iorth Terrace is regarcì.ed as one of the
most attractir¡e and choicest narts of
the City. rt 57

Other reasons for seleciing thj-s si-te rvere its close prc:tirniiy to
tne business sector" of the city, accessibil-ity to all parts of
Adelaide, nearness to the Adel-aide P.ailr+ay Station, rrand is
',,¡itilin convenj-ent disiance of the pr:i-ncì-pal hotels of the cityrr.58
In a flurry of high eri-uhusiasra, the ;tìray Governneni passed -uhe
.Iubilee Exhibition iic-c rn l-88j, -'this authcrised expenditr-r.re of
92l-21000 r,,ritli å1401000 to be used for-fhe erection of tl:"e nain
building. À strcng reaction b]. the cor-uriry peopÌe to the
Exhibition proposalrplus a large deficitrdefeated the Governnent
and, the Act ivas repeal-ed.59 This setback did not dampen the
enthusiasm of Edl.¡Ín Smlth r.rho used.his position of l'layor of
iidelaide to m,obili-se support from tire private sector, particufarly
i:ie Charnbe:- of Conmerce v¡ho could see the aclvantages of developing
trading links botir national-ly and internationally, Also, ti:e

56. Jubilee Exhibition Royal Commission, Par'1. ianientar.,' Faoer

lÌo. 25. l-6trh July 1884.
;¡.Celaide 0bserver , 25ih June 1887,
58. Rer:ort of tiie B uilding and Interior Ai'range me::ts Committee,
Juiy 26t\ 188J, Pai'liarentar-¡ Fa¡er i'io. 26 rI (JOT
oo/, .

59. An Act to-.Repeal thg JubiL:e E:<hibition ActrSlO of 1884.

 ô?
JL'

Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society supported the

Exhibition because:

ttthe future requirements of the F.or¡al

Agriculture and Horticultural Societies
añd other shor,'¡s rt'ould be met by the
nev¡ siructures,tt 60

Leading Adel-aide business and conmumity leaders set an

example to 'uhe Government by becorning guarantors:

'rout of the ashes of the rejected

scheme sprang acceptance. \fhat the
Government añd Parliament felt unable
to do sone enterPrising Patriotic 61
colonists deterrnined should be done.rr

A nev¡ BÍ11 was in+,roctuced by Ed.v¡in snith and eventualllr passed

despite Governraent opposition.62 The Government 'was forced to
contri'bute eighteen acres set aside by proclamati-on for the
e:<Ìribition purposes, Essentialilz, the site was the same as in
the original Act, except for the land along the riverfront north
of tne proposed \¡i-ctor.ia Drive. This l-and was placed under ihe care
Ê.2
contro] and na-í-nluênâílcê of the Adelaioe Citlz Councif '"/ In
addition, the Governrilent conr'litted Ð32roOO toward the erection of
a permanent Exhibition Build,ing. The "vhole of the site and
buildings viere to re''¡ert to the Government after tÌre Exhibition
fronJune1SBTioJanuaryISSB.Undoubtedly,thísevenlwasa
highlight in the historl' of the state v¡ith seven huncred and
sixt¡r-six thousand people passing through the Exhibition Building
door:

60. Adelaide Observer , 25tY1 June, 1887.

67,. Adelaide Observer , 22nd June 1887.
62. Jubilee Exhibition ActtSiL oÍ' 1885.
See i\p;-,sndix, It/iap K.
 o?

rtit seems that the Exhibition prornoters

cl-osed their books and- left behind a
permanent trxhibition Buildin8. and
vastly improved. grounds.rt 64
riifter the Exhibition, some of the pavi-Lions were deniolished;
but the nain build ing anc eastern anïl.exe renained. to b,e used for a
variety of purposes. Recreational pub-Lic use \',¡as certainly a
feature of the Exhibition Buildings; the main area r¡ras a
roller'-sÌ<a*,ii-lg rink on a t'splenclid kauri pine tongue and grooved,,
secretly nailed fl-oort'."/ ^Ê. It '-.¡as also used for dance exhibitions'
circusesr Ba-1r6¡¿1 balls, corrcerts, entertainr¡ent of Royalty and
other la.rge er¡ents such as the State Government Dinner to the
Federal Convention delegates, ãt the time of Fed.eration.66 The
Universi-ul/ USêd it for annual examinations over many years, ancl;
1BB9 the Art Gall-ery and. thre lirt Schoof moved into ihe frcnt bloclc
of the nain buiiding. During the sair¡,e year, the eastern âÍûêxê \'v'âs
occupied by -uhe nel,; School of l"iines and. Inclustriesr for cla.ssroons
and technological- exhibitions. Because iire eastern annexe ldas
buillt as a ternporary gal-vanised ircn structure for exhibition
pu¡poses, it 'r.proved particurlarly unsuitable (as cl-assrooms for
the Scnool of l,'lines) owing to tne extrenes of heat and cold u.67
During tvars ar:d the d.epressions the main building r^¡as used to
bil-let rnen in tem¡orary accommodation. Littl-e public use 1¡¡as made
of the outd.oor areas a.round the nain Exhibition Buildingr except
for- i'he u.se of an area on the east síde of the building near the
originaÌ exhibition ttprone'nade'r and rose garden. At rtarious

64. :\dvertiser 22nd June L937,

Áq R"egister , I2tìn Decernber !923.
P.esister 15th December l-923,
67. Annual- Renort School of i'lines and Industries 1889.
 oÀ

periods in the nineteen tr,;enties and thirties this area I'ras

used as en open air Chinese theatre and reataurant, but no
record is available of any conrnercial tenanc..i that r,.¡ould indicate
an ongoing viable bns'iness operation.
Annual sho'i,'s cçnducted by the Royal Agricul-tural and
i{orticultural Society increased in popular.iti' and by f894 moves
h'ere made to develop the Jubilee Oval as an extension, across
C.Õ
Frone Road for show Þurposes."" Also, -uhe oval rças used-for
generai purposes rvhen not req.uired by tire Royal Agricultuia] ano
líortj-cultural Society. Tiiis area was low-lying r.,rithout d.rainage,
actually it 1."'as ¡rnore or less a swa.ap in the v¿inter. Reeds
Á,c
growing in partstt.v-/ Large quantities of land fil] uere required
and the ierraces so forned nade it an e:rcellent s;ectator ground.

r?Cn a fine l'iarcn cr Septeniber da-rr ','riren

]roi'ses ai-e -in action, the oval is r+el-l
i:atronised, if the Society (P.oir¿1
,'i.c'l'ic';ll-tura1 and Horticultural Societ v
conier¡clating a shift to iialn¡if1s )
1,,¡as
nalçes a retter ova] for the publÍc to
sêê r¡¡hat is going on 1n the ring. I FZn
snall- be ver;r agreeably surÌ:rised.rr

llo najor cricliet match r..'as ever played here, but I'tl:e first grass
teünis cou.rts were laid out in the centre of the oval - for some
)¡ears used for annual events ."7L trver:tually the oval was enlarged
for i'ootball- matcires, and r,^¡hen c;rcling became a craze in the l-89O t s
rrspecial cycle tracks were installed on tire li.de-ì-aidie and Jubilee
a f-7

Ovalstt.t'- Uncloubtedly the Jubi1ee Oval provided publ-ic use in an

area oí the Parklands previously considered ¡o be an el¡esore.

3ee 1\:r:endi:<, I,,alr -'^.

^o
Register , 15th Llecenber l-923.
-7 t\ Reei-ster' , l-8tl:l Decerilber L92j.
7r. ibid.
.7,
:Ih:-ieloclt, lC çl¿:_d.e_ .1zgjf:-L975 P. 262 .
 oq

A prestige arojec-t such as the Jubilee Exhibition opened.

up the der¡elopmen; of land for a r,rio-e range of pu'olic
recreati-on activities, both ind.oors and out of doors. \,Jith
such a significant cornmltment of eighteen acres to public
recreation, it is necessary to understand how this large
area of Governrnent Reserve rr'as conpletel-y alienated and given
over to i-nstitutional use d.uring the next fifty years. After
the jubilee celebrati-ons, the Trust lras rround up a.nd the on-
going admínistration of the property given to the nevrly created
Denartment of Pubiic i'Iorks, l{o special interest groups
assumed responsibility for the regular use, devel'opment and.
upkeep of the buiidings and outdoor areas; the v¿hol-e property
became rundown and easy prey for the erpansionisi programmes
of the Unj-versity and the Schoo1 of l'{ines. Tn 1902 the
Jubilee E>rhibition Grounds r^¡ere leased to the Royal Agricultural
and liorticultural society for a period of forty years, others
could also use the facilities, but the society reiained the
head lease. No one public body 1.¡¿s responsible to develop
public use; therefore by defau.lt, better organised^ publ_ic
institutions sucir as the University and School of l'{ines }¡ere
able to infl-uence the decision-makers.
New for-rnd confictence in the industrlal deveropment of
the state follo',','ed the jubilee celebrations, and it seened.
anpropriate to not¡¡ give priority to the develooment of technical
educatj-on by establishing a School of Ïviines ancl Industries in
1BBB. students first used the eastern annexe of the Jubilee
.Exhibition Buildi-ng :
 oÂ
Jv a

rrthe Ðlace of birth was ïrorse than 1ovi13'

and was olainly uncomfortable. Tkre present
classrooms ha.ve proved unsuitable, ovrin¿ç to
the. extremes of heat and cold and the general
d.iscornforts of a galva.nised stru,cture,tt 7j

Early in the follo'¡¡ing year, classroons v/ere remor¡ed into the

basernent of ihe main Jubi-lee Exhibition Building. Autonomy
si¡^rilar to that gi\¡en to the University Council r^¡as prescribed
in the school of l.lines Actr74 br.rt.ro reference vras mad"e to the
allocation of land for v¡hat was to become a lead.ing ed.ucational
instiiute in the staie. Again, the policy vias evid-ent; keep
open the options on the use of Government Reserves in the
Adelaide Pariclands. This situation v¿as not rectified until
fortlr years after the school v¡as estabrished and. then only as
a second sciredu.le attached to the university Act of 1929.
Just before the iurn of ihe centur3', the game of 1av¡n bowl-s
v¡as brought to south Austraria by Joseph Bower, a leading city
businessman. IJe particul-arly j-nfluenced J. Cwen Sn5rti1,
Su.oerintendent of the Public liorks Denartnent, r*ho arranged the
allocation of aoproximatel--* one acre of Government Reserve
adjacent to the Parade Grounds, orr r,uhat r^,'as to become the
northern end of Kintore Avenue. llere the Adel_aide Bovrling Club
r.ras fo'"mded in Lg97.79 It v¡as no exaggeration to say tha.t:
rrI belleve he did much to assist
and help Ín the formation of its
( tire Boir'ling Cl-ub) existence. tl 76

cei'tainly, the site could not have been nore central and it
becane the first sporting club to obtaln specific use of a

?z David Green, An Age of Technolog.y' 1839-1964 (Adelai,te 1964) r.z

7LL School of i'lines and Industries ¡\ Ct' 560 of 1892.
-Ê See Appendlx l'.'1ap L.
'7^ Joseph Bo',uer, The Earl I{istc
(Copi, in Ade-l-a e o1¡¡ ttu
of Borvtrs 1n South Austra-Lia
 ô'7
Jt.

Governrnent Reserve in the Parlclands. Another fi_rst was the

unu*suall)¡ generous twenty four hour liquor licence j-ssued. to the
Bor'.'ling Club at a time r.''hen hotels were severely restricted" on
serving liquor. One reason for this generosity bir the Licensing
court could have been that many members of parl-iament enjoyed
the club facilities after si.ttings of the House. originally,
Or,¡en smyth in his capacity of Superintend.ent of public llorksr

arranged a five year lease at a rental of å10 Ðer annum, but

an interview betr,'"een representatives of the club and the
commissioner of Pu'nlic l,forks, in tgoz agreed on a ner¡ iease for
twenty one yee.rs with a water coneession for'the first six years:

rfOur present lease of five yee rswill ex.oire

tha tin accordance
',¡¡ith the concession granted to your rve are to
enjo}r ti:e use of water free of charge for a
pgliod of six ]rêârs from that date, noninall¡r
ti1l tkre 25tY! of t'iay 19C9, t' 77
popular in the 1Ç2ors, an attempt rvas
.Irs lar^¡n borr'ls beca:rre more
nade to extend il:e tr¡,'o greens that acconmodated t,,.¡elve rinks, but
this request was ¡"efused".78 For sixtv-one years the Adel_aide
Bowiing CIu.b rvas able to occuÞJ¡ this valuable site until they
'';I€r€ forceC to move to East Terrace ParklanCs on very favourable
conditions, because of their lease ârrangem"nts,79
A ner,+ century brought major changes to this section of the
Gor¡e¡vrment Reserve, both in terms of orunership ancl legal def inition
of the land for specific pur.iroses. Earl-ier Governments tried
to keep tire use of pari<land reserves flexible by not

77. Honoi'ary secretarl/, Adelaicle Bolvling club to commissioner

of Public Vorks. ZUtn JuIy L7OZ. jjocl<et Cpt,/ figTõã.
t0. It'ïarch 1927, Docket Cp.'t TZ9/OZ.
'7C Sgu..P.I?2, and also Chapter Eight, p.Z5A for a continuation
gr lþ" development of the e¿erãi¿ó Bowling club on the East
Parklands Site.
 OQ

defining b',' procl-ama.-ui-cn snecific la;rcl use. This policiz 'cegan

to ci:lange by the iu:'.¡r of the centu.i"y as l'¿blic insti',ut.tons begai:
to e:"el"t inci"easrng pressure on tire Gcver.nnent tc for-l:lalise il:e:r
land 'i;enure. Tlle Farade Ground surround-ed by l1,ing ilrill-ian Stree'uo
vicioria Drive a:::d ]iintore ;\venue was -bransfered. t,o the
Conrnonr,'ea-r.tll Gove:'nnent at ti:e tine of Feceraiion ,.,¡hen defense
Ì:ecan,e a na.tj-onal r"es¡onsibilit1r. l'low a tl'lir.d le.¡el- of Gc.'¡er.i1rileil+,
wâs e land holdei'in the- parklands, much tc -,,he consternation of
the Aae-Laj-de Citi.' Councj-lr and to a lesse:. exient, the State
Governnent. Ir:1912 Ìrigìr llones trere held- foi. a chaäge in aitj.-'ude
to',,'?rd ihe fuiure of tiie laracle Gi'ounci. -:r¡hen the Gover-nilent secirr.ed.
1al-:d at Iies'.'¡ick for ililita.r'ir pu.rl:oses. The Preilíe-r, Conmissioner.
of Cro',','n l,ands and tjle l/jej¡or of /rdelaide all- attenuted to opeli
i1e;oij.aiions l'¡i-tir t'he Comnonr:iea.-LtÌr Ì'Íinister of l{one :\ffairs; but
'';i+":rout Four :/eeï's later a P.o1ra1 Connission reconnend.ecì
".,,""ur-..80
l'* .
¡:

rrt::s ,liliiar;' Fatade Ground" a::rj 3utildi:r¡s

be acqu.ired by -:he Siat,e fron *;he
Uonr,lon'.,rea_Lth, and -bhe rr¡i:ole area be devoied
for" ih.e pu.l:Ðoses of public recreaticn.rr 8l-

Agaj-nr flo ¡ction ¡'esut'ied. A comnlj-cated e:.:change of -uhe _Land

su-l'r'ormding tire Parade Gru¡und tooic place in tþe ne:rt l/ear.¡/he.r't
t'..'o acresof -uhe i,is=¡ l?arklanCs adjacen-f to tÌie pcfice Bar.racl<s
under the care, contr.ol aüc- nanagenent of il-le Adelaice citlr
council, ','ras requj-reri. by the State Gover-nnent for e:.rtensions to
the Police Earra.clis. The a.greeinent reached 'rias t',.¡ofold; first

Ên l'{arch L927, Docke-,, CP,: 729/OZ.

l.iortir Terrace ¡'€SêiVÊS anC Reif',.,'a" Ceü-lr"es P.c1iaì_ Corini ssion
First lro:r'ess ì c-nn* lol^
-ç)¿\'.L.L.
Þ q
 oo

the Govertinen'b hand.ecl or¡er to iìre Corpor.ation t¡e rese¡¡e a.t

the rear of Governnent llouse si;rrouniing the Paracle Grouncs. 82
Seco::d" tl:"e Siate Gover::ment!

I'unde¡'toolc -Lo acve ihe Feder.al Goverurnent

io re-./est in tile State Governnent the
ground (r.riiicil, on the establishnent of t]:e
Co;'íncn',".'ea-Ltir, had passed to üre latter for
d-efense purposes), ando ,,,¡hen this land had.
so reverted tc its ch.arge, to introC.u-ce
Bill into Pa¡.lianent to place the paraCe a
Ground under tire care, cãnt:.ol ano manage-
ment of the Corporaiion. u 83

on variou:s occasions ¡his promised transacticn was raised.; but

tire cctrrnonwea-l-th Governnrent has not been rnoved by an1, argunents
to relinquish this portion of tile parl.rl_ancs. T::e question of
rthether the State wou.l-d hanci or/er -uii.è Pa::lilancls to the Adelaide
ci-t]r ccu-ncil has tnerefo:-e noi been tested, but in 196] a snal_l
ti'iangle of l-and- off l(in-"ore /ì-¡enu.e neer the Parade Groui:d ol_us
¡ile diagona-L iootwa;r either sid,e of the Pa:.ade Gr.ound.,¡as ildeened,
to foi'n par-t of t]:e r\de-l-aide Pal"lllai-id,s anC be u.nder the ca.re,
co:rti'oI ald nanlgerneni of the Ccr-oration of the Cit1u. of Adelaicj.eï-Ît
;\n índication oí the hi.gh-handed attj-tud,e cf the Cofilnoär.,¡ealth
Go.¡e;'nnent '¡¡as the imilateral clecis1on ro er-ect ihe present
'ì:uiid ing ad;acen-c
to ihe Fa:'ade Gr.cund tn r93j. llo consultation
:..¡es sought vith eitl:e:' t]:e Staie Governneil+, or- the Adelaide
Citir
Counci-] . A cc:i/ of the buil_ding -lans ',..'ere sent to the
council tr íor perusarrr.B5 origínally, the build.ing was to be
erected onthe lrestei'n or äinE id-l-Llian iìo¡-:d side of the parade

:':de--l-a i d.e :Ì:illl:rCs L-l'Lera ti-on Act ,L275 of I9L7.

r)) l -¡nr r= I¿ Qa¡n¡-'l- .ride--r.aide Citir Council
o -LL -Vr U 193?--13 .
al, ;.delaide Farl<-l-ands A_Lteration ,.n'.ctr17 of 1 g6L.
I',nnual Rencrt Aclelaicle cit"' co cil I cl:<Ã zA L¿t) t".
 1 l^ìaì

Grou.nd, but ihe -rrde-l-aide Cit;l Council ttstrong_Lj¡ rrctested" a^Õo

agai-nst tire erecticn of a bullding in this ¡osiiion. Tn Deceinber-

lø-¿/
L934 ihe^i,"1a-rior of ,¡\delaide acccrniranied by Fede:.al Fa;.lia.nentary
representatit¡es interv'i er'¡ed- the Conmon',,,'ealth i'Tinister., thei' raised-
the j.ssu-e of transfei'r'ing the Parad,e Ground to the State Govei-nneni
','¡ith a vie,..¡ to hancling it over to the crty council-, but thei, on¡¡
obtaíned the cotrcession iilat the proposed. bullding be erecteC on
tne eastern or Klrtore Avenue side of the Parad-e Grou:ed. Ileither
the State or ihe touncil l.reï'e invited. to consult on the building
size, shane or j.ts irnpact on the envircnrnent. The Llniversity
becane interested in this area es a possibl-e extensj-on of -uheir
sna.ll- cit3r cai.-rÐus to meet-cha post war boor;i" In L94i ti:eir opened
ci-scussions with tile lvjinisier of Ed-';cationr and a clenutation of
representatives f:'on the lJniversit;' Cou:rci.f net 'øith the l,iínis+,€r
a7
cf lducatior."i, ',.¡ho r¡ised the iossibillt¡¡ of using tile parade
G:oi,lnd for llnivei"si,t"¡ i-ììiìrioses, A nen'ber of the universi_-,-ir
de;'u.',,ation sircnglir opposed this suEgesticl'l on tir: Sr-cunds that
ì:her-e eirneec tc cater for parades i.:r peace iine',B8 ai:d. ilihe
"'.,as
mllitar';' sl:oul-c ccclr.Þy tlr.e place ',.,'nich is i;he centre of .*.he
âo
to'.,n" . -- Perhacs the a:'gunents Jrave changed over iire, but there
seeris -Littl-e possibil-it1,' tìrat the Conmon',;ealih Gover.nmer¡t wi]-l
vacaie ihis arÊa. of the Fark-]-ands. In fact, ti:er-e are those r,¡ho
"¡ould a.rgue thlt the najcrit'; of tìie area consists of at.tr¡.ctive
opell slace a.va:-.Lable to the nublic on nost occa.sions ani thereíor-e
altor-,fO sta.',, :s i-s. A-'l-so, ihe biiui:cn surr.face of tire Parade G.i:or.ind

ihìd ,
IOZZ-<ã
'cJ-J 2'.

Õ17
()1o 4th Oc-uober. 1!,5. Dccke t D/L 4AjO/1937,
1l-.id.
ibid.
 101,

acis as a usefi.ÌI c3.r"Ða.rk for' 'bl:e Festi.¡a-l_ Theatr-e natr"o;:s end

s¡ectator.s at e.¡ents on the Ade_l.a-icl-e O.¿al.
,,\nother" :rajor change aiong i{cril: Ter.lace took llace near ih.e
'u--ïli of i,.he cen-bury r,vhen Sir Thorilas lilder ryho vis a patr.on cf i^ie
qa
e-nÈ<uù -111
i'¡ IAOÃ nade a
rÇ:/r/, r¡¡rla ^ rrr:agnificent
ll-.^-*
beçuest of s25rcoo for- ihe
curchase of pictu-res".90 One of the conc].iiions sir ?honas
¡laced on tllis gift to the }iational_ Geller)' of Sor_r+.h Austi,al-ia ,
r,',ies that tjre Gcvcrr:i:ent proviried
a sui';a.ble site and- erect an ar.t
galler-'' in 't'.'hich io hcu.se illls bequest; ile co::rectly foi-ecast tha"¿
otj-er gifts r,','ould ';lìen for-1o'r¡. This large gift forced t,re
Gor¡e¡'nnent into pr-ovid-ing nct cn1_y en addit.i ona_l_ secticn of land
alcng Iiorth rerra.ce, but alsc an eppï.opria,;e build"ing. This
-uechÌ:icue of l-ar"ge bequ.ests b¡r prive.l-e cÍtizens to public
instituiio:]s fcr'ced 'bhe Go-¡ei'nnent to pr.cvicie sliiiable l-and-, and_
in the case of the:'.:'i Galler.i.', to arsc cr.ovide the bu.ild1ng for-
j'-^^ ^--'-;-^:!-
..--s t:.'!:.-1 jÊOe u::r: oUïlca Ll-c:-.S or
,/-r uÞ . '-J L,:.) iÀc
R,¡ -iOUnC,a-uiC:.S
-r O.fl tr^o ; uLi r rì-l-
u.^u h,ri-.1 .i3_t;$ ',.,reÌ.e ]_aid
on ìa.nd betrreen the'¡est',ring of -,he Irubiic Libi.eri,, l,1useün anii
'¡.r't Cia-i--l.er-v Boa.:'ci buri-lCing and- '¿l:e Tjnir¡er.sit,;r. As with otirer arees
of the Ço"¡e:'i:r:eni; iìeserve a.t tiris tiEer r.o offi-cial definition of
i-he iand preced-eci ti:e erection of public
-huiidings. ',,ihen the A¡.t
uas oçened on tjre 7:n of ,l\prit_, I9OO, the public LiL,r.arli,
"]all-er:¿
iluser-in and A:'t Ge"ller'¡ Boarc l,rei'e pIa.cecl in the anomal-ous positioil
of i.e.vinr cîr'e, co:iircl end nar.iger-re::t of ,;h:_s -.¡aluab_l-e i:,ronert-.;
bi;t no leqa-i- s'.atus, Tl:e .ûuÌrlic Librai.i,, irct9? def_i_ned the lancl
ccci;.nied ì:,y 1,he o;"igina.L rnstit'-r'i:e , the l,i'nrar;. r.¡est r,ring, anc the
n{:i','1¡,'conille+,CC:tor1;:t -..'i:rã. bu.t not the l_a.nd oil .i.rhich the ner¡¡ 1,,rt
Gal-ler-'lr hiid beer erected., rn a letier fr-on the Secretai,l¡ of the

i .çt '.1 'l- (;t i I ê?.\r

oí Sor.,'i;Ìt ¡,.i;st¡.a-L'i a Brochur.e 1973.
o't See ,i.paendi:.1, r'-4. i, !.

a) Pu'Ì--.l.ic T 'i h-pr r¡ -r:Ct r ¿o::l OL re3j / 84.

 raz.

Public Library, I'fuseum and Art Gallery Board to the ltTinister of

Education, he pointed out that:

rrit j-s desirable and necessary tirat the

Art Gallery and the grolrnd on r.¡hich it
stands, should be in ihe sar{e legal
position as the other Departrnents of the
institution which i-s managed and directed
by the Board - in the event of criminal
or 1egal trespass, eíther to the Art
Gallery or its constituanis, difficulties
would arise in obtaíni-ng regress in the
absence of a proclamation suggested by
bv the Board.tr 93

The Government agreed to this request and redefined the cortl.er

section of Nortb Teprace and Kintore Avenue to the Governors
of the Pub1ic Library, Inlusenm and Art Galler¡' of South Australia
b1, nroclanation in the Go.¡ernment Gazett*.94 unfortunately, they
did not get it cuite right, because anothrer Government Gazette
prcclanation was needed the next year. frThis v¡as to correct eryor
j-n descripiion, rnad.e many years agoi but only recentll, discovereA'j9
llew leases were ia.ken out for the first ti-rne on the Old
Exhibition Grounds on Frome R.oad and tiie Jubilee Grounds by
the Royal Aericultural and Horticu.l-tural Society. Irfhen the
lease v¡as signed in 1903, a tenure for forty years l.,'as given.
lriot only did tne Society receive a valuable property, they
also received a gr.ant of €.1rOO0 Der annun each year, over a
number of years. I'iembers of the society were proudly informed
in thre .,\nnual- F.eport that the Government grant v.ias ttreduced
to .C,6OO ar oui. suggestion,,rgS ü""r, t'in 1906 the Society

93. General- D.irector to t'{inister of Education and A griculture,

25tn October 1900. Dociret I'i.E. and Â. 1206/l-90 U.
94. Governrnent Gazette , 18th A_rril 1901.
oq Annual Reoortr_Public Library,.Huseum. ald Art Gallery Board.,
1!õTZ2î-TTso ' Go..rernment Gazätte n llth lîarch tg}r:- - '
96. Annual Reoort t Rolral Agricultural and Horticultural
Society, TqZ1.
 lne

of its o',,.r1 accord :-elleaseC. the Goverr:nent all toEether"97.

Undoubted-h' the lìo-rral .\gricultural ,society had establisÌred itself
in this Gcvernment Reserve es a rnajor lanci holcler. on a long tern
basisr and a-]-thougÌ-r the1"' ccul-d afford to return ihe r.elativel-y small
Governrnen'i g:'ailt, othe:" benef its b)' vi.rtue of having a l_ease of
thj-s ceniral propertv accrued to the Soci_et1r.
.i\is the ner,r 'fchool of i,lines becarne firnly consolidated anri

e:'liranded to meet *"he inci'easing emphasís being placed on technical

ecucation, pressures r'¡ere ¡leced on -bhe Go."'ernneni to provi-de
ade''uate bui-l-dings for ihis institution. As with the Art Gallery,
a lrrEe donaticn forced tiie Government into pi'ovid.in3 land for the
School of }lines, Brookman Buj-lding, erecteci on the siie of the
eastern annelie of the Exhibition Building situatecl on the corner or
l'ior'-uh rerrace anrl Frone Rcad.9E slr Geor.ge Br.colinan had. ,given

î.lr rOCO -coi.,¡',rd -L.he nerv buiiding and the rneihor-r b;.. r^.,hich the Schco-L
obiained tne e>icel-len'u sj--te foi' its nain building r,;as r.e.¡ealed
Ii,3n1,z )¡ears later i,-y Sir" Langdon Bonytircn; tne po',^lerfuf nan
',..'ho
,,,/a.s rresi-cleüt of 'uh.e Council for fift"l,r years. Iie revealed ihat

the ne',','buj-l-dj-ng r¡as erected on la.nd nct legal-I;r defined for this
ñì1FF^cô' in raci tlle Gor¡ernnent Cid not realise that ihe Schoo-!-
p+i!.vJL. Il¡ t?vu (,-1\- vvvÇtrI

of l.ij-nes Council had no legal_ ri,lhts over the builCi-ng¡

¡'It occurred to rae tnat it wolild be -l*ise
io fi-:r the site nirself ar-ld to sa-v nothing
io ar:i.rbodir. Àccor-di;rgiy, f anìiounced the
g1ft, anC sunplenented it ',¡i-th tjie statenent
tìrat tiie builr-di.ng ',¡¡ould be established '.,¡i:.ere
i-t nor^¡ stands at the ne>:t neetinc of the
Council I retorteo tÌle gift and thã inienrteci
lccaticn of the building, both ,,y-ere '"^/arml.,'

i--cid.
See AppenCi;i, ilap L
 104.

aÐproved. Tine on and ihe for-rnCatj-ons

.,',¡€Tlt
',r.¡€re ÐLit inn fol-lowe d by the fornal
.r'lire:: t]re of -l-aying o f ihe found.ation stone.
ce::ernon-¡
cereiîona,¡ i',râ S OVer ï dfO.¡e a',,.ray
vith t,he Frem.. er, Si :' Prederick Holder. I
g.Þ ked; rl¡hat do you think of *r,he site?t
lIe replied; rllxcellent, it vould- be inros:i"ble
to get any better', bu.t irhy ¿o l¡or-i :^sk?t
lÊ ecause no one had girren
it to u-sr t I said.
rY ou donrt sa.:/ sol I e:rclained tite Prerier and
he laughed- verJ¡ hear'uily.rt 99

sir Langdon Bcn;,rthon again used. the same str.ategy to obtain ncre
land foi'the schocl of i,iines,i'.'hen in tl:"e sane year,the rnain
building r,,ra,s ocened.lOO He also gave €.lr5oo to.,.¡ai'd the cost of
the Bo:rlrthon Building to house the I'ietallurglcal and Chenistry
Laboratorj-es.101 On tt'¡o rnol'e occasions Bony',,hon becuests adced
lanc'io -uhe,school of ],lines; first io doub]-e the Bonl.ihon Bu.ilcì.ing
ín 1924, and, then tne Bonython Jubilee Builcin.g in r-940.
to',¿;ard
The íírst stege of the P1a1.¡3¡¿ tsuilding was erected in L949;
a¡ain tl:e Governnen-t r,'.¡el.e persu.aded -uo pror,ri.de lanC fo:" a
prestÍ-g-ì-or:,s huildii-rg naned after the State l?renier of tire d.ai.,,
In order to c,btain rail- eccess t,o -Lhe Ju.bilee lixhibi tion
Grou-nCs, ari-rh.oi'it1.r ',r,'.1s 3;iven for the Scu"Lh Australian Railr,vays
to construct a raihiay line in i90i. This line ran under
I(i::g iii-ì--riam Roa.<j. betl.¡een Gove:-nrnent i{ouse anC the Parace G¡.ouincis,
ri.rãvêrsing tire erea Lrno',.,1ì. e.s tÌre Folice Paddocli, a.ncl ternina-bÍng in
-uhe Jubilee Grounds at a sr":oi ',vhere tÌre Engl.neering Schcol- no',,r
1^t
srands.*-- Tt ',r'as used over the it6g¡s to transnort prod.uce and
stock *"o the var1cus annual- Roi'31 Shows cor:d"uct,ed by the Roiral

Õo David Green, nn Aag_.of Techngl.o-g.X,

10Áå t Þ L
Griffin Fress, Ade-laide
- a ra

100. Brooiriran tsui1cì.in5 u'reilec ln 1905,

-l
^'1 t
-LVI Bon-¡thon Lai:oratories opened in l9CZ.
aa?_. lìçs 1\.;¡g::,di:1, i ap L.
 105.

ttgricultu:'al and i-icrti-cultural- Soci_et-v. In -l.9Ol a prcduce Derot

',ras reserveC. foi' :'ail-wâ]¡ pu"Ì"Ðoses i-.y p1.6"¡-amation a.djacent to -ihe
',',,estern sid.e of ihe Ju-bilee Or¡al .IOi This njanoeu-1",re, -i;o dedicate
an area 'in th.e Partr"-LanC.s fo:' rail-',,.,a1r pur"Ðcsesralì"or..;ed .l;ne Railwa:-.s
De:artnent to t;len lease it out to the South ;1u-sira.l-i-an Fr.uit and
vegetab-].e Cor.nan""
II
in their o'uü] Fijiht itoul-d- no-u ha./e been
"'¡.1îlo
al-]-o';¡ed +ço a.l-j-enate rhre Parkl-ands. Blr obtaining a long tern -l_ease
fron -Lh.e Rai-Lwairs Deiertnent - a Gol'ernment j-nsiru,rneni,ality, ihis
trr'lv'idecl- a neat ,,,ra¡¡ to avoid nossible pu'i:-l-ic cri-;icisri. rn aü;,
event, the conl:anJ,'r.;eni into liquid"ation du.ring 1905, and the land
l¡as leased ro -uhe R.oyai r'tgri-cu.i-tu,:al and- i-lor.tlcul-tural Societir the
ne>:t :,rear fcr +u'.{enti,r-one yêârsr So that the Socie-cirf s exhi}¡itions
coul-d be e:rtend.ed,]04 Lít'u1e pir.bli-c cornent or cljscu-ssion followed
',1-:e al-i-enation cf ihis section of tÌre Governmeni Reserve.

.'',:paren;-Li', aeop-l-e ',"/ere i:re:ared '¿o acce¡t sone use of this

negJ-ecled. î'rea, particu.l-ai.l;,' fron a reputa.-ct-e organisal;io:r as ti:e
p-¡ri3l Àgrlctr-Lti;.:'a1 ani. I{c¡'ticuliui"al Socie-uy. i'i::l ír:iiicatÍo:r of
t-re put:-Ì-i-c acce'ntabi1.i't.,' el;oved, b1i the Íiociety ca.n be gar_rgec by
their abilit;,' to re-negcti-a-,.e â rrê'¡i l-ease on the Jubilee
ll:<r,i'ri;ion Gro,.rn.,'s in 190s, althoi-r,gh ihe original- íort1r )¡ear. -]_ea.se
siill- had tilirt)'-four yeers to ruif, i;jre lease '.,¡as e;lren.leC for
ano-l.irer fi,ft:¡ :/ears. Ir: adci-tion, +,he oid. ExÌ.l.iÌ-^,iticn Grounds on
the easte¡'n side cf ri'oi:e R.oad,,,,'ere ir,cluded in the lease for the
-ì
first r-irie.r\-'-l^tr -A.gain -Litr,le oï' no pub-Lic co:nment l,¡as voiced on

llle eXtlao.::dinar'1, l-eaSe COnd.itio.,ìS ':fhich effectii¡Ê-ì.-¡ su:.re::dered

Gove::tneat Gazette , 15i:. januar';' 1905. See \irnendix, Itia-p L.

,'lianu.e.]- lìetc r.f . Rc-''¡1'.rr"l-cultr-ir"all_ and_ iior.ticul_tr,ral 1nn i a-l-r
-l co
lô6
LJl a
'i'ìrirl lOrìe
:_. VVa
 106.

â.äotr-llerti:irt'r¡-si>l acres of valuablu- parlç-Lancls io one organisaticn,

À sing.Le crotest rras raised in Parliar:lenï .¡¡hen 'uhe right to l-ease
out publ-i c l-a;rcls fop a speci f i c purpose '.,¡aS ques]:ioned- by "bhe
HonoraÌ:ll-e l'i.J. Denny, l.lenber for AclelaiCe ',.¡ho:

rrprotesteC- against tj:e recent gift to

the Society (tne lease 'of-the Jubil_ee
Sl:or,r
E:cnibrtion Grouncls ) enti:.ely at the
e:rpense cf the ciiizens of Adel_aide. the
S1:or¡¡ Grcu.nds v/ere open seven or eight days
in the year, and was it right to close up
so nuch land for tha.t purpose?rt

The Connissioner of Pub-Lic l,forks v,'as q.uick to point out'¿irat:

rfwe haveuse of it fcr the resi of the

year - and 1,he use cf the inprovenents.rl

I4r, Denny retorteC that:

rfthose inprovenei:ts snoi-leC tite ]and for
all- public rrunoses. -The -i-and. .,,,,as
ba:.i'ícadeC on cile sid.e bir an enorncus
fence, and uas Fracticalli¡ closed for the
pur'ìroses of publ_ic ênjoJ¡nieirt f:.ori: one
irearrs en.d to the cther." 106

LÏnfortirnate-Ly, tÌ:e coinnents al--Ll:ougir' accu.i'a.ie, were irrel-evant to

rhe natter being debaied in the i{ouse at that tine, and i-n anl,r
ce.se, tire lease i:ad al-ready been riegotiated.
Ä con:tant cr¡¡ for inoï'e srace r','as recorded in the pllb-r-j-c
Librar"i,r, it'ruseu.n anc A¡t Gal-lert' Annuar F.eports year after yerr.
Building e;ltensi oï]s ',i'êrê â1va.,rs far behind. ti:e need. foi' e:rtra
space. TÌ-.e';;est rving tool<-ten;re¿¡s to build a::d it i..,as conpleted.
irl' the 1880 r s, the east w j ng i,,'as to ha''¡e been built at the sane

106. Parlianentary Debates, ,3econd" Reading i,iTT Lease n:

Ðr rII,r
liouse of ;i-s5snbli-]', l_7+"k Decenber lgOZ.
 la7 .

tine, bui eventually it ."'¿a-s opened 'i,o the pubJ-ic dui'i:rg ti:e First
1
liorl-d i.',.r.-"'^-7 Although the Board al¡'eadj' l-lad enougn land for this
extensicn, r.he¡,' grasped the opportr.mity during the consti'uction of
the east rti.i.g to aniend -uhe ori3ina-l- nct108 to bri ng the Ari Gal-ler1
lanc gazetted- sepaiat,eryl09 j-nic the ne..,+ Act.110 R.' consolliclating
its land under the one Act instead of holding a section through
proclanatio::r in the Gor¡ernrnent Gazeite, tl:is provided the Board
viih a stronger lega-L cl-airn tc their l'lorth Teri'ace pro:ertl'.
T',,"'c Royal Cominissions
'.,¿itiiin four _vea.rs nigh.ligh¡ecÌ tl'le need
to rational,ise tire institu"tional use of ihe i'iorth Terrace aarhlairC
reserves. Firs'u, in 1913 the Royal Connission cn Edr;ca'ci¡n mad-e
e:r-rencive t"eccnrûenda-ui"cïls to allc',,¡ for the e:iparsion of -ui:e
Tr'ri:¡crci*:z qcjrcol cf l.ij-nes, ancl nroperties controf.led b5r lþg
L.-¿\: A/¿ v¡rç¡ v

Public Libi'ariesr l,iuseun and Art Ga.Lier_1' Eoard. Or:re cf -lrre fii'st
considerations befo¡'e tlie P.ciza-L Connissiojl ïrâs the possj.biliti¡ of
rnt¡in:t ì:ì.p TInlVgi"Slì:=¡ iO a Iler,..r Site;

rrff -uiie e):pense cculd 'oe ¡ustified ',,,'e

r,,,onld nre:ie:' to see ii located in a spot
ccnveni-ent to the city '.,¡here an area of
lancL ecual to tha'u aitached. io either
lrr¡ln¡r¡ ¡-
vJs¿¿uJ; v¿ f -u¿! l:Oçj.ne Tjni.¡ei.SitieS
ì1a'ì WOü]LC
have been nr,'ai-1aìtle, -¡ut, as this j-s oui of
ti:e queslion, the needs of the IJnir/eT"si-uv
ín thj-s respect nust be rnet b-.,' secllrinrq as
nuch la::d- as possible in i'us i,nnecLiate
r,' jç i niiy, ît 1ll

1f','7 irest ',iing O'oeneC .3t:: Decenber 19:ì_5.

l a\e P'-rbllic Lihraries ô- .1
-l
^ + 296 of LBBS/4.
lno Gcvernnent Gaze-tte ,
I ?!ì^
-1-) þr: iÌ¡ r.n> I On2
'l't n l-,:l i-c -i--:a-ries, l'-'rer:: erC :\:t Ga.Ll er"'¡ ard -[:^stitr;tes ,\c-u,
986 of i909, Section 19 and the thi¡d iCirã¿ufe.
a 1a
-L--l-o
-.--.-. ,-'?îIji SSi Cil On
..U ' . -'- L,L1,..,-:-:ili-l-Uir \r-i ,'¡=;.i ¡:-. ñ:r:el-
':',,-1 Ðcrl:i 1 olz
,l¡ . 75 , Ìt, LY.
-u-..\'':-.wL\).-t
Fi :'l-1a:¡::-'-r:'.¡ la'¡c:'
 108.

?his 'i*as io be acccn¡lished by ihe u.se of the Roiral- Agricu-Itural

and äortici-lftt¡ral Societ,i,' land. i:i.eviousli' used fo¡. th.e Jubilee
i-Ì;<;ribition in lgg7rand no,,.¡ occr_rpied br,, ilre Jubi_lee oval. ,¡it this
tine, the R.oiral- 1:gricu.l-tui"a.1 anrl I{or-ti cultui.al Socì ety'r,rêre
activel y pi.rrsuing the possibilitlr of räo..¡il-tg to a ne1,¡ site a+u
llairville. liritten into the-i-r' ne',v Act ç6r,rs¡i¡ig t}:e i/a1,,'vj-l-le site
\'¡ere very far¡ou.i'able condiii ons such as a lease of fift.v acres of
prine land for nj-net)r-nine yeaï's, p:Lu.s cornpensation of f-jOr0OO for
the surrend.er of :he Oicì E,.'ftibition Gro'uncls l-ease¡ pl.r,rs a Governmen-t
loan of L25'OO0 tc be repa,id ai fou:: nercent ller annum, up io
'l
lral-f of the Sho'¡,' profit eacÌ: yeer,--'lc Also, the Ro;,ral Ccnnission
made prorrision for. the School of l.iines:

ÎÎtc e;rtend- nor.ti: tc the Fi.one Ro;:d

tc 'che Exhib.i-tio:r Oval_ and" ihe
eirti'ance-bor-rn.dari,'
''.,¡estei'n so as to hr-in¡¡ the
nech.inerli irail- under ihe col:trcl of il:e
llci,.ooll- of i'iiiles Ccu.ncil.il ll_j

rn o::d"ei' i;o dou.bie th.e are? of 'uh.e e><isì:ing siie occu.oied" by 'Lhe
Pub-r-ic Libr.a::iesr lrluseum anci Ärt Ga.L_Ler--¡ Boar.d; th.e Connissionei.s
recolrmenCed rrtl rer:ìcye tl:e Destitr:te .lis-:'--l-um and the Police Bar.raci.is
¿^
uu :::u.:'e u,_l ,acll_e r^^^r
---;-r^1^ì^ jrj^-
loca.l_iti-Ês. ti** Irre::it.ta11.r'r
ttll4 - ---! il,ese recct:Ì:enclalio:rc
1','ei-e essent.:a1iir aci:ie-¡ed, 'br-:t irl i9-Lf ihe Gove::nnent r¡a.s not

-repared to ccnnit i-bse--l-f to i.he e:.r¡:cncl-iiure iJi'r.r¡fyed, nor to tlte

ne3o';i-a'ticns 'rritir t,i:e .¡a:.ior-is Instiiu-uional tsoa::ds ancl Colncils
-:ho i.loulC no dor-lj:-u app,.Lir pressure to eC-,.ance tne-lr o'",rn interesis.
The Pren-te:'-.'¡ou-Lcl ncL sigl the final re¡or"t and tire Connissio:rers
no'ted, rr\,,'e regi'ei tliat the Preinier has i.¡ith.iro-Ld. tris sig-l:t.u: e.t'119

111) ,\d"elaicl.e Shcvzl.or;nds n,ci,11 j6 of L9L3.

-lcìlz
tt\
ssj-on cn fCucation,
F.oi,-al- Col:n-i F inal Lerori;
lì"ecci¡ner-da.tior iio . 78.
rr/, 1 Al ñ
t
k-^^."ñ-,'-,.'-
:\çv +ì
:_u.._rUIV¿- ^-
r\;.r
r\V,
'1i)
lao

116 -'-'..4' t L ojLo

 lrlo

iloiwitl:sta:rCing Ì;his cacl r"ecei:tion -t,o ihe lìoya1 Connission Final

R.erort, ;ìre 1-lniversi',ii Coui:c-i-l r','ere rjuick -uo taite advan'lage of
-1.:ese recorìlìlrenda-bíonso 'ciley nade arrangeïlents for an on-site

i-nslection t,v tjie lre:rier and Ï,iinj-ster of Fubl-'ic iior]çs earl-y in

rrL
!9llr.'-- Cli;l::ritrnents ','¡ere rnade b]' th.e Gol'ernnen-u ic ti:e Universi-b¡
sinil-ar io tire Ì'econncndations of the lìo;ral Ccinäiission otl
ECucati-on, sr:pportin-t event',ral acquisition of ihe Jubilee
Exhibitíon ¿çr'ouncs, bui the ';ie.r in"berveneC-. ïmnediately peace r,res
declared -uhe Chancellor of ihe Unj-versi¡j. of Adel-aice agaÍn raised-
these matters with the Frenj-"".117 In the mea.ntine a.nother Royal-
Conr,rission was estab-l-ished di-rring the l,{ar and deali in part wi-uil
the i.Tortli Terrace Reserr¡es a::d also ihe P.aiilrair Centi'es. The
Co:.:nissioneT's cuicirly b;'ought d-o';,ryr. their Fii'st Pr-cgress Re-cort
ii-r '..:'rich, a-r ¡he Governnentrs i"equ.estl thelt first concentrated
oä !'the al-l-otneüt of íu't'-ii'e use of pu-bi-ic resel:1tes on hio:'tl:
l-la
Te:^i':ce.tt--'-" Rad,i-ca-L soluti ols ','.'ere recorinended- blr {þs F-oyal
Conni ssicneÌ's i:.r order to solve the or,rer-crowded. u.se of l-and-
along llorr,;h Terre ce b;; public i.istitutions. First, rhe
Connissioneï.s, incrui-r'ed inio ihe i'ea.sons ivìiy ti:e Par].l1ands were
es¡ablish.ed, anC then rnade or:Ìe of 'uhe fe','; def-j-::it,ir¡e siaierrtents
ii: existence on 'bhe real- pu.l'^Ðoses of tlie Parl.,l-ands and how -uliey
h:tci been alienated:

-lla-
14th Janua.r'-l"'1914. Docliei C:::O 453/l-919.
l-l-7 . Chancelloi', I-inir,'s¡s1t"¡ of r^rde-LaÍd,e to Pren-tei', 7th -il:r'j-1
19:19. DocÍcei CSO 453'/l-gL9 .
l-lt. P.c1,'a.!- Cornraission on ÌicrtÌ: Terrace Ì'ieserves and il'i-lr'¡rr;
Cen-bres, tii¡'st i?r"oÃress Renort 1916.
 110.

rrTt is assumed thet the

l:ar.l";l*nds r,"¡hich
suri'ound tire City of L\delaide weï.e
dedicated oi'iginal_ly for the use of the
people for i:urposes of recreation an<L
pleasure; but the evidence shcr.¡ed. that
their ',,iere ìlot allotted. and are not ,¡¡holly
occupied b.,¡ i.nst,i-Ì:utiorrs r¡,'hich fulfill
tiiis pur,oose. In re¿;arcl -fo -,,he liiorü:
Te:'i'ace l:eserl,¡es, it r.+as founci that,
vï:ei'eas sÕne areas occupied. brr certáin
j-nstitu'cions',,r€ro dedicäted b].' statutã
for specific puriloses, others h'ere occu.oied a r ^
provisj-ona111,' and i,viti:ou.i secr-rrity of tènurs. irr19

TÌre naln thrust of tl-is Re:ort proposed. a se:.ies of reccn-spq'2åç.ísns

to open up the Par"klancLs for r.¡iCer pr:blic use. Inevitabl1,, ti1e
loca-tion of the Staie Gorr'ernorts P.esid.encerin a Frime central_
positi-on t*as questioned., paz-ticula::1i..' a-s i:ie decreasiäg inpor.tance
of tÌre State Governo::f -q role since Fed.er.a.tiorì l^.¡as a cubl-ic issue
oi ;:-le tí:'re:
rrGover:il:ent liouse coi-.¡,-l.,cl ful_f-_11 a.1l its
functions if i t r.¡ei-e lîerio.,¡ed to sone other.
sui--ci'ile s-i'c,e. It ís coirsi-..ei.ed that the
lonair:l cou-]-d be used 't.c Ì-.et,tel. ?d.r.,¡en+uzEe
:rs a sj-te for an important State or. c1.,iic
bui-}d.ing,¡¡ii,Ìr ¡ublic gardens a.-utaciìecl. r 120

C¡nnrned tiris reconnel:.d.ation ¡,.,'as ano-,-her ih.a.t ccntra.dlcted

Tr-r-i;¡.

the ¡re'¡ious Loyal Connission on ldu.ca.ticn recoirÌmÊnCation tj:a.c

tile ';niversi.tir of tde]-aide sj-te rerain on liorth Temace. E:<cert
rr;ÌlÊssês frcn: Syd"äey and
:r,'i
l.le lbourne {ri:iver.sities ins j_sied that:
rrnc l-ess tllan one hu-ncir.ed acres can be
re¿{erd.ed a.s aCeqr-lar.te fo:: ihe-ir ru.t poses,
a.nd_ an aï.ea Lìp 'to ti.'o iiunclred að:.es ó"ãñt
to be :'egard"ed es el:cessive. n 121_ "ot

l'to i l-,i ;Section il:ree,

^
120. ij:icl. r,=
L-.)o
r

1i-:1. i rri r?
 111,

If boih Governnent House and the Uníversity we:'e movec fron the
itÏo;'tl: Terra.ce Governnent Reserve, large areas of parklanrls for'
pu.blic use ','¡ouid have r"esu.lì-tecl ; âs was j-ntended by il.oit..-f
Ccnnissioners in lj-ne wj-tir -bh.eir par'li-l-and phi1osopir.ies. .l.no1.Ì:er
re,jj-cal recollneirda-ticn ',,¡¡s that the Mil-itar'1i Parade Ground, the
Pofice and l'1-i-Litari,' Ba.r'rac}.-s, and the Desti-uu.te ;lis)¡lun shculd. be
resuned at -ì:he earliest possible d-ate. r¡ilot, less than three
acres to 'ce allocateC to ihe.Fublic Llbra:'ies, luiu-seun and
r:,,as

,rLrt Gal-ls¡r¡ Boar År .L22 One blenlish on these conrnencl.able but

raCica.l- reconnendatlcns of the P,oyal Connission, i,/as ihe vague
recoriinen.da1;ion related. to e. pro,posal to extend the railr','ays east
of l'.,ing I'iill-ian P.oad, because it r.¡as:
rr¡he unaninious oninion of t¡itnesses - *uhat
an)¡ futLlre alloca.tion of rese:'r¡es should
be na.d-e surb;ec-f to -che pi'o-¡isicn of an 127
easì:o:'n ex-¡ensicn oi the ::ailvia,v s.,¡stefl.ir

-i:s ','¡-i1;h n?l-)¡ R.ci'a1- Co,nni-ssrcns and Governnert inc¿uirieso these

r.econnendalic'ns ,,,¡ere nct in¡l_e;-nenierl, Certa'ìrrll)'r tl.re i.adical
and. e:<i:ei:s-ive soluti ons proposed. i'.:ere eve:n less likelf io be
adop+-ed in tlie rnidCle of tl:e l¡irst ilo.rl-cL l.iar. gecause of the
con-uinuing ne€ço:iations rel¡¡ied to tire Ro;rai- ligrícu.lltu:,:'al- and.
liori;j-cul-tu::al Soc-i-e-u1,'rs ino\¡e -;o tire ','ia.y'vil-l-e Sho'i;grou:rCs, no
e;lpa;:sicn bir tbe Lrnivers-'i-i;¡ to *.;he nortir and -ilie east could be
envisageC. in the neer future. Therefore pressure i,'¡as acpl-ied on
tire Gor¡ernnent io honou.r earl-ier proni-ses related to Uni.¡ersii-v
e:lpansio:i to i,he r'¡est. Thj.s '¡ioul-d involve occupation of a portion
1 21,
of the Foli-ce Ba.rracl.,s anC Desti-uu.-uê Asylun properties.---

\22. ibid. Reco'-¡ner:,la tior:, .

J-'- ) . ibid. Seciion 5.
1 .1, De¡utaticn of '.lnir¡ers"it¡i Council to ChÍef Secretary,
l4tir Cctobei', 191-9. Doðtet 1,,53/1919.
 112.

A-Lso,the Publj-c Li-brary, l,luseuit and Art Gall-ei'y BoarC Ì.rere ab-l-e

to announce in thelr Annual P.euori l-9:19 tha.t:

Ìrtl:e Gol'el:nnrent has since given a definit,e
âssurance that a, piece of land i-nnediaiel-r'
north of a.nd- equal in size to the l-and now
under the conirol of the Board shal-1 be
declica'ued as desired. í'i has rel-ieved tne
a.nxíe-t1r tha.'t was f elt least the f i nai
oprortunity of malij.ng broad p:'crrision for
t:re gro',,;th and expa.nsion of the insiituiion
for tine to cone, being lost.rr L25

A ì-ittl-e ovei' t'.to eeres of land occupieC by the Ol-C Destituie

,\s.r¡lun build.ings rra.s ded.ícated to the Fu'olic Librari.', I'.{useun
and .'^,rt, GaJ-l ery in 1921 ,126 For the first tine, ihis seciioa of
1)7
the Go',¡ernment Reserr¡e jrad been all-ocated b3r procl-anation .L¿ (
An ins¡ect,ion cf the proposed Universitl' exiension wes nade by
-uhe Premier, l{j-nister of Fubl-ic -,',Iorlis, and }.iinister of Education

in October l-9]9. Soon af-uer, over -th:'ee acres oí l-anci occr-çieC

Sartl-,r b]t -"he Destiiuie /is;'lum, Ärnoui'j' and- Old I'lor-inteC Police
i3airaclis ','¡as ira-L once secu::ed -uo the ljniver-sit7 of /rdelaíCe
Council- eitlier by d.ed.icaiion oi- o-ther ai:proved processe"."l2B
'ur;:til- -;i:i-s cor:mi--rnenl, tiie l-and anci buil-dings occup¡ring this site
had :to'i previous-11,, been ded"icate<l for any specific pulrlroses.l.29
Teacher training acconrnodation r,vas also considered b;r l¡u
Pren'1 errs inspection oa;'ti.r. ft i.'as pointed out tirat rrthe
r-Tniversi-uy r¡¡¿s acccnmodatíng, as
'¡ell ?s ii coul-C, the Trai:ir:g

I )4 Pr.rblic .l--ibraries, l.:useun and :\rt Ga11er1i, r\l-inue-1 F.e¡ort

lolT-lÊ
l )4 See ./lp-nenclix, lulao 11.
1lcl.)'î Grvernne;:t Gazette , 5ïh January, l-92L.
fron Superintendent of Pu.blic Buildlngs to Connission.
l',linu'Ì;e
er cf Publj-c lJorks. l-l+th October 1919. Docket 453/L9l-9.
r?o Goverlnent Gazeite, 16th Decenber !92A.
 112
LL) c

College at a great i-nconvenience to the University. tr130

Buildings to the northi of the Public Library in Kintore Avenue
previousl]¡ occupied by ì;he Dest,itute hsylum 1,/ere no longer used,
l :21
and the l-anci- was proclaimed. as a Teachers College Reserve .LiT
For the first time, thi-s section of land v¡as allocated. for a
specific purpose, this incLicated a. change in Governmeni policy on
reserve lanC for public institu.tions. The sane tine as the
University r'ras securing land- to the vest, and aleo making plans for
the occupation of the Royal- Agricultural and l{orticultural Societlz
land ¡,vhen the Society moved to l{ayville. A complicated sltu-ation
faced the Government; back in 1914r ot the basis of the Royal
Conmission on Educa.tion, the Premier of the day agreed to tlie
University i:aving flrst call on the Jubilee Exhibition land l.¡hen
it '¡¡as vacated by the R.oya.l Agricultural and Horticultural
Society, ltror/ th.e University pressed for this early promise to
be l:onoured. Questions were raised in Cabinet on hov¡ this
prornised alloca.ticn of land to the LÏnl-¡ersity would affect ihe
futui'e developmeni of the School of l,lines, Cabínet asked the
Attorne-.¡-General- to ad"vise then on this matter,l32 t,/ith sor¡e
embarrassmeirt, ii v¡as found that the Brookman Building ha.d been
erected on land not under tkre control of the School of l4ines:

ItCabinet approval '{/as given (in a

Iiiinute dated 2nd May l9O7) for portion
of the land sho'..,'r3 on ihe plan to be used
for the School of l,iines - but there is
no dedication pl-acing thre land under the
Co';nc1l of the School of ii{ines.rr l-33

lJO. I'iinute from Superintendent of Fublic Bu-ildinss to Conmiss-

ioner of Public l,,rorks, 14th Octol¡er 1919. Doclçet 463/l.gt9.
r1l-. Government Gazette , z3tìn October L92O,
L32. Cabi-net F.eports , 28th June 792l-. Docket CSO 463h9I9,
122
L)) o Surveyor-General to Cornmissioner of Public \^/orks, SOth
July 1927. Docket CSO 463/19L9.
 114.

In order io exì,:',ì.cete theilse-1ves from tlrêse ear.l-i-er coilmi'Lments

¡iade 'clr past Gove:'nrnents, -uhe l,,iinister of Ec'-rcatlon ',rrote to ihe
Chancellor" of the Lrniversit.¡ and. carefullir described ihe five and
iirree cua.rter' a.cï'es fi'ci:iing Victorj-a lJrj..¡ere,t:c1udj-ng the ju"bilee
CvaL that '.'¡ould be decii-catecL ',c the lJlriversity of Adell-aide.after
ine F.o1'¿l- Agri cultural and lÌorticul-tu.ral Society h.ad. ceased to
occupj¡ this area;

'rTlie Governnent are unable to prorni-se

the t.lüir¡ersitr,r any porti cn of the
rJ:*iibition Ðuiicj1ng or Jubilee G:'ou.n,js.
The Governnent is at present housiäg
Government Denartments and the = prer,rlses
genera.l-ly are- in nuch dene:-ìd,.tt r34

Good r-elaticns e:<is'bed, i:et.¡'een the ijniversitlr of :\delaide and u:e

Iìo.,¡al- ;1-gricul'bu"ra-'l- and- i{or.t:'-cl;ltr:_ral- Societlr, vho infor.ned the
l]::ir.¡ersi;-'' i.egistrar of íts intention to h.old t]ne 1926 Roya1
Sl:ow at \iiai'vj-ile.1J5 -r:ned-:-atel--v, a letter ,,ras sent by the
i-T:rir¡ei'sitl' of Ad"elalde t,o tire Go.¡ern.nent requesiing tne Ju'cll-ee
E;:jribiticn l-;nd. ,a35 1\t the Same tine stei:s '..,,êÍê then talten D-'
iiie Governnert -uo Cedicate ihe strío of -Laid frorn Kintore Avenue
!- Lj_j r,i_,_;_-. I/into¡.i-a
fr-nnf.irr¡ D:.i.¡e
y IL, uu,i j-.-_ J) l'=Ve i,U -l.he Jubilee Ol,a.l
--o *-_-,.137 but
__._ nt
-vel';J¡
Govei'ilnent burear.lcracr,' i:e1ci up this process foï. 'u',..¡o )¡ea.l-s, becallse
¿l-'''e South Alistralien Ra.il-:,va¡is Ccnni-ssioner insisted oir pal¿nent

for tÌre cost of buildings and inp:-ovenents made -r-o the produce
Depotr',^,,ilen it .,.;as establ-ished ir-r L9O3. -An arncu.nt af LZrjgj/Z/T

slloi';ed in ihej-r records; tne ur:iver-sity refused to pa'r., and- it

Secretary, ì.1inÍstei' of rd.l:ca*uion to cna.ncellor- unj_versit¡¡

of .\d.e-Laide, L4-;h Ìloi.'enber. :l_921. Dochet CSO 46j/ ,9':19.
-'t zq secretarl¡, P.o1'¡1,¡rgricr-rlturar- and iicrticultural scciety
*,-o Registra.r
u:rrversi.ty of ldelaide, z2..ð. Anril- *9,zr.
1?'6 ,icting Ciianceì-1or, Tinj-versjty of Adelaide to liinister of
Educaiion, lst l.air L92r, Docket CSO 463/tgtg.
17.7
L) I o See 11ppe nrì i:r, I'1ap li.
 115.

tooli an el: gra-"i.a i-r3:¡nent froiit Govern.lrent funds to tlie Rai-l'r¡a-l¡s

before *une lancl cor.;}d be rroclained foi" i-nivei'si t;¡ p,Jrcoses .L38
I>lce:'t for tl:e snall- section of l-and Ðrcclei-ne{L as ''¿he Pi.oär;.ce
fepot, *"his ?ree ,..ras Ìiever cfficia.l-l,l¡ alloca.ted- for any specific
ñ

pur?cses, l^^;
iler-nã
- part of 'ciie ofA pofice PaCdoclç ai:C. unccnnitted
open siiâ.ce. For rhe fi:.s'b -uine, iiris l-anci r'¡as dedicated to a

specif i-c "lnstitution and anot]:er p*rea of 'bire Covernnent ,R.eserve

',,/as lost -uo fu.ture public use. the lJniversit-1r iiad ti,ro
llo',.,¡

sections of l-aird under proclarnaiion -bhrough the Go.¡ernment

Gaze-t,te, Flr-¿s iis iniiial grant by ;'\ct of Parlianent. I"îc::e la:rd
'¡,'ould l¡e claj,r:ed by the Ul:.iversiiy rr'iihin ttio )¡ears by ano-uher
;\ct cf Farlj-ane:rt. I'To dou.b-r,, the LTnj-versiii¡ uoulci have preferr:ed-
a nore secuï'e tenure r+ith the rrho-Le of tl:ie j r lancL acquisition
unCei' an Act cf Pariianent. Sinu--LtuãïlêousI.,,r:.¡ith the all-ocaticn
of land frcn-i;-rng liintoi'e .¡:veÌiLÌê to the Universitl,r, the Centr"a.l
.l.ili;.¡s¡i-i-s¿ Sciiool obtained porlion cf the Cl-i Destitu.ie i:syl-un
i'esei'veci for scl:oo--l-s in I{intoT'e A.¡enue ad;acent to il':e Tea.clier-s
Ccllege.t-- tio Ar:pe.reni1i., conrlaínts a-bcut ap-prentices losing tine
;ra.,¡e-r,1ing to cl.asses at *une Thebarton Technical- I{igh School
;:oi:tecl out -uhe need fo:: a Centra,l hrlre¡:t-i.ce ¿-cjrooll-.14CI The next
)¡eeÌ' ano-ui1,eì' poriion of the former Pol-ice Barracks, which were
beÍng usec by the Cori'esÐondence ijchocl, 1,¡as nor,,¡ d-edicateC as a
Centi'al ,toalent;ce Sc::oo-l ,1i+1 D'.::"i-r:g iile eei'ly nineteen t,.,.,e;ì.-,ies,

-l ze Gove:'nnent Gazette , LZ-rh l¡,ay L927 "

I /-t)
Gcvei'nnent Gazette , -l O!ì¡
L)v-t
Tia?.rrr¡¡r¡
j- euf, L(qr J
'l O?E
L)¿)o

I Laì llinr¡-+e ::iiln¡rintendent of Education i;o i{inistei. Cf

Icì',icatio:r, 2í:tì: Iiay \9?3. Docj<ei ID !2-5I/t9?i.
11ll-. Go.¡e:'ni"le::.t Gazeti,e. 2ncl Sea-bember L925.
 116.

ihe former Fenaie l,)'lng-in l{ospital section of tne O1d Des-uiiut,e

As1,'}un vas cccupied by the Chenistry Ðerartm.ent. Althoulgh
attempt,s were rnad.e over the years to have the site ded:-cated -bo
the i.{inister of ::igricu.l-¡ure, in or.Cer thai a pernanent i,hi.ee
storeir labora.toï')¡ could be erecied; this was not approved .!l+2
At last tire Univer"s-i-t)' ltas able to obtain over thirteen acres
of the Exi:rbition l-anC denied io then eai.ly in the nÍneteen
tr.,,enties,'because ti^¡o large dona.tions, one of å6OrOOC for the
Bonirtiron liall-, end another of Ð2O fo;' th.e Barr-Srilith Libr.ary
'OOO
1,','€rê íortÌ:coäring. The Governrnent
'øas persua.d.ed" to pro.,ri-cle land
for rhese siructures and also foi'possible large future
developnents. Surprisì-ng1i,', the Universìty Land Act of :-929
aroused little opposition, yet it effectivel-y alienated the .iubilee
Oval anô. even-,.ua]ly the Jnbilee iÌdribition Buj-lding. 51¡ D¿r,'id
GorCcn o:'efaced hj-s re:nai'ks in -'-he Le3islative Council r,¡ith the
con::ent -thet',

rrT ani reniinrled

of a song ,¡hich. has a
refrain sornethinE lihe I the m.c;'e 1.u'e .¡ote
together the }:appier ue sirall bet, I tirj-nk
the:'e will be conpleie agreenent on this
Tìill rt.
lÀ?
L.J

Certainly, the rnain spe:-lier i:ai.roducing the Bill in the LegisÌat,ive

Coui:cil- poin'ued ou-t the nÌonetar.,'value of ''"he land, then indicateC
*ìro*.

rrno cne igil-l d.ispu-te the fact that it

uill be ¡ut io betier seï"."'-i ce ì:i' 'leing
u-tilised for Llnj-versiir¡ purÐoses than it
is at present;"

LL+?-. i,inute, Pril:c j ral :i:'chÍt,ect ïo Chief -'irch'i tect. 12t.n

ilo';enber A9a.2. Dccket nD L25I/1923,
-t
L*:J.
l,z Sir Da.¡ici. Gordon, Le tr islatir¡e Council, Second Reading
Parliameniarv Debate e , 6th November tgZg.
 TT7 ,

He then nai-niained tha.t:

rrthis ís nct a. su::r'ende:c of parklands.

Th.e area in qu.estioi: has never been s'-r.ch,
i:u.t Cro'.¡,'n Land- sei aside as Go.¡ernnent
Reser-,/e. rt L44

FcrtilnatelT, there r¡as a r,'atcir dog i¡1 tire Legislative -¿tssern'oly

'','¡ho could 'oe rel,ied on to defend puT:l-ic use of the parr,lands at

e\¡ery oppcrir-rnity; the I{onorab-'l-e ','1.J. Denny, }'{ember for ,{deiaide,

naintai ned ihai :

rrii does nct nattêrî '.;ihe-uher t)-"e3' ¿¡s

par'l<lands o:' l-and" vested in the Cro',,m ,
because thel.r ¿¡s there for the benefi J-
L

of ihe citizens - there should be sorne

enqltirl"r bit menbers and pei"sons i'.rho nay
har¡e objections -bo 'ihis l-arge acq':isi.tion
of encrnousllr va-l-u-able ll-and
Èa !t
shoulC
e'r'l o i n -i r¡g ev. deLlce . 1"45

ile','.'an.ed rie rnat-ber:'eferred io a Sel-ect Conr.nittee, but the

riii:ister. of .ld.r,icarion r-eíl-ec-bed- the ''¡i ev of :cst nenbers 'i,'hen
'he sa.r-d- t:::t rr'¡,,e pre. conniited tco far to change iire site"
"l'h'c
Air unus,.;iìl- feat'-;.re of -uire Tjuive:'s"iii," La:tC- .¡\c+', one ',Jas t.hat
j.;::e Ì;or-rnd,ar'r- '¡et..'¡een the proposeci. Universitlr -"1-an<1 anri. tile a.rea

ciesigr:ated S,chool of l,litres, (bu,t not proclained), passed. tirrough

ulie centi'e of -bhe E:<hib:-ij.on Buill-ding ,lL¡7 The e¡iginal uroposal
'.'/as ':o lease the Universi-Li' section of the lixhibitíon Building
back to ti:e Gove::nment i'or ir periocl of fifteen yearsr','rith a
right of rene,,.'el fo:: ano-bher fifteen yeer"s. In -bhe debatee iirat,
foll-or,¡ed the iniroduction of the Bil-l, i:-..e lionorabll-e l'.J. De::ny

L!'Lt. - i-il:is';er of ,^.:.:ii c'r1r'-l;"e , I-e¿is]-e"i't.¡e Couinci 1, lecond. Ìead i.r¿;

'Pariiamentary Debates , 6th November, 1929,
-.
1 .T ñ¿-,-n-r
-:-i,-;
iT¡:rca
r-v..,JL n f
v¿-
, -õôñir l rt .3ec¡nd ReaC:ng
Yarlrancntâr\¡ Debates )" 7t 1';- O, tober
^.v.l .-./ a
7-929.

L\t . i'jii:1s-'-er of Edr-ication, I{ouse of Assenìr11r, !eccnd P.eadit:g,

Parliamentar''¡ Debates , 24th October l-929.
Qca i -,' I'
! lt-7
1 ìi. :1 n-¡a¡rl ìt=n
 118.

oppo;<ed this e:d. slìggesteC a::r errendilent -co exiend',.i:.e lease to

f or+.1' l.¡êars - not -;o n:"otect publì-c Lise of tiie 'pari.-,1ands: bu.t
so i:ha-u the ld.elaide C1'L1,' Couricj.-l-r or sone ci.iv¿r.te bocl1r ',riou-icL
ha'¡e sufficien'b tine io erect, another buil-iing in tlie city of
Ad.e]-¡ici.e of -s'"iffici;.ent si.ze "l.o taLre'"che pl-ace cf the Elii't.ibiticn
FuilrJlng, The ,Tul.:ilee cval- r.¡cuid- arso be l-eased bach i;o tile
Go.,'ei'4niei:rt fo:: tei: years, tiren vacated to enabl-e the Univei.sl-t1r
a.u*,norities to ei'ect various buil-d-ings. Soine heaied deba.tes ',.,¡eï'e
held at tl'le tine, on whethe r Pulteney Sireet sircnld con*uinue
noi-'u]-:'..,'eÌ'ds ihi'ougi:. por'uion of 'fl:e Exhiì:ition l¿.nC -uo \,ric-r,orie

Drive. rf,cl.di tional- i.oads thr.ougìr the Pa:.iilaäûs weï-e â.l.,.ia¡,,s

sun';oried b"v cit;r bu.s-iness iäi,erests. The iìundle S-ureet Trad.ers
li.ssocj-ãi,ion nai:itained ihai the b-Locl',ing of Pu-l-tene;' Street '¡cu1d
not a.ssj-st t,::der.ûoi¡ al-:'eadir on ihe d-crin luu.rtf âs tlre effects of
ti:e De¡ressj-on be;an ic btte. ,,\no:liei. s-r,T"cng suoeo:itei. of lhe
rcacL e;<tensicl ,..¡es ihe rlrde-ia:ie Cii.l Council, .;,,no pointeC out,
q,-iirc co:-rectl"-.",, 'uhet Colone-'l- T-j-Ebt ha,cl- nla::ned. for Pul-tenei,r
S-:r'eet io be one of ihe.ii::'ee arie:'ies ieadirig f¡'on i,orth Àde-ì-a,icl-e
thrc'"tgh r:o ,1our,i iideleiCen Bu-,, Co,ì-onei; T-:'g]:i cou-i-C not harre
fci'eseen the litriversitli loca'ced on l,o:.th Terrace. Obr,''ious)-y,
i".e ,Jniversity ','/ere sirongi-i¡ cpposed to -t-liis fi'agneniation of the
c-ril)u-i. ,^'lreed:.' ex¡aneion acï'osg l¡rcne P.oad had diviCeC scne
Ì-nj-ve r"s-it-i' De:--:ertnents" B-7- delibera.tell,' siting -l:he Bonytiron I-:ail-

di-r'ect.Lir op-::os-i-te tlte ilcrt,h.er"n end of Pultcnel' Iltreet, the

ll-l:vc'j'sri;,' Cou;tci.1- effectivel'. blockeC a:,',' e:<;e:si cn of iu_-L.teney
Strcei nort-r tnrou.gll ilte Ur:iver-'si-t-;: g:.cr-lnds,
:11-1 cleve'lopnert plans 1r'ere deferr.eC as t:le i.ri:a.ct of the

De";::essioi: foi'ced "t-lle public i:rstitutici:s to fighi ío:: sul.vival.

Desti-lu-;icn bccare e \'ial/ of life for iiiani' people on ;h.e dole, ancl
so;:re of ihe cld buildings nov¡ or.'.1led'o3' ihe I'r-rblic L'ibrar-,.r I'luseutr
 11()
LL,'a

ar:d -¡rrt Gai 1er1,. BcarC ',"'eï'e u.secl b'.¡ the t-lnemn1o]-ment Re-Lief
Cou;:cì1 for offices, also as a Labour Bureau ¡nc} lìations Depot.
The hcne-Less anC ul:enpl-o1rsd ',.¡êrÊ provided '';¡i-uli shel-ter slieds
erecteci in -¡he ccur''r.yard of -"he c:"iginal- Destitut€ -¡,.s;rfç.¡1
Ê,,'i
-
q4 ry -in add j-tion, tJ:e Jubilee E;<hi'tiÍtion Build.ing ,,,,'aS used
I-Lur-¡¡c
rr i ¡^ a ¿¿¿

b¡,' tÌ:e LTi:en'..r-r-r-o:rnenr P.e-i.ief Council- fc:: acconmodation rr-üi-r.e nu.n'Def's

occu¡r¡ing ine E:i1:1'cition Llui-Lc-Ling camps, (t',,,'o sei-rs¡u¡" areas of the
buil-di-:rs ïiêre celled canps) fluc'uuated bet'¡een fou¡' hundreC and
I /,.f
five hundred d.u.ring tire first half of 1951.t'**-
lis ihe'inpac*,, of the Depression receded, the School of I'iínes
CouncrJ- at last obtained the care, ccntrol and inanagenent of -uhe
land tÌiei.r had pro¿ressively occu-pi-ed unoffici.al-ly since 1905. -

Sti-Ll--i,ire,5chccl of i,lines,¡;'erÊ seconci c-l-ass cit,izens to th.e

ill:j-..'ersit:''r foi" e:ra:j?1e, ti:e desc:'i;,iicn of ihe :roperii' oir the
c¡r'rer cf iioi'tl-r Terra,ce and llrore .r,caci in the l-935 Gcvernmeni
Gazette oz'ccl:narion ',','es, 'r¡he unhatched section shovn:
*-:-:e r-'-:i-.,e:s1t;' L:.rcì Act of 19129"
-i-11 .J-49 .i,fso, 3 pj'oa,¡iso '..,,as
',i::iJ;ten iilio i-ire i::'oclaina-tion tha-u :

I'u:lii-l- -¿he e:d of Decenbe:' 1969 the

ca.re, cot;rol and nanageneni, of ;he portion
of such l-and kno'.',:i as tire X:<hi-biiion
Bui.l-d.i-r:g and tlie E>'åj-bition Garden Tireatre
and Gardens il:ler'eof shal-l i'einai,-n ititir tiie
Lionorable, the Cornnissioner of Publ-ic 'rlorksr
and ali existing nee.ns of access -io thre
said- E:riìrj-ticn Ruild-ing and the said
ll:r;:ibi-tion Gardans Tìlea-iretirereof shall
be retalned. rt 150

rìâr¡ :-..r.,rl.ill
1-L lJtr
va -.*J Iii:en:1 r¡ed '.'orhers ir SociaL l-lis-u of *uhe
Greet l:-ress'i ot1 l-li ô e n versity o O
rri .
ô

lâo Govei-::nent Ca zette First .Scl,edul-e, 7tî !'ellr:la.r\-r I93r.

ibid.
 I2A.

Tiris clause also spelled oui l-he for-t-;.' ]¡ear lease conditi_ons on
the r>:.ribition Bu.ilding that 'r,iêÍê part of the Lgzg Lri:iverslt:¡
Land.lct. ihe unusu.al-',,¡ay in uhici: tire bull-ding was divicled bet,,*ee
the tvo instituiions vas to ca'rse inevit,abl-e conflict in the futurc
lls ti-le effects of il:e Depression recedeC, ihe Second iioi.l-d
\.rar. nory absorbed nost the State t s energi ss: the OldL Destiiute

Aslzfs¡n Buildings continu.ed to be used for a l.,¡ariet)¡ of pu.rloses,

sone related tc t]:e r.+ar effort,. ;\s peace approached, the
Libraries Boa;"cL expressed concern that +,he Libraries and
rnstitutes Act of 1939 r,.¡íth its separ"ate Boar.ds for ilre Librai.iesr
i''lu.seun anC irrt Galleri,', haC also revoked the previous Cedi.caiion

under the o1d Combivled Publ-ic Librariesr i4useun and Art Galleries-
Bcard, 'r:u.t no proriísion r¡.Iâ.r nâd-ê io riedicate se'¡arate land. to
each ins-bitu.rior,.151 Tirj-s natterr¡as tahen up by a clenutation
io -ine llir:is1,er cf Ecucation fron the three Board.s ,r52 A nenber
of 'fhe cecu.tatícn!53 expresserl "Lhe fear.s of t--l^Le ihi-ee tsc:,rcs:
riI a.n afraid th.at the¡.e ,:e o-ther
'¡i-lì--'l_
¡odies puDl-lc r of senj--,:ubl-ic, '",.'nc will-
l':ant 'Lo t,alce solle of tliis land and I
thinii -bi:-eir cl-ain sirould be rejected by
il:e Gove:-nment, It would certa-in];,' pu-b
us i-n a strcnger position if it r.,iere
:1o::::ra1-1¡r t'
dedi ca'bed.

Tlle iiinisier rellieC:

?'There is no intention ci tire Governnent
to alier:ate that l-anci for. any oiÌ:,er LSLt
pl-iï'pose ii:an the use cf the thr.ee Boards; "

-l Ãl lctin3 Prí:rcllat L-i'brarj-an tc l:inisier of Educatioi-i, L2*"h

Jenienber ac;Lçlt. Dockat îD 38/I94A.
ILtLo
Ãt 15th liar-cl: !91t5.
1^7 ,:: . :'. 1.o:gan, renresenti:-g '!1:e 1 ¡i Ga't ]er'..' Board..
riî, Tr^::.rcnni-* Ileeting beti¡een L j ì:i.arles, iiuseun anC ,^rrt
¡1
GaL-Ler..' l3oard s and I'iinisier of nducar,ion, 15th i{arch irgt+j.
Tlnnl¡a*'' ?Tl Z= / I (l/, q
Jvv¡rv Jt, I
 LzA.

Ii v¡as noi r-lnti]. 1948 that detail-ed su.r\,re)¡s were completed ancl
the :hree arees separai:ery gazetted.l-55 This dedication by
pr-oclarnation in the Governrnent Gazette clj-d not connLete-Ly meet
the uishes oí the three B:ards '.',,'no obr¡íou.slr. xanted tire stronger
-oroteciicn of ì-egis-l-ation, i-n order to safeguard ¡hei-r l-and
interests against possib-l-e changes in Governnel::.t poli-cir, A
conbined /rct of Parliame:rt or thi'ee senarate Acts, one for each
bodSrr',*oul-d have been better proiecti-on, but ai _l_east soae formal
recog:rition was cffici-a1J-.v gíven t.o theìr land clains.
E:<penditure on UnÍversi-t¡r facilities was given a na;or
injection of Comnonr¡¡ealth Government funds to'.,¡erd.s the and of the
nineteen fifties, lilong with o-cher univer.sities, Ad-elaid"e conr.rence
a rna;cr building e>qoansíon progranme. rn orcer to assj_st the
Universi-b;r io develop acconmod.atíon for. the faculties of firtsr
r-lcononi-csr airC Lar'1, rr-uhe Siate Gove.:"nne:lt
unde:-took to na.ke the
sii;e cf -Liie Olc'L ixhibrtion Bui-l-d-in.g avai-Lable to iite llniversitlr
a.s eai'l1r as i--u coulo
""!55 Ten riee.rs of -uhe or-igir:al fort;, \.¡eer
l-ease still :.e;na-ìned before the .Tubi--t-ee E:lnib:Ltion Bui_Lding l_ard
coulc b,e used- ì:1' ti:e l.Tniversitir. Also, the sc.hocl_ of i.Tines sti_Ll
llad. cl-ain to ha.-ì-f ì:li.e building. OiLce nore the LÏnj-versit-v obiained
-ulre best of 'rl:e nego-ui-ai.ions v,'itÌ: fl:e scilool of i.iines,
1.,'h-o

:'eluctanil-1r ""-gÌ"eed. to relil:cuish 1ts inter.est in the site of the

'
¿;::ltìitici-l ÐuilciíTr;,,rt-"' 1Ân
-A.noth.er eight.¡ fcot frontage cn )lcr.th
lerrace becaile ava1le.ble to tlle lini-versity for tl:e ulnier,qrouid
c;:-ai'li al-c]- -l-,2,.'¡ 'tuil,d.i::g. 3rra::,1:cl.;,, tir:_s sectioi"l oriai-:lalll-.,

-L) ) o Gcver:lr:elt -, fl2 z e:te , ?Jrd Se,.te;iÌ:er 1948.

lq'{ Universitl.' of ,',Celai dê r Calend¡:r (f ar.i 111) J-g59 .
1q7 to Frenier-, r.th rurr, 1e58.
;åï:itåi,;Z;Ziiei|.iiines
 !22.

dedicated to t.he Íichoc-L of T'iínes 'i,.'âs re-iledicaicd 'io ¡he I'iiiiister

of licrits, artd not to tiie ijnir.¡ersi-i;r ii: the fi-rst i::,stance .I58
S+r,âfÊ One of tl':e ila;1er" Buil,ding connenced in 1960 cn the
Unir¡ersity iani, abutting tre Jubilee Exhíbi'ui-on Suillding, tnis
al-lor+eC the Exltibition Buii-ai;:,E anoiher. f1.rgr l,¡eei's cf 1iíe befo::e
it ';¡as dei:lolished. Eefor:e ,¡orl', co¡:nenced on St,age Three of iire
'l f:o
lra'':ler tsui-Lding;--' t]ne section cf l-anC. dedica-r,ed -bo ti:e i'liniste::
cf llorks ï.ra.s declared, a University P,esei'./e u-ndei'the cai'e, control
1a^
a::c1 nana¿;etrent of tne Universitir Council.t"

Informa.l- cì-isc:-:ssi-ons betr,¡een the i\dela.i-d-e Citir Cou-ncil and

t::e State Gotr'eï'nnent rega.rding tne extension cf ï(in''core Avenu.e
i;:r o:'der. to a-]-levi-aie traffic co;:gesiion in I'Torth l'ei'::ace ',,.¡€u+u
orl fc:. ilan1, l,rears. Fcr e:ta.:änle, ti:e iiinister of iCu-ca-"icn it lgL'.1-5
nointed ou-b -i.j:at it r¡¡or:lC t-.e cossibie to l:ave:
irli-i n-,,ore ,"ir¡enue
exlendecl :'-f ':oi:" tn]'lc oui
t,:re Bowl-iip, Clu.b ii .=- d-irect li:ie io joi-n
u; Yiciorra "../Êtlue, liltinatelit I think
t-:.ar r:ust
.rìt
c.o:Ìe,
it
It ,.'i-Ll nalle a sti"a:.;iti
!,ì1p¡:
e-ri
r
v v'¿r:! r,.arl - 1l:1

l?reüier Thonas Piairf6l-¡ on nunei-olr.s occasio-rs reised this

!cssib,i.lii,;,' '.^,'itn tl:e .r:rdellaiCe Cit¡¡ Ccuncil, but ',,¡Í-.ltout su-ccess.
;1o:ie icurici-11-o:'s supt:,ri'ted an e::lsi-tiesi i'oa.d iirinedia.iel-,' 'or*n cf
Gove:'n;:en¡ I]cuse r^,'a11. Finrlli', the iuitiaiive ',ies te.i'ren b.¡' ¡he
Tc,,.;-¡ Clerii. I,lil-lli-a.n Yeale, in 1962 '''¡i-'¡en lie persu"aded ',iie hCella.i-d-e

Cii;. Council to adop-u a recorririend.a-uion "tl:at -uhe ex-uensior: of

"r qÊ Gove:'::nent Cazetie )'7*':wr- Årrerre*

j-eòurw lO6O
t L; -L- /J.

rÃO Tlr¡rl Cal Parl., a¡:d L:,w BuilrJi:3.

o*-rrn::'rr'ì

l(n Governnent ll^ry^rI^

' a:-ç,¿V= , 2l-"t^- 3e:-;erl:er" lc:îi.
I l-'l iranscripi ¡f iraotìn:: ì:çl';;Ee:_r l__iliis";er- of ldi_ica-bion end
, ' -
- "_.,,J

'iniversitir of .n,deLa.iie Coi-rnci-.1-, 4tìr Cctcber 1945.

Docltet DL 482/L937.
 l-23,

I.,i-ntore iivenue is des-'-l'ab-le.il162 Iego-uiatlons '*ith the ;l'Celai-Ce

tscwiing Club for ano-bher .Ðari(lands llocaticn took over sil< irsai"s,
Eventlally, iil 1958 l{in-uore l\rvÊr]uê r.'.'3s e:cienCed thror-r3-l to
i/ic-borj..a Dr.ive, th-is opened un I'lorth Temace to tirrough ti'affic
and also prciri-d.ed nore convenieir.t access to the r¡arious
instiiu-u'i cns aloä,g Kíntore Àveüue.
CnJ-_...r tne land on .,':hich -uhe _for.rner Destj-tu'te /l,gylun Fenale

L-ving-ir: i'iard.s froniing l¿'i-ntov'e Aveirue r¡râs .tfo¿u connj--rteC. to

e-'ì.iher a.n insij-tution oi' Governneni depar"tnent. Behind thls
¡'athar ugll-:¡ t.;,'c-storey i-.uildingrof l-itile architectural rneri-t,
are trre oriSi-nal Destitute As',¡l'un Ci:ia-r3s1, t'ire Schcol- for Destitute
Chil-dren arrd part of the Mounied Police Þrracl..s sj-tu.ated around _

th,e or.igine.l sc-ìu.are. In l-920 'v¡hen the CÌrenistry De-:--'ariment naved

in'r,o :hese builC.ings, 'uhey nade er,/er]¡ effor-t to obtain pe:'nai':.ent
occuÐancy. In 1940 pl-ans r.¡,'êÍê Cra'.,¡n uP fo:" a- -th:'ee-stoì"el¡
build.illg. :nC ba.senent, uiih the reconnendaticn tl-"at tl:e lai'¡d be
dedica,ieci to tile Ï{cnoi'ab-Le iíii:ister f6¡ ''..11'iculture, bu'u this
reruest ,¡¡as held. in abelrance, probablir bccause cf the '1'!¿î. In
19f;1 ii:e t êr:Ìainlng part of the ITou:rted Fcli-ce Barraclcs consisting
of tl:e,\i'i::oury, Cotia ge and- ;\rch1.'/â,.¡'r'rêi3 cle.ssified by -uhe Sou*ui:-
:.us-u¡'a-"1-i-a.n i,lalional Trust.164 Tt.,,o years later ihe l-ast sectÍon

of i,he'l¿¡rfl '',¡¿s d-ed"ica.ted as a reserve fo;" Gc.¡ernnent Ðurposes

ui:der. tl:e cai.e, con-irol and nana6enent of the liinister of ':or-Ìis.155

Adelairie Cit,i' Councilr ilcriis aild FI:-¿h'.'.'al¡s Connittes Rsr-.ort,

)Ê,,r-V,
4/ ---
.¡rrrcrrc*
-.q¿J...-uv
IL-'r!.
Oqt

¡Az Princi',:a1 ,'rrclliiect tuo Chief li¡cnítect, l-ztn ilovenber 1962.

jloclret î,D L25L /l-923 .
LrrL. /^ì^+^"1^^n
Ciass-lfiecl b_v tì"re Sou-,i-r ,^rustralian l'iaiioltal Trust, iOth
-l Ori-l
L/V UL¡!¡!- j

L65. Covernrner-:t Gazette 22:^-d iial', Lç43 .

 r24.

Finalli;, ihe CÌle.pel and Schoolr.oorn used originally ¡-,.' the English
ililitary unít stationed in the soutl: Australian colony, '.ras
cl-assified^ by ihe South Austi'alian l,Taiiona1- Trurst.l-66 These Trust
classifications did. nc'., stop the Adelaice college of ;\d',¡anced
Edricaiion seeking Cabinet appro'ral to acq.uire ti:e land for. build.ing
extensions. Fortunaiely, it was recognised that:
trthere rtou-ld be consid.e:'a'ol-e op,::ositlon
to the proposal de-ccribed by the Chalrrnan,
Soutir Aust,ralian Board of Advanced
Educati-on ]ierein, to build a nigh-rise
bui-]-dii:g i.n place of the Chenis'ur1,'
Bu.ilClng.l' l-67

In l-978 the Chenlstr'¡ Departnent nol.¡ tire Chenistr¡,,' Division,

Delartment of Servì ces and Supply morred to ner¡ pi'emi-ses in Dir¡ett
1^a
Pll-ace.r'JL: The Governnent then anncunceC tirat funds had reen
allocated throu"gh the i{eri'r.age Connission to restore the Chaael,
înirnn'l c:rd Êrrn-nlzc 16g
r :_.v¡!u a

As pu1-.-l_ic i¡:stítu';ions al-ong l.lo:"tir Tei-i-ace beca.ne niÐre

po',"'erfulr they oVÊICâ-,ilê earl3r Gove:'nnent relu.ctance to connj-t th.eir
reserves in the Pa::i;land-s i,o sirecific use. This si-xtr¡ ilcre section
cf the Gor¡ei'nnent Reser',/e fi'on l'iorth Tei'race to ti:e niv=r and"
frnn r'Ìirry rlil'l 'iam F.oad to Frone R.cad has onlir srnall areas avaí--l-able
::4::Ü

for pu.i:l-ic recrea.tion along the ¡'iver banl< and open space
su:"rounding tÌ:e Parade Ground, a.ì-thougll it can be argr,red -unat -uhe
Uirir¡ers-i-t¡,r grounds are open to ti:e publ_ic, ihel' s¡s fenced encl fl:e
public are doubtful of tÌ:eir.ri¡hts to use the Unlversi-u;,r grcuncÌs.

Cl-assifj-eC- by il13 Soriih .riustral-ian llatlor".l T:'ulstr

2nd iiebrueî! 1972.
't î,,2
Liirector', l,tb-ì-ic Buri-i-d.in¡s Derartnen-t to i.lil-liste:- of '.'ioriis,
lst l,ia.¡ 1973, Doc'=r.e*, i .,' 28C/I973.
I ¡\i-l Chenistrl.. De¡artnent r¡aca-bed. nrerai ses in l(intci.e Âvenue in
/!rrrirrc'l-
r!ç((-)v-e v
lO7.a.
L¿ t ea

rÁo Íir-r,ndav l']ai.L ,

lq!
!".,
inri-l
,_\.¿r_- lOlO
L_,e¿r.
 L25.

Undoubiedllr, the University cf ÄCel-aide i:as beccne -uhe l:-rgest

land irol-der in this area by applying pressure, and part.icu-lar'l¡¡
the iechniqu.e of usíng large bequests to gain additicnal land
incll-uding -the Jubi-lee X>*ribi-uion Grounds forner-ly available for
publ-i.c recreation prìrposes. Other j-nstiiutions such as the itrt
Galr-lerir and the Scl:ool of I'iines also used- the sene tecÌ:nique tc
o'ctail add"itiona-1- land for hu-ilCing extensicns. l'¡hether the
Governnent Resei'.o'es i-n the Pa:'Icland"s.al-loca-ued under the ]-84g
l{unicipal- Corr:oratio;l Act, ScÌi.edr-iie J, l,Ieï'e for public recreation
ìÐr-rï'coses ca.n be d.ebated, bu.t Colonel Light ciid ori-gi:ra111,¡ nalie
pro.rision for ihree reserves on this section of .tlie Pai'lilands:
thev 1,.'er"e the Gove:'nnent Dornain, a snall- Guard l{ouse iì-eserve anC _

tire ililitar";r Berracks. lie d.1d noi enr¡isage secticns of liortÌ-l

Ter"race alid the e:<tensir¡e ¡ar-icl-ands tirai continued to the River'
ì:ei:g ccinple+-e1¡,, ta.ke:i or,/er by nurblic institutio::s and. to a najor'
e:.:rent a1-i-i:::¿:'uec-ì. fron cub-Lic u-se.
 126.

CII\PTEIì FIVE

The Inpact of Parlianent. Rail-v¡e*vs

and Culture on the Parklands

the sprar*li-ng railr,ra.",;s cornplex¡ and in

Parlì-j-arnent House,
la'ter' ]¡eârs the Festivaf Tl:eatre norr' d.ominate tne original-
Parklai:ds bou.nded by }iorth Terrace, !:"íng l¡iilliam Street, ti-.e
River Torrens and llorphett Street,l Colonel Lightts nap
siror,ved only a somel',.'hat larger Governmeni Dornain in this
section of the Parklands; no other Government Reserves Ì\'ere
planned. l(ir:g ',lilliam Street r.¡as envisaged as an impressive
ihoroughfare throu-gh the centre of the city terrninating at
Government Ffouse on liorth Ter:'ace. This concept of v¡1de ci-ty
stree-us r,,¡ith e v-i-gfs such as Government House, was
a feature of town planning in the earlir ninetee::th cert'.;.i1.¡.
ì,lorpheit, Street al:o terr,inated at iiortii Terrace. bu.i a neanCer-
ir^.q road. uou-nC Íts .,,¡a.¡ fron i',orth Terrace, over a ford across
-u]-ìe lì-iver Torrens to I'lorth ;\delaiiÌ-e.

Possi"nly oïre of tire earliest uses for this section of the

Parl.:l-ar:ds r,.,'âs to ¡r'orri-Ce the f-lrst site for a prí:itive celonial
hos¡:ital or infír'ner1¡ on a sría.:i-l niece of land opposite i{oly
Trinit;r Church. There exists soine cloubt as tc the exact locai-
ion of the first hospital¡ but for the fi-rst s-i-:< rncnths of the
ne',t Cclon.¡ uniil !'1arl !837 some teirporai'-.¡ nedj.cal care l"¡as
provideC so:¡ev,'he;'e in this erea of t]-.le ner.¡ cit.,-.3

l. See A¡Þernd.ix tlap il.

2, See r\poendix i*iar A

3. See F.32 for further dlscl.rssion on the various llosnital

locations in the Par'}.,,rands.
 r27 ,

lfforts by the earì-y colonists to foster

r.rere made
cul-tural- and literarj¡ acti.¿ities. Governor Gav¡ler encouraged
the opening of a i'.1eci:anics Institute in 1859, and the
ParklanCs provi-deC a sj-te for a smal,l -r,.rooden buildi-ng on ti:e
site of the present Railr,.¡ay Station.- Close 'by a llnestone
t,

quarrli provided scne of tire besi stone for rnant¡ of the ear'ly
Adelaicie buildings.?6 Cf the buildings stil-} probably
"ru*Ur"*,
the early sec*uions of Gor,'ernn'lent Hourse, the Adelaide Gaol,
Holy Trinity Chu:rch, the l'lilitary Barracks ancl" tì'le Oi-d- Legislat-
ive Council cou:l-C have been built r*ith stone from the euarr\/.
In l-341 the first Adelaide City Counci1 r,¡as given permission to
'¡oi-k the auarr-y foi' roadmaking and. brid,ge buil-ding naterials.
:ilso the ouaÍ'ry prorrided the newl-ir formed Adelaide Citlr Cou-nci]
with nuch neeCed revenue frorn the sale of stcne -r,o pri.¡ate
crtntra.ctot's. in l-eter j,¡ears óieces of flj¡ing rocl¡, caused dana.ge
to :-oof ancl the .,,.,inCo,,^;s of the Legislaii-ve Council Ch:-nberr6
and no doubt tl:e noise.of the bl:rsting disturbed tl:e r','eighty
deliberations of members, Captain lt.li.' Freeling, Survei.ror-
Genera-L a.lso '.:as unhapp¡¡ about blasting in ihe euar"r)¡ and ',tas:

llmol.edto corlplaj-n abor-rt the daily blast-

the limesione quarr)¡ at the rear
it-rc. in
&¡¿.J

of ii:e Cou-ncil Charnber, the founaationsz

of the structi:re l,rere badlr,' affected..trI

4. tJniversity of Adel-aiie Radio 5:fV, /r Sense of Difference.

The I{isiorv of Adelaide, Ui:it 7, L978,
5. See i,^cpendÍ:< i,1a.o i'1.
6. Dr. John Tregenza. Curator of t-llstorj-cal Collections.
Itr-b Galler-¡ oí Soutn 1:.ustraf ia. in ¡ersonal conversation.
7. Sunda Mail , 14th April- A9?-8.
 !28.

Suarr)¡ing continued for many years on the otirer areas of the

Parklands, but by the early 1850 | sthe new raílr..¡ay took over
a large section of the Parkland.s includ"ing the quary si-be.8
Early maps show a Police Station on North Terrace betv¡een
King William Street and ir'lorphett Street, now the site of the
Adelaide Raihvay Station. A major sectíon of the Police Station
protru-ded on to North Terrace. This building rvas erected in
October 1840 as a 'tlock-up housetf containing four cel-Is.9 By
1e45 it v¡as officially described rras a d,ilapidated nooden building
rvhich should. be demolished".10 Another small bu-ilding adjacent
tci the Police Station ',.¡as used as an office by the Police Coilrniss-
ioner', It th,en was the Resident l4agistrate I s Office until- 1843,
v¡hen it became part of the Legislative Councíl.11 For -uhe first
seven years of the Colony, there was no need for a Chamber becau-se:

rrThe Council of the Gor¡ern¡nent held

its rneetings in the sitting room of the
Gor¡ei'nment i{ouse; a convenient arrange-
rnent as the Council lvas presided over
by the Governor and consisted only of
five mernbers. rr A2

No one could accuse the thirC Governor of the Colony,

Governor Grey, of being an extravaga.nt ad¡rinistrator; his policy
',,/âs one of financial stringenc)¡ and retrenchment, particularly

8. The AdelaicLe Citv and Fort Adelaide Railv¿ar¡ Act , Priva.te Act
1 of 18i0, Section 22.
o S.A. Library Archives Research Note 4J.
10. Chief Sscretarlrts Offì-ce. Docket CSO 499/1845.
1l-. In February l.843 tne I'iagistrates Office rnoved, to -uên1ÞoraF]
offiees in Gillies Arca.de. Tenders were called for an
addition of a roam 33 feet bv 2A feet to the I'{agistrates
Office, ì'iorih Terrace i n a South Aus'bral1an Government
G+Zette, 8th June L843,
1-2. G.D. Combe, The Parlianent of South Australia , South
Australian uove rnmen ï .vrl_nrer, rgbg.
 l?o

applied to public works. Therefore, r,-'hen the first Legislative

Council building r,vas erected on North Terrace, it þ¡as no aore
than a srnall room built on to the tiagistratets officerlS 'tbeing
an ungainly brick box which brought little praise from contemporar-v
rÀ
chronicles".'* i;,/hen the nel.¡ South Australian Act ïras promulgated.
in 1e42;15 a Legislative cou.ncil v,¡ith an enlarged membershi.p
rel-ui-red premises of its o'¡¡i1 to al-1ov¡ admj-ttance by the public
to its proceedings. Eight years later, another step in the
process tol*ards responsible Government t+as taken v¡hen the Imnerial
Act fcr Better Governmeni gave the col-onies of Australia pol,rers
to write their ovm constitutionu.16 The number of Legisl-ative
Councillors in South Australia v,'as increased. from seven to
trventy-four rnembers. This req.u.ired a further expansion of the
accomnodation and a rnore elaborate building rvas planned:

rrife are glad of this, not merely for the

state of our future legislators; but
becau.se v¡e believe a re-comnencenent of
public r,,lorks will have a considerable
effect in atiracting labour to the Colohy.tt 17

llo sooner had the enlarged Council Chambers been completed for
ne',.¡ members of a single house Parliament, than the new South

Australian Constitu.tion vras appror¡ed, this iniroduced the

bicarneral parliamentary system and an additional parliamentarv

l-3. See Appendix l4ap O.

L4. .'üational Fol_k Province, Feasibilit;.' Stud;r, Old Le,qisla-uir.rs
Cou.ncil Buildi lex - An -Architectural Envíronr:enta1
\- Li
an o:'l-ca ssessmen c en c useum
I U /h

L5. An Act for the Better Government of South A ustralia , 5 and 6

V ]-ctorl_a r U. b L, tð4¿.
16. The fnoerial Act for ti:e Better Government of Her l'1a est ls
ra an o
l1e
ES an c cr e, ,
17, Adelaide Observer 21st January 1854.
 1lo.

chamber was urgentlSr requii'ed.18 FIasty building add.itions

1'rere undertaken before both llouses could meet for the first
tine in lg57. Beceuse no tirne i^¡as avairable to deïolish and
then re-ei'ect a r1e1,r structure, the originar Legisla.ti.,re council
Chamber r,¡a,s iacorpoi'aied into the neu building. It is of inter-
est to note that recent restoration r,;ork of the Olcì, Legislative
Councif building has led to the discovery of trço original '¡alls
of the first o:e rooned. chanber. These ',¡,¡âlls are now exposed
and feaiured i.n the restorati or,
Ore of the fer¡ ::istakes made by Colonel Ï-igirt ',.¿hen :re
planned .A.de-Laidel Ìrlâs to make no pro"rísion for the inev-i tabl-e
inpact of raih+ays on the ACelaíde Farklands, Cer.iainly he
l¡ould have knov¡r about tire ear1.y erceri-ments on r"ail trans¡oi't-
ationrparticula.rly in England, and iheir future irnpa.ct on cities.
For exai:äple, tire raÐid expansion of numerous inter-city rail-wâ:i¡sr
inciud.ing the Liverpool-Ì'lanchester Ìine '.,¡as in operati-on by 18J0,
si;: years befcre the Col-on¡r ,,.ras founded. It l¡ould be und"erstand-
able that in *ul:e first fe.'.,; years, South iiustraiia r,'ou"ld concen-
tre-ue on the de.¡elopment of basic anenities, but, the progressivel..'-
mii:ded citizens sa'il horses ar:d bulrl-ocks ì:eing replaced" by faster
transport 'cetween the port and the city. By 1846 an editorial
in the '?South il,u.straiiantt higJrlighted the d,epth of corarnitment
to the railwar¡s conceÐ-u:

"::e rerceive that the co":nittee oí gentle-

men ''¡hohave long considered the proposit-
ion of a rail',,,'a;i to the Pcrt, ha\re broughi
theii" labours to a concl'.rsion, and have
subr¡iited a ri'ospectu.s it has ahvays been
the outcrlr that Aclelaicle is -i,oo far fi'cm
t:re Fort; and the loss aild inconvenience felt

18. An Act to Establ-ish A Ccnstít,..rti on for Soutlt Austral_i-a t 2of

L:855 / 5a.
 T1L.

and sr-rstained has been so great,

that, s1x or seven years n1or a pros-
pectus sirnilar to -¿ne p:'esent with a.
vier^.' to the foundation to a corcpany to
rernedlr the evil was put fortl:.rr 19

A prospectus for the Ad.el-aici"e Raih.;a1r Compani' '¡¡2s issued r.rhich

used the narnes of leading business ideaiities such as Messrs.
G. and J. ltorphett and. E. Iiiontefiore, witÌr strong trints tirat
the najority of capital would ccríle frorn England. but rrthe
project canie to no-uhingrr.26 In order to prepare for the inevit-
able lnirod-uction of rai lv¡ays, and to faciliiate the acquisition
of land for both raih.ray Ii-nes and buildings, a Rail./,'ays Act
co¡rsisting oí one hundred and ninety-fou-r secti-ons r¡râs pâssud".2f
This cornprehensi.,.re piece of legislaiion detailed condliions under
wliich any future r"ail'¡;ay conpany woul-d operate. ltlo specific
railv,'ay as yet was proposed, but ihere ''¡as growíng interesi not
onl;,'in a cit-; to Fort Âde-l-aide líne, but also j-n countrl'lines;
fnr. o-¡ç-n-ia f¡.on Port E_Lliot to Gool-r¡a. AitltouCh several_
atten¡ts Ì,,iere nade bl.' nrivate coi'lt'-nies to nronote tk e conceot
o,f a rail','.'a1, line b€t',*eêr f'o::t Adel-aiC-e and- tire city during
tìre tB4Ots; tne first specific allocation of Par'1"r1-ands for such
a prcject ",'as nade ïo ti:e Adel-ai-de Cíi1'and Por"t P.aj-luai¡ Cornpan.,'
in 1850. Tle'Leriisl-ative Counc-il pe.ssed an Act u.nder '"..'hich a
private comTlany was formed. v¡ith the past Governor, Sir John
Hindnarsh; now Governor of Heligoland as one of the directors to:

lrinel<ea railvaii fron the cit¡,' *uo the

tort of :ridelaid.e v,'it:r branches proviriing

19. uth /iustra-l-ian , Jrd iiai'ch l-S46.

LV. Thonas. l,ror"snop, FIi-stor.,¡ of the Cit'¡ of ,\ci.e-Laide t te7e.
21 The P.ai 1'..¡a.:/s Cl-auses Consoliiation Act , 7 of 1847.
 r32.

railway accomnodation northnard to

the present place of shiPmetri, and
to the north arm, to be called the
Àdelaide Cfty and Port Railway.rt 22

The Act required::

the main line of the said rail-

'tthatshall
\./a,1¡ cornmence in the stone ouarr:,/t
near the Council Chanber in the City
of Adelaide, pass along the Por-r, Road
to Albert Town. rr 23

An area of eíght-and-a-hal-f acres for the terrninal staiion r.ças

written into the Act, along wiih an unusual- clause r,¡hicl::

trprovi-<Led
always thai goods and rner-
chandise to be delivered in Adela.ide '
sirall, if req.r:ired, be delivered on
a l-evel not lover than the level- of
the door-sill of the present Council
Ci:amber, vrithout extrâ chai'ge . lt 24

The reason for this clause r,vas because stro::g criticislls i.iêrê

r¡oiced" in the I-egislatlrre Cou:rcil Select Cor:nittee hearings oi'l

the cecision io a}locate ti:e quarry site for the,¡irdelaide Raih'ray
Siation. It r,tas felt that the steep gradients l'¡ould prcvide
d-ifficuit access problems for the delir¡ery of goods. üo actual
,,,,,or1( was comnenced within the prescribed eíghteen nonths a-Llowed

for the cornpletion of ai least five miles of the rail-',':a;'i track';

becaule as the Resident Director, R.1^1. Parker said.:

rrl'lo rai-lwayin the ',+or'ld r*ou-l-d- pa,v unCer

the oi'dinance the tolls r,'¡ere tco 1o'¡¡ 25
ancl. the pi'ospecti-rre traffic insufficieät. rr

t) The Adelai-Ce Citl¡ ancì PO:'t Ra i l ',;ar¡ ;liCt , Prívate Aci 1 of 1850
t7 ibid, Secticn 23.
/[ ibid, Section 36.
)Ê, Royal GeographicaL Societ f Aus-tralas j-a ( S.,\. Dir¡ision)
Centenar.¡ Flistor'¡ of Sou+- ,.rstral-1a , Adelaide 1935. P2L2.
 J-))o

still no actual alienation of tl:e Pari<lands ha.d taken pl-ace:

nor Ì,'ras there any apparent opposition to the railvays proposel,
mainl'.' because manl"¡ peo,Ðl-e cou-ld not i-magine '¡hat tailwa,rr
developrneni woulC mean in terms of the land requirecl. Ti:e future
environmental problen:sn noise ar:d ç,ol_lu-uion, could not be
irnagined.. Prlvate baclçers l,'rere nct able to neet the conditioirs
laid. do','¡n blr the Legislative Cou'-i'rcil, so with the enthusias-uic
support of the Go.¿ernor, Sir lienry Young, it r.r,'as decided to
bu.ild the rail-way es a Staie Go'¡ernnent undertaking:

ttSouth /,.ustra.lia had. the honour of

be-ì-ng the fir.st to buil-d e. State
o',...necL stean operateC railwa-¡ in the
British Ernclre a cl-aim '"r'hich can
be esiablished ber¡onC. doubt.rr 26

.A.nother factcr tirai enccurageC both the Go.¿ernor ani, LeEisl-aih'e

Council io f-'i-nance ti,e consti'ir.ction of tl:e ¡sif,,.,'¿ir. ï/es the
gï'o','ring confiderce and ¡rosperit;'r l.¡iti:in the Colo:c1'. This nrovid-
ed the S-uaie wj.tn funds to service the necessarl;¡ loans. An Act
uas pa.ssed" to appoint a trBoarcl of U:-:Certakersrr, (equi.,ral-ent to
a ÐT'ee ent da1' statutory Trusi o:' Co,-r:nission), to cons'truct the
4"7
r?il-1,,'ar,..-' iio rnentiorf ',.,'as rnade of land- requ"irenents in tire Lct:
LI

;1or ',','as a site foi' the Adelaide Raih,.,¡a_v Statio:r defined. Anoth.er
Sel-ect Conn;'ittee polnted ou.t -"he co:rstraints of the cluarry site
foi' a terninal- station. George Hamilton, a witness from
England, 'rrith tuenty-nine years of exnerience in railva¡r nenage-
nient Aave evi C.eüce on the site for ihe AdelaiCe Rail,iJ'arr Station.

26. South Ar:.stralian Rail'¡¡a)¡s Institute , R.epri-nt , Centenar.¡ of

ihe l\de-l-aic1e ar:.cl Fort P'a-i.lrta.' 2-lst ^¡Ltri-1 1q5
^
-blie
27. An ict to lLuihorise -Iã An¡oint¡rent of LTlrdertakers for the
Cons¡n-rct-i-on of +-fe e -Le.1de C1t-,;
-ã¡d-,-tori; -l-1a
iL',rãî ,lof
l.qq'ì
 111!

Ile nreferred:

rrihe open space opposi-Le the IiÌorth

Terracen neer iu1r. i,iorphett?s office,
becau.se there is a naiural lead of
¿rioundr ',','hich, hy crossing the ril'er
at a pï'opeï' r-l-ace, l.¡ould lanC ns on
a conveni ent ler¡e} for the traffic
of to'r¡n, withoutrrhaving recoui'se to
anir heav:\¡ lJor}.^s. 28

I, sc the site rvas on ihe

George l,iorphett o',,,rned Tovr'¡ Acre lttro.
coraer of North Terrace and I''lorpìrett Sireet. The plan r,¡as to
run tracl<s along the fooipathn dor,n i'Torih Tercace and then
foll-o'r¡ing the Port Road - hard.ly a practi-caI suggestion fron
a safety point of vieï,r. I,'Iiih a large, vacani Govei'nnent Reserve
avallable in ti:e Parklands acrcss the other side of i'lorih
Terrace, at no ccst to the Go."'er::mento the suggesticn of this
"exÐ..:rt rvitnesslr r..,,es not g-iven serious ccnsiCeï'a-uiorl. Bv 185f
-.he Board of Undertallers had appointed Benjamin llerschel
Babba;.3e es Chief E,ngineer.29 -',,fïer surve¡ling the proposed

rcute for" the j-ne t9 Poi't ll^del-aice, ]:e clarified the location
-L

of the Àdelai-d.e F,a-1lr,¡al¿ S-uation irr a letter to the Colonial

Secretar':¡. First, 3î explanation r,"¡as given of the access
nrobl:ens v'el,ated to the proposed iu¿:rr]¡ site, then lle detalled
the el{peírse i::volved to constrr:ct a l¡r.i<j;le across the RÍver
Torrens so ::ear to the croposed s-¿ation:

28. Select Conmittea of the T cgisl-a-"i./e Counci-1 on the

Expediencir of Establ-isiiing a General_ Systen of Rail'.,¡a.Is r
i'linutes of Ivid.ence ,lÇ-uìr iior¡eü,berr 1851.
29, tsenjamin Herschel Babbage acpointed_ as Chief Engineer
bir the Gover:or" . 4t\ Janua ri, 1853.
 435.

rrr was therefore índucerL to abandon

this portiori of the original line,
and to choose one better adapted for
the purnoses of the Fìailvay - I
propose to nai<e the Statíon by the
side of itjortir Teryace, the passenger
sta.tion next to the Council Chamber
and ti:e gooCs station r.,'here il:e old
Police Station is situaiedl tne
access to both of t]:en beinq from
the itlorti: Terrace.lt 30

Acrirnonious debate on the siie for ihe railwair station coniinued

throughoi;t 1855. Legislation to raise the ål5OrOOO ca¡ital- for
the line also contained authorisati.on for the undertake¡'s to
deviate fron the original route. At the iiine this Bill- was
before Par'liarnent, a Select Committee dísagreed with. the site
recornnended by the Railwa'¡ Engineer for the Station:

rrA differen,ce of opinion e:rists

anong l/our Cornrnittee as to the eligib-
ilit¡,' of the siie proposed for the
Staticn in Adelaíde. A najority of
the Comnittee are of the oni-nion that
ihe Àrlelaide terninus should nct be
car"ried to tire East of liorohett Street.r' 3A

Sirong busíness pressures ccnvinced the Select Committee that

cit;,r access r¡ou.-Ld be rnore convenient frcm i"¡est of itornhett
Street tilis lanr" had recently been placeC under the cere,
co::tro-!- and management of ihe Adelaide Crty Councíl-.32 r¡Iithout

3C, B.I-i. Babbage, Engineer, Rai-Lr¡aii Office to the Colonia] Secret

âry r loth l,'lay 1853. l,linutes of Evidence, lOth November 1.8|23.
7ì
)Lo iì-erort frc:r the Se.Lect Cornmiitee of the Le i sla.tir¡e
OLìN nu es an r5n^ô
, IOtÌr oveil. er qa
i2. Àr.Lci to Con-qtiiute a ilunici¡af Corl,oration fol' the Cit',¡
of ird.ell¡ide, 11 of 1949, Section 89.
 136.

a really convÍncing argunent, ihe recomrnendatj-on of tÌre Select

comnittee on the site for tire Adelaide rìai]-r,.ray station was
rejected in favou.r of the site contaÍnecl in the Act before
Parlianent. Governor, si-r Richard l"lacDonnell reflected -uhe
enthusiasrn fo:' railr,*ays r¡,¡hen he opened the seven-and-a-i:alf
miles of track th:'ough Parklands to Port l'\clelaide.JJ Ire said.:
rrSouth Australia has novr gi.r¡sn public
evidence of having gradr.r.ated a.s ii
-,,tereo anC iaken her place among i}:e
civilised nations of the Ì,*ror'1d.Ît 34

I:r hinrisighi, it is easy to criticise tire location of

the raj-lvay station and the alienation of the Parklends:

'lperhaps it nay be irue of Á.deiaide

as ít was cf Edinburgh, that the coming
of tne railvays did- sone scarri-ng and
mutilation of the town and it's oÐen
spgces. rr 35

Over the 1;ears, various plans io r.eLocate the Adel-aide Railr.¡ar¡

station have been proposed, nost of these merellr shifted iire
site to an.other area of the Pa.rklands:

rrilad tne rai1vra.1' station, for instance

been placed on l¡/est Terrace, ',,.tiience
comnunications fed the citlr, :\delaide
had been spared not a fev¡ of rer traffic
problens.tt 36

Adelaide Ci.t¡i - Fort Ftailwai' opened by the Governor of

Soutl: Australia, Sir RicÌ:ard l,,iacDorne1l , Zlst Aoril 1856.
zl, l.1a;rCalr^¡ell anci .,^ilan l{airfs¡, td-elaiie an illustrated
I{' s-uoI'j¿, Land sd.ou'n.e Fr.e.bs, 1'1"
35 , Thorna s /idarns , T',e Pl-an and tne Flanners of Ädelaide
An arti.c-l-e in rr
-L'ne Buil_C. êr", 9tÌl iulj¡ , L9J7 .
3(.', ,4. Grenfell Price, Foundations and Pioneers of South
Austrg.lia, pressey, 1929. p.A34.
 12,',7

lTo one could foresee the future irnpact of tiris new transportaticn
methocL on the Parklands, and the extent to',vhich railvray buildings
and tracks would continue to grol\¡, and inevitably become a
feature of the city for the next one hundred and trvent.,.'
per.rnanent

-vears. The results of irnperfect pla.nning are difficult to

eradicate "

iüot long after the railways v.rere established in the Pa.rklan<}s,

efforts were being made by a group of concerned citizens to
establish Public Baths in AdelaiCe. líygiene and personal
cleanliness had become important fa.ctors in the control of
diseases du-ring the nineteenth century. I{aybe t}re hot Adelaide
clinate notivated its inhabita.nts to batire in the sea and streans
for coolness, rather than for reasons of h¡rgiene; before bathroons
were a coamcn feature of ArJ.elaide houses. For exanple, there ',,IêF€
rnanl/ natr-;ra-L sr*ímrnin.9 holes along tire Ri'¡er Torrens u.sed b1r
enthusiastíc baihers, sorne had interesti-ng nares sucir as frThe
äol-ett, near h^acknel' Bridge, rrThe Eu-rekatt, at St. Peters, and
t'The Rockrr, ât'iialkervill-e. As earI1.r as 1845 coärmercial- batns
r¡/êrê established in Hindlelr Street l:.,' Robert Dod¡rson, but it v,'as
not urntil- 1854 that prelirainary pu.blic meeiings l'.lere held to
consider. the possible esta'blishment of public baths. Consicleraiiol:
1",,'âs gir,¡en to a joint stoci< company that r,vould raise the capital,

erect the public baths and operate -uhe,-ri for profit, bui concern
'r/aS g;.,p¡eSSed:

rrabout the power of Fiis Excellenclr to

qrant a ciece of land for the Ðurjicse.
ãnC r,ve (;"ire nenbers oÍ the Connnittee)'
fear tirere may be sorne CifficLllty 1n
alíenating it to a conÐa.n'/"rr 37

37, First Pubii c I'l eeting Held on 17th October 1854. Iìeported
in The Sout hA ustralian Register , 18th October J854,
 r3e.

The site most fa.voui'ed was Tal.rls¡s and Bemyte ','iaierv¡orks

near tire ford on the River To".ur.="JB Initially, the proprietors
of the ',taterr'¡orks l'¡ere not r'¡il1ing to part wíih iheir pi'operty,
bui aíter sone negotiations, six days laten another meeting rr'as
inforrned, tha+, tlie.¡ :

Trhad consented to part witi: their

r,;aterv¡orks and engine near the old
ford for a certain surn; but the bes-L
site rtas a little more eastr,-¡ard..tr 59

At tne third meeiing, the iCea of a joint stock company to builC.

a-nC opei'ate the baths wes dropped beca.u.sa it becarne 'rdou-btful

r.;hether tj:e Governor woul-C give tl:ern anl¡ use of the Parklai:d.s."40
Apparentl¡r" tire newl-rr formed. Aclelaide Citir Council ",:¡ere keen to
becone involveC becau.se the Town Clerk, Vtrir1iam Thomas
Sabbe:r, indicated to the rneeting that a new l4unicipal Cor':ol'ation
Act wes beí,:,g consirlered and it couJ-cL ccntain the necesseï')r Þor,'iez"s
for the Council to borrorv furicJs and erect a sui-table facilit-,',
.¡r rasolutíon r,;as car"rleC- that recru.ested the Cornoi'atio:r:

Itto adopt tiie subjectr'and instruct

the Clerk to prepare the clause
Tor.'.J:c
nec essarv for eilpor*eri-ng the Council
to constï'uct and maintain ti:e publi-c
ba'bhs "*¡ithin tne city, anC to procure
the enbodying of such clauses in ihe
Bill nov¡ before the Legislati.¿e
Council for amendi-ng the I'lunicipal
ordinance. rr 41

See Alpendix l"lan 0.

7aì Second Public i{eeting l{eld on 23 rC Octobe:', 1854, Reported
in The Sout:: Ailstralian Rsglster , Z4tn October , 1854.
/rO. Tirird Public tieeiing, Lzth- iioveüber' l-e54. Renor.ted in
The South Australian Register. L3th iiovernber , L854,
4L, ibid,
 l-39.

This instructicn uas eventualllr ernbodied in the 1854 I'{uniclpal-

Con:orations Ìrct,42 but no site for ihe Public Baths rças specified"
in the;\ct. Ernphasis on a central site vias stressed at tiris
meeting '.,.'hen l4r'. \'foodford- su-ggested the public baths \'¡ere for:

lrthe convenj-ence of' all classes¡ they

siroul-d be in such a position that a
meciranic rnight run dor^rn in a fer* min-
utes before iris dinner hour, end 'r.'ash
off the intolere"ble dust of ihe cI-ty.
Some spot near the ford, would be
most eligi þf s. tt 43

It r¡,'as seven j¡eers before the Couircil were able to meet the orig-
inal r'equest to provide public baths. Another l4unicipal Coroorat-
io.rs Act ir: 1861 provided one-and-a-half acres oí land on the
,i¡e-qiern siãie of Ki-ng llilliarn R.oa.d" in the Government Reser'.¡e fo;'
!, l,
cubl-:-c betl:s.*" The hct recei-ved the Governorrs conseni on the
fi""t of Decer:ber', and the publ,lc 1¡aths were opened on tiie twenti,-
f i¡'st of Decenber 1851 under the caï'e, control and. nanagerne;:t
of tne :lide-Laide Clti,r Council-, Tl::e site was on the Government
F,eserve in -r,he Far"i.,l-ands frrnting King i'iilllam Road now occupied
l,ç
b1,' ti:e Fes;-i.¡:rl Theatre.-r Thomas Basta.r'd, ihe long-tei-n l-essee

oí tn,: betl:s ad.r¡e:'tised" his establ-ishment in .¿erse:

ll- ,irf and take a turicish batit;

rr-,iief
Trvil-l nake ¡rou supple as a. Ie.+"h,
T',.,'il-l set -r,'ou up fron iip to tce,
t,^
'lld ¡l;t your sl.¡ste:r in a ¿;1o',r.'r

lr) I'iuni-ci¡al Cor.oraiions -'ictr 23 of 1854, Secti on 32.

Tnird Public iieeting I l.Z--n 1.,^,f1ôr l.lôF I )-1L.fu -!)
t a

lJî. I'ir;nici-na1 Co:':orati-cns l.ctr 16 of 1861, Section 2BO, Clq.use 7,

Deiir:ition of :ne .l:te of -the Public Batirs. Delineated
Íu.rther in Sc]:edu.le D.
.'LLr Qoo ,^.-^.¡pr.¡l j -. l.lrn f)

45. ì'iichael Cannon, Llfe in the Cities ITef son 1973. P. L64,
 140,

Alihough renovar.ions to the Baths i'rere nade at various +,i::ies

partic'.llar-Lir in 1873 r,¡hen King iiillian Rcad, lvas r+j-Cened, onlir

a snal-l tr"iangr-r1ar" ha-r-f acre aree of Pa:'lila,nds i¡es add"ed to the
site in 1BBO, th:'ougi: the negotiatioils of l{a..i or Edwin Srnith r..¡iren
a ne1,r Citi¡ Beths i'¡as being planned,4T The Ba-tl:.s I'enained on
t:¡is site uni-il the Adelaíde Strinnir:g Centre was ccnstructed on
the i'Iorth :fLdel-aide Parklands in l959¡when tne Fesii-r¡a-l- ?Ìreaire l

buildings a.bsorbed the rnajor proportion of tire Baths Resei'v".48

Grov¡th in both the n-ur,rber of Governnent publ-ica.tions a.nd
the need 'uo have the rr:eel<ly Government Gazette avail-able írnnedia.te-
1¡r after E;<ecu"tive Council l'leetings, provided strc:rg argunents
for ioving the Government Printing Office closer to Parlianen-u
Ijou.se. /\notileï'area of the Pe.r'1<1ai:ds r¡iâs tc be alienated for a
pubtic buiì-di:rg. In Íact, .,,ihen iÌ1e erectj-on of the ner/.¡ Par:lianeni
äou-se ',','as being Cel:ated; I^lil-l-ian Toi,.n:send Itconsidered it a
necessi-¿-,"r t,o have the Governnen-b Pri-niing 0ffice nea.r Parj-ianen*¿
lrA
Ho'.tse.-t In 1868, the Go'r.zer:rnent PrintÍng Office rras noveC fro;n
the Victoria llcuare siie5O to its ne,;., l-ccation bet'.,,een ?ariianer:t
ilouse and the Public Batirs frcnting on to l(ing i{j-llia.ni RoaC.51
lit varions stagee , the o::i.ginal buildi;ig rrras e>rtetideC, first in
1901 '¡àen a Staticneri/ Store r,ras built at the rear of the buildi::g
arcì. r;iia:ded arair in 1914, to acconnodate the -orintlt'g of
äansard. No acquisition of the land for the Government Printing
Office or its eli-Lensiolls fias ever forilal-isecl. for. tlie next one
i:ur:cti:ed ald si.x irss¡s +,he GovernmenÌ; Frinting Office v,'as l-ocated

L/ lTe':r Pu.b-Lic lia-tiis onenecÌ ír L883.

I esti.¡all- Th ee-ure 1974.
'n,Cela-.i-cìe '99of
Lo Iiouse of ¡senbl'¡ Debates l-Ji3 Ju.ne 1 Q."7'7

Ãat l.Tnr.¡
occupied bir *,,he Supreme Court.
lnno-rì
See .rl,p!.''.v'r-. i -- t Iirn P
 141.

on l(ing ifillian Road, until the l,letl-ey comolex can,e intc

proCuction in Janue.ry L974, Iror tv;o years the building remalned
enpty- until ihe land r'¿as vestecl in the Adelaid-e þ-estival Centre
Ti'ust to becone pert of the und-erground car. par!: and Pl_aza.
It '¡as only as pai't of the fg76 Ad.eLaid-e Festival Centre Trust
Act that the Governmeni Printing Office land. vas d.efi-ned
officiall]' in order to be vested in ihe Trust.
As Ade-Laide greï¡ into a thriving city, the prine section
of vacani Governrnent P.eser'.¡e on ihe coï'ner of I'loril: Terrace and
](ing 'iillian Road lvas considered for developrneni by various
pu'olic organisations. A rnajor fauLt r¡ith the site was that it
fell à,;il.\j steeply f:"on lrlorth Têrrace, and in o:.ó.er to cor,struct
en ]mpos:-ng ouilding suitable for this central location, addition-
ai costs foi' r'aised. fcund.ations .,,roulC- be incuryed. E'/er,tual-1;r,
Parl-ianent Hou-se'*as built on this site; but othEr locit-i.o;rs for
tl:e fuiure Pariianent Fionse r.,¡ere 5Í-ven serious consid.ere.tion.
iror e:<anple, the Go.¡ernor of the de:,'r i'ia.jor-Genei'ali .Sir William
iervois:
I'a brisk ol-d soldier' - if ihat
bustl-ing o1d gentleman - and he
was ,iust il:at - had stai,'ed on after
his fir¡e l.¡ears and ni-netl¡-nine days,
he would l:iave had Governr-ient House
dor',rn at Hacknel.', vrlth a Domair: of
liiâI11r acres includin.g the original
grounds of the i'lortir Terrace Lunatic
-/rs].'lun. Ïie had the scherne cut anci
dr)', but his j-c.ea .,tas to irave Parlj-a-
ment House com¡l-eted .',.,'here Government
I{ou.se no'.'r sta.nds, possibl}' iris uise
old head thought of the Rail.;¡al¡ q)
Statíon on the onoosite corner.t't'

52. Reqister 2id Januar¡ AÇ24. ;lrrticle þr,' C.E. Ov¡en Smyth.
 Ll+z.

Other suggestions were to build Par'lj-arnent i-louse either. on

\¡ictoria -scuare, or behind the Dorna'in on land no!¡ occupied by
tire ParaCe Grouncl. A Select Committee in 1864 favou-red the
secti on of Governmeni Reserve to the east of ihe Old Legisl-atíve
Counci 1 buil-Ci-ng cl-ose to the original railway station; this
recorìïìend.a-uion nas adopted by both llouses of Parlianent t'but
the country spoke out in such a way that Ín 1865 nothi-ng r,ras
said about erecting then.tt53 All that appeared. in the buc-get
estina.tes at that tine was å2'OOO for the refreshment room,
divi-Ced into two sections that r,.¡as added io the east side of
the bu-il-ding. Another commission l./as appointed in ag74 by the
Gor,,ernor trto enquire into and ï'epoï't on designs subr,ritted in
competiiion for ner¡ Parliarnen! Flouses .u54 Eight plans Ì/¡ere
considered and the Conmission agreed u.nanimously on the desi-gn,
and that the iiouse of .Assembly should. be built first, but the
site'¡¡as still- under di-scr-r.ssion, The Presid.en-u of tire Legisfs¡1,r"
Co,:nci1, Si-r rlillian l.{ilne, who r,vas also a Commissioner, favoured
a site fu,rther along North Terrace, eventually al-l-ocated to tire
Universiti'. Geoi'ge Kingston, forrner assistan't to Light, and
nol,,/ a member of the Commission, favoured tire slte originally

nronosed in 1864, on the east of tkre 01d Legisl-ative Counc1l

buildings near the Station, but he eventually gave l,/ay to
-sir iiilliam l'{ilnef s vier.,¿s. Confusion and controvers)¡ norv,
dog.red the project over the ne:<t sixty-five years before the

qz Charles Flavrker, llouse of Assembl_./, Parl_iamentar-,¡ Debaies

on the llew Parlia¡:ent I{ouse , LSiJn'J
qL G.D: Cornbe, The Farliarnent of South :\ustralia, South
Ausiralia-' G
 T4J.

Parliament House build-ings rrere completed and occupied.

I'lmost by default, ',.,'ori< conrnenced on the biiildings ltithout
Parlj-amenta.ry approval on -uhe siter or appropriation of funds,
or consultation r,¡Íth tlie Legj-slative Ccuncil-, fn 1876, the
I{onorab}e I'iilliam To'rrirsend., in tìte Fiouse of Assenbl.,' ¡1o,t"U'

'rthat the l"{inistr¡r be directed

to'take v¡ithout delay ¿f 1 steps
necessarl,' for commencing the
erection of new Parliarnent l{ouses.tt 55

The next year Charles Hawker introduced a resclution to the

House of Assenbly, t'tirat r¡¡ork commence l^¡itirout provision on the
estinates or consul-tation r'¡ith the Legisl-atir¡e Council .u56
Ai l-east one citi-zen rvho used the assurned name Pau-l Pr1'tt,
rf

questioned the proposal to build Parliarnent lìouse in the Fa:'k-

lands. Charles lla'r¡ker probably reflected the tirinking of ihe
najoriiy of the nenbers of Parlianent, and also the public v¡hen
he retor-r,eci aner"ill¡:

rrThe noment the slightest atterlrt 'r,'as

made to u-ti-lise a portion of the fou.r
thousand ecres of Pa.rkl-ands there r*as
a cry from a certaln citizen - t¡ho
1.¡as a1¡,','aJ¡s opposed to every attenpt
tc cu.t up tire citir sqLlares or Parlc- 57
la:rds, thou.gh for the public benefi-u.rt

At the conclusion of the debate in the Hcuse of Assenbly, a

resolutioïl ,r/âs passed by one r¡ote that r';ork should proceeC
I'without delal¡ to continue the e:'ection of a ner,* lissernbl"v
. ,.58 A
Ciranber.ttz- strong reaction ','.'as immediatelry íorthcorning fron

55. I,Io.¡ed B-uh October^ 1876, Flou.se of ltssembly, Passed :-3t]n

October , L87'r.
56. ilonse of :issenb11i, LTtlr Jnne L877.

57. ibid,
58. ibid. .
 1LL

the Legislative Council r.¡ho resented attenpts to proceed witir

the erection of the l{ouse of Assenbly without consultaticn or
annroval of the Upper i{ouse. The Honorable A. }ia}, ¡.¡6r,*¿,

rrthat in the opinion of this C'runc11,

the action of the Government in decid-
ing upon a site and commenc,'.ng to build
tlie. new houses of Parl-iaíltêntu ',.¡ithout
the sanction of boti: branches cf the
LegÍslature is unconstitutional- and
does not meet r¡¡ith ihe approval of this
Council.rT 59

I,'Iorli on the foundations was stopped rvhile a deputation frcn tire

Legislative Counc-il ,r.¡aited. on the Chief Secretary. Eventuaily
a conpromise between both Houses was reacir.ed with:
tta.n 1t"ct to autho¡'ise the taking of
certa.j-n portions of the Adelaide
Parlclands for the pu.-r'pose of erecting
therein new Parlianent buildi-ngs.rr 60

A scÌ:edule attached to tne Ac'u oefined in Cetail- the site on

the cornêr' of Iting ilillian RcaC a.nd Ìdorth Terrace. t lso the Act
made llrct-i sions for tne site to be changed and, that both Houses
of Par]-iament rnust adopi the site. It was firmlir stated. tha-r,
constructi-on:

rrnoi be ri'oceeded :,'/ith until a

Conn'i ssion consisting of eq-ua1 nurnbers
of mem'oers of both Flouses of Parlia-
ment anC such other persons as l{j.s
E:'icellenc,l¡ the Governor sl:all think
fi.t, shal-l report that the piece of
land described in tire said sciiedul-e
is the bes ite obtainable for the
J.

erection o fs uch buildings and that

such a rep ort shall- be adopted bv
both iiouse SO f Par']ianent.tr 6l

qo Legislative Council, Jrd Jul',', !877.

Parliameni Buildi"¡,s,.ct, BT of l-877.
¡\l ibid. Al-so see l"lap Ar:pendix F.
 145.

Extraordinarlr deì-ei..s were -uo inhibit the erectiotr of the ltest

wing, due malnly io a period of political insiability t",'ith a
succession of Preniers anC.:

trmuch rancor and ihe a-nsence of

disciplined pariies made for
rolitical muãical chairs,tr 6Z

B:.' 1885 the granite foundations and besement \n/ere connleted,

then a dispute between the Governnent Archiiect, E.J. Wood
and the Kapunda l"larbl-e and Buil-ding Ccropany led to 'tire terr¡ination
of the contract; after some tine, tne contract re-let to Shaw
anC Cornpan]/ 1.ího completed ihe r¡¡est r¡¡ing in 1889.63 For iire next
f )-fry lv'eârs, the Old House of A ssenbly Chamber in -uhe building
ad, jacent was used as the Par"l-i amentary Librar;"'¡ apart from a

period. of fourteen yeers beti,¡een 1894 and. 1908 l'¡Lren it r^ras used
as the Legisla+'ive Council Charnber'
Flans ',',¡el.ê d.ra',';n up for ti:e ccnp]etion of the Legis-ative
Council Cl:ar:rber and other facilities ín l9I3; bu-t ihe outl¡realc of
the Firs'b i'Ior-Ld r,'iar once nore set back tl:e project, As:he Sta-ue
bega:r -uo reccver fron the Derressio¡: and approaclied ihe celebrat-
ion of its Centenar¡l ín 1936, legislation l,,ras Ðassed to conplete
Parliar.ient House as a conínernorative g""tr"".64 An extra
incentive was tÌre handsone gift of €,lOCr0OO by Sir Langdon
tsonirthon, benefa.ctor to nany public instiiutions includi--:g the
l',rt Gal}êrTr Univers.itl', .and the School of i'fi:res. ft '¡tras
possible for the Legislative Council to join tne House of Âssenbì y
in the unfinishecl Parl-iament Ilou.se du.ring the Centenar)¡ year

o¿. t',, itelocl',, r"rìalnido Ìr -ll

Opened 5ih June, Fi:'s-u i'ieeting of the lïouse of Assenbly

in tire ne'.i' Chan:lbers 5ti-l June l-989.
Parlianent Flouse Àctr 2i-7O of 1931,.
^lr
 146,

in 1936. Eventually the building vras officiaily opened in 1939¡

at a tine rvhen world tension began to mount, âs Äustralia becar¡e
É\Ã
connitted io ano-uher major \raT."r lronically, trr/orld liar Two
saved the Old Legisl-aiive Council buildings fron the wrecker.
Apart f:.om a portion of the original building that was denolíshed
to constr'.rct a i'anped. roadwa;r io the railway car park, this
bu.ilding has been rês*t,or€d- to its forner g1or1r as the
Constitu.tional i'iuseu.m of Sou-uh Australia, The proposea wider
public use is in keeping v,'ith returning as rnuch of the original
parklands as possible to the recreaiional, and in this caser'
educational use of the citizens of Adelaid,e.
Originally i,iorpi:ett Street terninated. at North Temace and,
ihe dividing line betu,een the Governrnent Reserve to the east,
an<Ì the Par.l,,lands under the care, conirol and management of the
Adelaj-de City Council to the rvest, was a prolongated line fron
l'iortLr Teri'ace to the centre of the River Torrens, The fight to
extend l.lorphett S¡reet as a tnroughway to l.lorth AdelaiCe becane
an ongoing battle in which a nunber of skirmishes were fougirt:

frThe ;\delaide City Councj-l trqice

resorted to force, the second
tine in face of resistance.rr 66

9ar'1y in the life of ihe Colony, a primitive wooden bridge vras

bu-il-t to provide a link betr.¡een l'Iorth Adel-aide and lilest Adelaicie
as a. contínua-,,ion of i'iorphett Street. 0n a nunber of occasions
it was ''..¡ashed âv;a;r bir floods imtil replaceC by a stone bridge

55. Parl j-anent ilouse onened 5t,h June L939 by the Governor
General Lord Go',,¡rie a popular forner Governor of Soutlr.
Au.stralia.
66 . Ra ilrva-7s Institute , Centenarv of the ,4.delaide and Port
Railv¡ar¡ , P.1C.
 't L7

which in iurn was rj¡recked bl' one of the severe flash floods
that from tine tc ¡ine scourecl- out the P,ive:' Toi':.ens. Heavy
traff-ic ues forceC to use ihe old ford. east of l,lorr:heti Street and.
linl',ed by a road ecross the Governrnent i-ìeser.¡e.67 To make
rnatters i,¡oï'se, i.,"hen the construction of t}:e Ade-r-aide and Fort
Rail'.r;:ir line comnenced in l-857; thi-s for"ced the cl-osure of
i'Íorphett St¡'eet for. a numl:er of years. Jventuall--v a br.idge r'ras
buil t over *'he rail-.'*ay line to the v¡est of l"'lorphett Street i n
1868. Unfc:'tr'lnai.e-Ly, the Cesign of the ¡¿l.lr;,r¿-ir bridge r,,,ras
eomp,l-:teì--v inarleq.u,ate, l¡i-th steep gradients and anproaclies at
right angles to i'lorti: Tei'raee. rtThe present crossing uas litt-ì-e
used and the bricige was one of the n:ost barbarous structures in
a^
the '.¡orj-d.tt"" Attenn-us '"^¡ere nrade by -uhe Adelaide Ciiir Councii
io negoti ate ':rith il:e railva.,¡ a'-ltr:o::ities in 1859 on re-openi::g
i;crphett Street crossíng. but io no ava--il; the:r the first
si<irrn: sh occu-r'reC- :

!r:,t -'he sugEestion of a forner llairo¡,

S-r-r' Janeõ Hur+"le Fisher', the fe::ces
l,¡ere forcibly renoved,r' 69

r^rnoarentl./r there ':;as no *1¿ennt by eit'ler ilie raihtalr au-thorities

or tne Governnent to contest tire right of 'rra.J,', even a level cros-
sing a:-:cl turnstiles for pedestrians vrere constrilcted, Anoth.er'
haLf serious, ha.lf humorous incidei:t occi;r'red sone J¡ears la.ter
'.'.'nen :he road r¡a.s again blocked off. 3-cpeated approaches r',¡ere

See ,/LppenCi:: ilao O.

La Connissi-oner of Publ-ic liorks, The Honorable G.C. Ìl:,vil<er,
cf Assenb}ir Second iìead-lng S:reecl:, Ädelaide irar'klands
i{ouise
-Lct, 25t"-', llc..'en'oer , I87':.
'a9, P.a.' lr¡,'a-.tS I:-:st.itute, Center.arv of the ,'icjel2.'rde and ?ort
Rail'.,,'a-,r , DL.!V.
r^
 148.

naCe io ti:e F.ail..;aYs e.nd. ih.e Gorrernnent to oÐen up the rcad

crcssirg then:
ÎÎCn the 22nC Ociober, 1864 the Cit¡,'
Surve.¡orr âssi sted b]' a nrmlrer of
l-abourers, cane to tire bounciarlr of
ihe i'ailwa1,r line a.nd rer,oved the
f ences and oth.er obstructions l.,'hi sii
nad shui the ra-ì.lr,i:ly off fron the Lìse
of the public. The maneger of tl:e
ra-i---l-i,ía'r.s brou6ht do',,,.n e sti'on.g body
of rnen, turned alvfa'i¡ the assail-an-us
and repaired the danage that hacl-
been clone fearil:1 that a riot rvas
not unlikely if r¡a.tters îJere ailo';¡ed
to stand-, the Conmis.ri-oner of Police
sent several policenen to r,,¡atch pro-
ceedings, anC to prevent a breach
of neace tiie manager of the raill--
1/.re1¡s noi negoiiate oi' ¿:ive \ìÍay,
wouild
he ',.¡as s:rnncnedbefore the Police
l'lagisirate and iined forii' shil.lings
for obstrutctitrg the roacl lecl- .z^
",.'hich.:\del-aicie. "' -
fi'clr ir;or;l:ett Sireet to i'iortli

C;l tne last occesion the il.ell-'¡¡a.,.s a-bteirpted to clcse ihe llorpirett
Siree:level c:'cssi-::¡;, :'lans i,/ere diâ",îÌ un io buiid a ne1'r goods
shei tb,zi r','ould- exiend across the street. Again ï'epresenta.tiotis
ic tÌl.e Gcvernment rtere rnade blr tne /:d.e-Laiti-e Ci-u1,' Council, -'iiis
t.ite';:ji-th success, because i::e folloui¡:g cla.use was placed ii:l a
s¡ecj-al Parlclands ,¡ict íl: 1ETB:
rrProvicìed, hcr'¡ever, -'ha-t nothii:g; herein
ccntained shall auinorise tlie Cor:r¡issioner
of R.ei,li'ie.,'s io erect any buil-d-ings upon
or 1rrevent traffi-c o\¡er an't' cortion of
the rcaC or thoroughfare rvh.-i-cli forrns a
coniinua.tíon in a nortl:erl-i,' direction of
the street knor^m as i{orohett Street.rr 7I

lii sf,s¡.7 of ihe Cit.¡ of .',dela.ide.

7I, .Ln irct tc ;1 tircr-i-se the Ccnrnissioner of P.ai-l-wa-"'s to iahe

-,^eeô ù.) o:1 0 or' olt o e eip- ide a ncls , 1.2 c) 1878.
 r ¿.o

If a trerv 'oridge had been 'ouil-t in tlle :'i¿1il: p1ace, this coltl-d
have solved all- the problerns, in íact, one was suggested. b'"rt

Pai:l-ianent refnsed 'uo sanction the erpendÍ-rltre. /is tire nu.nber

of i'ail.;/aj¡ lines increased, the crcssing becane d.angerc',-is and
a ¡-3.i ì r.,,'3r¡ brid.ge was eveniualll¡ erectec !: I€;81r.72 Beca.use the
Rsi ],,,,,¿'rrs 1..¡eï'e a pouerfu.l-, seni-goveï'nnent bod.y i*ith consi-i.erable
influence on the eccncni c gro..tth of Sou-i-i: ,Austral-i?,.¡ tliel.r i'fere
able to e>rtend ti:ei:' ope1'ations b¡r talting oveï' areas of the
Pai']<lands alnosi blr default. Sir George Kingsicn, Speaker
of the iiouse of ;\sseälbli¡ tn A877¡ aptl:,' descr-ibed the aliena.tion
process of the Farltlands b;,' tire R:ih,râYS Ii

rrI ern, hol','ever, i-nclired to thinli that

e\¡e:t in thi-s nattei', the Rail-rça-.' author-
ities have at r¡ai"íous ti-nes taken
possession of nore l-ancL tnan their are
legal-l'¡ eniitl-eC ì;o, and ( I ) think it
'¡,'oulcì be as '"'¡el-l- tnat tl:1s natter shou-]-d-
be careíu-Il1,' atter::cled io, nore part.i-cul-
a.r'l-',' b-;,' tnose ',','ho live in ¡he innedi-a "e
nei6hbou.i'l:ooc,','/hose p::operty can irardl¡r
be said to '¡e inp:'oved by the stirl-e of
builLCiilg adopied b3' the iìail'r''a-v
.¡ruthoriiies. n 73

The 'oailirs of, thLe River Torrens and Elder Park r.'Iere coilsi-dereC
to be impoi-tant areas foi' pu'nlic recreatioir b;r l'layor Edi','in
Srith one of tl:.e 3rreat mayors of Âdelaide. r,',Iiea legislati-on
for tire irnprovenent of iiie P.iver Torrens'r,','as passed in -L87Ot
provisioTl '..,7as rilade in this Governrnent Reserve for a one acre
ï^eserve near the Victo:-ia Bridge, to be u:Cer tne caie, control
arcl. nanagenent of the 1\del-aide Clty Council,. /* Soon other Ìi';o\¡€s
-1.

na
lLo The Ei'ii,ge '"'ras rellaced b:,t the \¡lctorra and I'lorihett VQJ--aa*
UI LU 9
Br-'.cEê, spaitnil^,g t-ie jr.jver Torrens, l'larshaì-1ing Yaros and
I'ioi'tii Tei'race. CÐened Zit\ .lai-c-: f9'<8.
Äc1.,'ei'tiser 12th i ove:rher 1277.
.7 1,
Ri.¡er Torcens In,¡rovenet-r.t ,"ct , Lj of 1869-70. See Appendix
l'\a: l ) i
 'l
^n

lvere naCe bl,'the Ädelaide Ci-t',' Counci-l-, uniler the l-ea-dersirip of

their nrogressive }iayor, to obtai¡: íuri;irer rivei. frontage in tl:is
sectj-on of "bhe Go*/ernrnent Resenve for pu.blj-c recreation. Mayor
Smith v¡as able to proudiy announce in irie 1879-EO Annual- Reþort
tha.i ne ha.d negctiateC additional land for a ne-,+ c j-tr¡ t¡a+"hs and.:
rrl have also obtained for the Cor-
poraii-on a bloci< of over three acres
on the '/,'estern side of King I'lilliam
Road r,ritn a long frontage to the
ri',¡er, vrhich I strcngl-y recomnend
should- -ce forned into a,n esplanade
in connection r.vi'cl: aquatíc sports on
the river.ir 75

The ne:<t )¡ear it ',','âs annou-nced that Sir Tircnas El-de:'; a gelerou.s
pu-bl1c benefactor, had donated a F.otunda or BanCstand io the
Cit;r of hde-Laide, It tooie sorne nonths for the Rotunda to be
shilped out fron England a:id renains todair¡ âs a pi-ctu-resç.'re
ninetee::;l: centurir inglisir stizlu parlil-and erneni-ul,r.
A conli catcd l-anC e:<cha:rrge betueen tire Raill,'IaJ¡s Ccmrnissioner
and- tre Government cror¡ided an opportunitl.' for the Adelaíde Ci-t1,'
Council -t,o obtain the cere, control and nana.genent of additionel
lancÌ alo:rg; the lì1ver Torreirs in 1-904,75 A strip of l-a.nd v¡est
of *,hÊ Roiunda P.eserve, later to 'oe kn.ol.rn as El-der Farli t¡as
tra:isferred frorr the Rall-r,ra1"rs Cornnilssioner to tne Ad.elaide Citi.'
Councilo i-l exchange for the olcr Government Survei, Yard..77
This acquisition of additional land extenc.ed Elder Parlt alo::g
the River Torrens -uo tne Reserve, alread,\¡ under the care, control
and mairagene:it of the lride-Laide Citr¡ Council since plans for a datr

lLde-Laicle Citi' Council, .tni:ual- Re¡ort, 1879-80. P.84.

/D. An Act Re-'latin- to the ilxchallre of l-ancls for P.aif','ie,.; and

77. See ;',ppendix l,iap P.

 151.

on tire River Torrens had al-readir been foreshador,¡ed in legistationlt

:\t the sarne tine, it gave the R.ailr',lays Conmissj-oner control of
both sj-des of the r"ai-h.ray l-ink under l(ing ],'iill-iam Road to the
Jubilee E>:hibition Grounds. Any furtirer e:rtension of tn*e Rail'¡¡aj¡s
to the east across King trlill-iam R.oad, âs was being contemplated,
r.¿ould- ihen be possible.T9 ;\t:other very srnall section of land was

also added to the Citlr Baihs, under the care, control and
managenent of -bhe Adel-aide City Council.Bo
tsy fai' ti:e doninant user of the Governnent Reserve in this
sectj-on of the Parhlaitds was tne railr.;ays. Originally, bet'';reen
e1-gnt-and-a-ha-ì-f a:C ten acres of Par'lçlands ','¡as en'"'isaged as
necesserl.' to neei 1"¿if1',r¿ir requirenq*rat=.Bl Beca.use the land rvas
pa.rt of the Gor¡ernrnent R.eserwe, no conirols were pl-aced on,Q-ai1-wa-v
encroachnents. Toda1,r, one hundred" and tl¡enty-si-i: ecres of land
that'¡¡as or.í¡.¡inally Pai'i<J-ands ere no1,¡ und.er the ccntrol of the
P.aih,'a''rs Connlssionel',
Jilthough Colonel Light could not ha.,'e cor:ceived the irrlellaide
Festival Tn.ea+'re comple:l on its present site as pai't of the
Parklancls, he did i,¡rlte on a plan dra'rrn u.p and dated 7th February
lt37 tttThe dark green around the to'.';"n I prooose to th.e Resi-deni
Connissioner to be reserved as park groundsrr. On these park
ground.s, he enrrisaged Governnent lJouse, a hospital and a school:

.-, Õ
I ()o Rir¡ei' Toryens In¡rcvement ,ict 15 of 1869-70,
for a discussion or:. tiie R.a.i1.,,,'ay Land on ihe
See Pa.ge 105
east side of l(in' l{ill-iam iìoad.
80. See À:per.di;r llap P.
t}. Sefect Connittee of tÌ:e Legislati.re Couilcil, The Adell-aide
Citv and Por-b Rail-ï¡aY r\ct 18¿19.
 r52.

as archítectural- and functional public buildings that '.,¿ould

contribute 'bo -cire quality of life of Adelaid-e citizens.
Therefo::e, Colonel Ligi:.-u with his artistic and archiiectural
fl-air marv have been proud to acl-,nowledge the Festival Centre as
e con*ui'ibution to the crigi¡3f concept of pr:blic use of the
Parlclands.
In coütrasi to earlier tirnes r'¡Ì:en tirei'e vas little reslstence
to the use of the Parklands for many and varied. puri:oses; tl:ere
',','as much co::troverslr when the Pa:'klands 1'¡ere being ccnsid.ered
for t]:e sitc of a, Concert Hall- in ti:e nid l950rs, Initiatit¡es
1,rere first ialcen by the Adelaide City Couirci-L, Lord- llayorts Cultura:
Coilmirtee iras establ-isi:ed ano it coniinued. to meet over the years-
anu finally they sel-ecteC Carclew - the Bonython mansion on
ironteíiore i{il-l as the sit,e for tl:e Fes-uival- Ila11. Those rnembers
on the Cultural Coränittee r,¡iro t'¡ere in fa.¡our of this iioi'th Ade-r-aid.e
site for the Festival Theatre r¡/êFê tne i-oi'd lla.,¡or, Sir Janes
Ir"...'ir:, Russell h¡land, tne To-,'¡n Cler'k and Professor Joirn Bishop,
A;'iistic Ðirectcr of the Festival of A¡¿s, Agarnst the proposal,
ar,lûnl otners r./a.s, Stev¡art B. I{art, Directo:' of Planning r+ho
aC.¡ocateci. a rnore central- siie: :

rri'Iorth Terrace has 'becoi:le the principa.l-

focus of Jea:'nlnq and cultur-e r'¡ithin the
Ci'uJi of Adelaide, and the l'1a11 should be
located as nearl.,' as possible tc the
e:rísting ci.rltural- bu.i.l-rÌings, By siting
the I{a11 '.'¡itnin reasoÈr':1e ci.istance of
lTorth Terrace, the e:<i-sting cÌiaracter ta7
of a cultural centre rtou.lcl be enhanced.rr

i''Litel-ock, Adela.icle , P. 134,

az
a)o Sel-ect Connittee, F.enort. Qulo'ted by The i-lonorable A.J.
Shard, Second rr.eádffiDe'oa+'€s, Legislative Council-, Bth
Cctober, 1964.
 r53.

Tlre subsequent Festival i{at} Act of 1964' gave po','.'ers io tne

Adelaide City Council to constru.ct a Fesiivah Hall on the Carcl-ew
,84
pi.cpei.ti.r."- llt iiris stage, ti:e Parlianentar-v 'Select Cornnittee
tr\'.'ere also adamant ihat the äall should not be on the Par'Itlands:

but shou]d be ad jaceüt thereto."85 -it l'¡as not long before

nembe:s of the hdelaiCe City Council, pa:'lianentarians, and-
expei.lencect arts aCvisors li¡ere having secotrd though'us about the
linitations of a concert hal-l for a city ihat hosted the multi-
cultr-:i.al 'b,iennial- Festir¡al of Arts. A ner¡' l-ook at this project
resulted '..¡hen the new Prenier, Don Dunsta,n caught ihe vision of
a fle:<ib-Le multi-puriiose conple>r capable of producing slrmphonl,r
concer.ts , oÐei.a, bal-1et, musJ.cal- events a.r:d" d.ranu.
86 Obr,'iously,
the Carcle,.,¡ si te r".,as not large enou6h or suitable for sucir a
concept. ;tgain, tÌ':.e Governme:rt changed- and fre¡tj-er Steele Flal-l
introCuced legislation fcr a Festival The¿-'-re, tn t97C.B7 '¡r
sel-ect conr.ri-utee reco¡ïlended ihe site behlnd Parl-iaine:-t llou.se on
la:iC occuc'íeC by ihe Gcverll¡rer:t Printi-ilg Officen Citl¡ Ba.*,hs and
SCltê ol-cL F.a.ilrva1,' -i:uil-d.ings.BB Tìris reconnend.ation was su.p';orted-
h:.' Prenierr Steele Hall ','¡ho said-:;

ol, estival liall åct , 45 of t-964.

F

Second FÌea.ding Debates, Legislative Council, 8th October L)61¡,

çA First l-abour Government since the early thiriies el-ected to
ofíice lOth i'larch A95t. Don Dunsian succeedecl Frank i'/alsll
as Pi'enj er on lst June 1947.
4.7 Steel-e liall succeecled Don Dunstan as Fren'ier' 17tir Anril 19óS.
Fe stiva'l Theatre -¡:ct 1970 , to Ànenrl. tiLe Festir,,-al Flall- Act 196t

88, Select Conmittee Fìeoort, iiunber 115, 1970.

 l-54.

ItHith the proximity of the Torrens

Lake, vihile it may be only a puddle by
international standards, the present
site is certainly in my opinion and
that of experts, the best site available
1n Adelaioe for the Festival Theatre.rr 89

The recently defeated Premi-er, Don Dunstan, viho v¡ould later

become Prenj-er again and take u o.r"o{interest in the
construction of the Festival Cen-r-re complex favoured an area of
Parklands betrn¡een the Torrens Parade Ground anci Government House,
This was vigorously resisted by ihe then Premier, Steele lla1l:

rfFor f believe that it l*ould have spoilt

for all time a desirable site in the city
of Adelaide, Whatever ma.y be the future
of Government House and its grounds, I am
sure that posterity r,vill approve its being
retained. in the present unrestricted area.rr 9o

A land transfer involving Raihvay propertSr and the City Baths

Reser*¿e was then written i-nto the Adelaide Festiva]- Theatre Act.91
By re-vesting the Railwa5' Land in the Govei'nroent, this ensu"red
that the extra land west of the prorosed. Festj-val Theatre l"¡oul-d
provide for planned extensions to the buildings, and also enhance
the setting for the complex in reiatj-on to Elder Park and the
Rj-ver Torrens. A problern r',ras raised by the Rsgistrar-General in
connection witli minor pieces of land tirat l,¡ere outside oi the
proposed sections to be re-vested in the Government, this requ.ired
a. correction on the plans by another surr/e]¡ ,92 unl,, eventually thris
adiustment r¡as r,vritten into the A}TO Ãct.93 Also, anotirer piece

ao $teele Fïall, Second Reading Debates, I{ouse of Assenbllr,

}rd l{overnberr l97A.
on ibid,
ql, Adelaide Festival Tireatre Act t 45 0f L970. Pa.rt IV.
ot Select Committee R.eport, House of Assenbfy, 26th llovember I97C
oz Acielaiâe F stir¡al Theatre Act 45 of 1970, Section !2.
ee ppe ;ap a
 r5r.

of land bet':¡een tire cit;,' Baths anii Elcer Park, ouiside of the
forner Citi, Baths Reserve t¡as re-',¡ested in the Crcr.J¡.,94 Because
the Festival l{all was e¡i ginaIli,, to be built ur.o. n ur..ged brr the
Ade-i-aide Citi,' Council- using the Ciii' Baths site alreadir under
the cai'e, con'crol and rna.nagenent of the ,'ldelaíde city council;
the L97O Festival Thea-r,:'e Àct .¡ested in tÌ:e -l,delaide Crtir Council
a cer:ificate of title.95 Finally, two sections of Railr,:airs land
tl:at coniail:Led a number of shabby build"ings occu-pted blr the
P'ail-r','a¡¡s rnstitute and the cheer-up Hut, first er.ected. in 1915
for the en-bertainnent of soldiers during iire First Worirj. i^iar,
and. Iater used as a I"'iigrant HosteJ-r,..;as re-vested in thie C"o,"".96
Assurancês 'r¡'€r'ê given b;'r Premier Dunstan that at tire appr.opriate _

ti-ne, fr:r"iÌr.er' legi-slation woul-c'i be er:acteC to de¡rolisir th.e

Governnen-r- Printirrg Office fcr the d-e''¡el-opment of the Fesiiva.l
Theatre. i{ith the enthusiastic su.npori of ihe P:enier r97 th"u
linited co:cept of the Festiva.]- Tk:eatre blossoned in"to a nulti-
pl1Ì'nosri Fesiiv¡l- Ce:'ltre to ejìccr:cass not o:i-Ly the original th.eatre
but no.',,¡ a. pl-a;ii:ouse, e f I e;'.ibl-e performing ereÐ knor.m as ihe Space,
an ani:h.itireatre, anC a plazaru'iiir â:n urldergrou.nd ca.r ¡arir. Bec:l:se
of the cost ilci'ease anC the need for a nore sophisticateC
raanagenerrt structure, there ',,,'as litt,lì-e possibil-itlr ihat :he
I'rCelaide Citv Cou',nc'1 could" retain their o:"igi-r:a1 invol-venent as
the or.1:rer,,/nanegei' of this sigi:ifica::tli' larger con¡leii. A ne'¡¡
A.ct '.','as proinulgatei to create the :^:de-LaicLe Festi.¡al Centre Ti'ust,,
so ihat pi'ofessional managenent anc the consolication of land

L')¿r ibid, Section 13.

oq ibii, Section f4
ibid, Section 15.
ô"7 Don Dunstan succeeded steele Fiall as Premiei., 2nd. June r97a.
 156.

titles cculd. 'oe placed in one body.g8 First, the Governmeni

vested their land sections in the Festival Centre Trust;99 tn"rt
an amending act was passed in 1973 to re-vest the forrner City
Baths si-be, or.r/oêd freehold by the Adelaide City Council in the
Festival Cenire Trust. At the same time, the Government vested
a snall section of lanrt to the north of the City Baths site in
the Festival Centre Trust,l-OO As the building of the Festival
Centre progressed over the next three years, it became necessary
to dernolish the Government Priniing Office and re-vest this land
in tne Ad.elaj-de Festival Centre Trust.101 Only one nore piece
of land lras noì,r required to complete the Festival Centre. It
tool< three years of negotiations between the Railways Conmissioner,
Adelaide City Ccuncil, and Lands Department to close the Railway
road linlring the Railway Station to King William Road, that
separated il:e former Government Printing Office, and the Cit;'r
Baths. After nu.ch debate, the Ad-el-aide City Cor.mcil 1,rras persuade,C
to d j-sccntinue the road and su,rrender this very srnall- secti on of
land to the Crolvn.102 Eventually, the certificate of title v¡as
granteC to the Ad.elaide Festival Theatre Trust in 1976.10J

oa Ade1aid.eFestival Centre Trust Act , 93 of 1971.

oo ibid, Sectlon ?9, See Appendix l'1ap Q.
100. Adelaide Festival Centre Trust Amencl,nent Act , 65 af 1973.
Section 29a. Governnent land to thé lloFth of City Baths
site, vested in the Adelaide Festival Csntre Trust, Section
29b. Adelaide City Council Land formerly City Baths,
vested in the Adelaide Fesiival Centre Trust. See
Append-ix i'lap Q.

101-. Adelaide Festival Centre Tru.st Ainendnent Act , 95 of 1976.

See Appendix I'iap Q.
'ì aì?
l''leeting of the .t\delaide City Council , Izt'n November 1973.
Promulgated in the Government Gazette, JIst January l-974.
ro3. Certificate of 'r,itle granted 27-vh Januar-rr, L976.
 j.57.

Ini-tiati''¡es taken by the Àdel-a.ide City Council to develop

the Festival Centre v¡ere brought to a successful concl-usion by
effective co-operation v¡ith ihe Siate Government. This latter
day co-operaiion between Loca] and State Governnents on such
a large pro.iect could ]ead to a gror^ring confidence in other
joint planning actirritj-es, particularly in returning alienated.
sections of the Parklands to provide recreation open space for
the citi-zens of Adelaide.
Of all the Government Reserr¡es in the Parklands, the area
betr*een King l'Iilliam Road and. l,lorphett Street has been the
most exploited for purposes other than public recreatj-on. The
only s¿1ring factor l¡ae the gradual development of Elder Park
as an excel!-lent seiting by tire r,*ater, for a world class culturai
connlex, 's¡?rich is functional and at the sene tirne has considerabl-e
architectural merit.
 l58.

C}IAPTER SlX

Other Government Reserves ín the Parklands

Onthe r¡estern side of the cit1r, Colonel Light identified

only two areas for specific purposes; t}:ese were the cemeter-rl
and a market pIace.l since then, another seven Governnent
public use in this area.
Reserves have been alienated- frour A

major break-through occurred in 1979 r,¡hen the Conmonwealth

Reserr¡e used by the itieather Bureau v¡as returned as Farl<lands
open space,
Both the East and South Parklands v¡ere not envisaged as
areas for Government Reserves by Colonel Light, l,iaybe the
concentratíon of early settlement_near the River lorrens, as the
main source of v¡ater detey'mined- r¡here nubl-ic buildings required
to service the populati-on be best situated. For example,
provislon was nade for the firsi Hospital on a site in the llorth
East Parklandsr2 bu.t it c¡as er¡entually built on l,lorth Terracer'
close:' to the river.

The Adelaide Cemeterv

It is correct to clairn that the ',',lest Terrace CeneterSr l¡res

never part of the Parklands, being one of the origÍnal nine
Park-l-and Reserves identified by Colonel Light in 18J6.4 1/itir so
rnu.ch open sÐace surror-mding the nerv tor.rn: of Adelaicle, it v,¡as

logical to pro'¡j-cl.e a public burie.l place within a conveni-ent,

but discrete clisiance from v¡here the ¡.rain population lived.

1a See Appendix }lap A.

2 ibid.
3 See Chapter Three P, 33

4 See Annenclix lulan /r.

 1ÃO

Once the cemetery was established, there v¡as littl-e chance to

either close or rel-ocate it, because of the povrerful emotions
that have alvrays suruound.ed the sanctity of burial plots and
graves. Strong pressures for more space by religious
denominati-onsraird in later years by the returned servicements
organisation, have,been resisted to .a remarkable ex'uêDt.
rn one hr"rndred and forty years, the ori-ginal area of sixty
acres has only increased to sixty-six acres. Probably e¡" of
these additional six acres was really only a coruecti on to the
original surve]¡ as delineated in the }{unicipal Corporations Act
Ê
of l-.84ir) thís should have been sixty-one acres as d.elineated
in the 1890 }{unicipal Act.6 No instructions were left by
Colonel Light on how the various religious denominations were
to be allocated special sections of the cemetery. Even the
Adelaide Cemetery Trust appointed by Governor Gav¡ler to manage
the cemeteriø in 18f9, did not at first recognise sectarian
differen"u".7 But it was not long before the Jervish people
through I'fr. E.L. l"lontefoire requested:

'fthat portion of the burial ground

be set aside for burial- of persons
rr
of Jeryj-sh persuasion. I
The Trustees unanimously agreed to this request and allocated
a section of cernetery land that was eventually given a land

5. An Act to Constitute a Munici al Corooration for the Cit of

e a êt , on c e u e

6. l,lunicipaf Coroorations Actr479 of 1B9O Section J6B Part 4.

n Flrst meeting of the Adelaide Cemetery Trust, 5th. August 1839.
8. E.L. Itlontefoire to Frivate Secretary to the Governor, l8th
August 1843. Dochet DL 206/3A.
u
 160.

grant in 1852.9 Alihough members of the Jer^¡ish faíth were the

first to seek a special section of the cenetery; the Roman
Catholic Church obtained the first section of the cemetery
through the request by the Archbishop of Ad.elaid.e, in 1845.10
The Trust certainly resolved;

rrthat a portion be allocated to

that body 1n proportion to their
numbers n the errpenses of the
enclosure or internal arrangements
to fall on that denomination.rr 11

But no land grant vras ever issuedr and when subsequent additional
sections on v¡hich fees v¡ere paid, and given over to the control
of the churchr ho land was forrnally granted by the Crowrr"
In 1932rthe Archbishop of Adelaide, and the Catholic Church
Endo'¡¡ment Society through a firm of barristers and solicitors
conplaíned that no proper land title had ever been issued:

t'it appears that in 1845 instructions

vrere given by the Colônial Secretary
to the Advocate General and that a
title should have been preparqd, but
it was never done and on each subsequent
purchase a receipt was issued to the
purchaser but no proper'land grant vras
given,rr L2

After a Crovm Law opinion v¡as obtained, the Government proclaimed

over eleven acres of land as a Roman Catholic Public Cemetery.lJ

9. Land Grant No. 4l+3t Book 42, 4th September 1852.

10. Dr. Þiurphy, Archbishop of Adelaide for the Catholic Church
to the lrustees, 16th January, 1845. Docket DL 206/3l .
11. January 1845. Docket DL 206/3I.
L2. \^i.J. Denny and Stanfey, Barristers and Solj-citors, acting
for His Grace R.\'/. Spence, Archbishop of Adelaide and for
the Catholic Church Endo'¡¡ment Society to the Hon. the
Cornmj-ssioner of Public l{orks, 7tln April T932,
13. Government Gazette , 15th September !932.
 151.

This did not end the rnatter, because another letter from the
Archbishopts solicitors requested that the purposes of a public
cemetery be altered:

rrthe Roman Catholic denomination

purchased nost of the land at high
prices in order to keep the cemetery
exclusi-ve for members of their
faith and the present forn of land
grant might lead to results t'¡hich
it is desirable to avoid.rt 14
The Gazette proclamation was cancelled by Executive Council 1,5
and a. nev¡ land grant was issued:

I'to provide that tire land be

used for the purposes of a
Roman Catholíc Cemetery. 16
rr

of cemetery management by a
By 1847, the onerous task
voluntarl,' boriy led to the resi-gnation of the Trust.IT The
Government then took over the adninistration of the public
cemetery and appointed a Superintendent and Sexton to maintain
and administer the public section of the cemeter¡r as dlstinct
from the rellgious sections:

Itoneof the first items of expenditure

taken over by the Goverirment)
(r^rhren
was the purchase of a compass for the
sexton, presumably for the purpose of
assi-sting him in defining the boundaries
of grave plots and, maybe, to prevent
him gettlng bushed. rr 18

14. Stanley, Barristers and Solicitors, to Director

1'1.J. Denny and
of Lands, 10th October, L932. Docket C.P.\{. 123/I 932.
lc.
L) c Government Gazette , llth April L932.
16. Government Gazette , 15th October, 1932. Land Grant Volume
lblb, Fol to b0.
17. The final meeting of the Trust, L3tln July ì847.
18. Register , ll-th September 1891.
 l-62,

Although the Jews and the Catholics h¡ere allocated their

sections of cemeterlz lanC, the Church of England obtaíned the
first officially record"ed land grant of fourteen acres in 1849:
Itfor the burial of deceased
rnembers of the established unÍted
Church of England and lreland.rf 19

Sections of land were also leased to the Mahornedon Association

and. the S¡rrian Druses Association; but these organisationst
leases were adrninistered under the rules and regulations of the
l,Iest Teruace Cemetery, without the freedom to control their own
land sections. The exception was the Quakers or Society of
Friends v¡ho v¡ere allotted land in 1855; but no land grant trras
recorded.. Up to the present, this societ¡r have always been
lnvolved in negotiations dealing with the development and
management of the cenetery, and they have continued to naintain
a separate sectlon of the cemetery at their or¡tn expense.
Perhaps the r'¡isest move v¡as made b]' the Church of England in
1862r r,vhen they hanced back their section of tl:e cemeter,tr¡

ttit is desired to give uP control

of the portion assigned to the
Church of England, which has never
been rigidly enforced.rr 20

There is no evidence that the land grant was ever cancelledt

but the Church of England handed back to the Government a costl¡r
administrative and. maintenance problem. Other ehurches anú the

19. Land Grant RegÍ-ster ltro. I72 Book l-5, issued to the F.ight
Reverend Lord-Bishop of Adelaioe, Jrd May 1849.
20, Trustees of Church of England Cemetery Trust to Treasurer
Parliamentarr,' Paoer 98 , 1862.
 ror.

returned service nenrs orga.nisations continued uíth thls

financial bu-rclen right up to the present,
Crenation as an efficient means of body disposal became
an issue at the turn of thie cen-uury. The Adelaide Crematorium
Socíety approachied the City Cor;ncil to obtain a site in the
\'/est Farklands for a crenatorium in 1897:

ttbut the majority of the Cotmcil were

not favourably disposed to cremation. tr 2t

llovever, the Citli Council had no statutory povrers to grant

parhlands withoui an Act of Parliament; but eventually the
Governnent agreed to dedicate appro:ri-matel-y one acre as a
Crenation Reserv..22 This lvas part of the area origin¿1ly leased'
to the Qualiers. In 1901, the first properly constructed
crer¡atoriu.ril in Australia built at the llest Temace Cenetery.
1.ras

Difficulties r^¡ith the Adelaide Crenatorium Societ;r sv*. ¡t.

erecti-on of the furnaces led to the -society being informed that:

Ita proclanatj-on v¡i}l appear in tkre

Government Gazette of toCa.lr t s date
resuming from vCIur Society the
crenatoriurn reserve at the i{est
Tema.ce Cernetery with the crematorium
buildíngs thereon, I am to sa], that 'n
nor,¡ taking control of the crematorium
the Government do so without being
borr:.d by ani' condition vrhatever, and
you are to please especially note that
]¡our recu-ests contained in previous
correspondence for certain free cremations
to be performed by the Governnent, and
for the pa¡ring by the Government of
I'Tr, L. Graysonts account for reporting
on the crernatorium are not agreed to.rr 23

27_. Adelaide City Council, ¡i¿r¡otrs Rer:ort IB97 /lt98,

¿¿. Go''¡ernment Gazette 14th February 1901.
L). Secretary to CornmissÍoner of Public I,iorks to I'i.-,'i. Knox,
President Adelaide Crematorium Society l8th June I9O3.
Docket C']a 779h900.
 l64.

Eventuall]'the Governnent had to reconsider the request that

ten cremations alread3r paid for shou.ld be given free by the
Governnent. Among threse, l,¡ere some of the 1ea.d.ing citj-zens
of Adel-aide, including T.'1r, and lvlr's. Bam-Smith, John Bagot,
Peter r¡laite, the lIon. John Lewis and llathanial A. Knox,
President Arlelaid-e Crernatorium Society.
An alteration to the shape of the centetery \.¡as proaulgaied.
in 1964.24 A large area a.long l,,,rest Terrace wa.s added to the
Parklands, but a slightl-y larger sectj-on of Farklands abutting
the rvest side near the railvray 1i-ne r^ras lncorporated- into the
,25
cemetery.-- This exchange of lands had the effect of setting a
portion of -i,he cemeterl" baci< from r-'iest Terrace and openeC up a
more accessihl-e area of the Parl<lands for public risê. Little
public pro-t,est v¡as raised about this nroposali even the Hon.
i'Iill-iam Dennlr, the most consistent parliamentary supporter of
the Parkland-s could see the value of the land exchange, because
an1¡ further development of th.e cerneter-v on the ivest Terrace side:

rrwould }:ave been objectionable

to ma.n1t propertir o'[,,T]êfs. tl 26

After the First i{orld ].'¡arr prol"ision }¡as made on th"e land
acouired bi.r the exchange for an Australian Infantry Forces
Cerne-ter1r. A Services Cernetery Trust Incorporated t^ras established
to adrninister and inaintain this section, Toward the end of the

2t! \,lest Terrace Extens-ion Act , 852 of l-904.

25. See Appendix lvlap R.
lO. The Hon. f iillian J. Denny, House of Assernb 'l r¡ Second
Readin,q Debates 22nd Sept enber 1904,
 a65.

tuo acres vrere al-ienated from Parklands

Second l,'forld l¡Iar another
on the sorithern sid.e of the cenetery by an Act of Parli u*"nt,.27
This addition to t}:e cemeterlr \{as an extension io the exÍsting
A.I.Ir. cerneterir. A Select Conmittee l^ras establ-isheC by the
Legislat-i-ve Council to investigate the proposal- and the Adel-aide
City Council lodged objecti.ons on ihe basis that:
rrnofurther alienati-on of the
pa.rklands should be a1lo'¡Jed,tr ¿ó

A nember of th"e Select Comnittee, the lion. C.R. Cudmore dissented

fro¡"n the rnajority report on tv¡o grounds, first, that there r¡as:

rrmore ample and more suitable

accoinmodati-on for the burial of
the rernaining members of the first
A.I.F. w¡o deslred to be buried
r+iih their comrades is available
el-servhere in tkre netropolitan arearrr

and also:

rrthat. any provision rnade by the

Government for future burials of
ex-servj-cerreri personnel should
include -che second ê..T.F. e the
Ì'Tavir, the t\ir Force, and a.l-L tl:e
Empire f i ghting services.rr 29

Ànother recoiíìmendatj-on, originally proposed in the early

1950ts, \.,"âs eventually adopted du.ring ihe Second ldorld t''ia.r, to
change tì:e previou-s burial leases granted for ninety-nine years to
norv terminate tron the llst December ,Otr'''tO. This decision rvould

27. r'Iest Terrace Cemete Sold.iers Section llxtension Jrct

o ee ppen P

28. Renort of The Select Conr¡itiee of the Le gislative Council ,

ftst Oc'uober 1944.
)o ibid.
30, Governnent Gazette 31st October 1940.
 166.

have wíde ramifications when moves were commenced to consolidate

ovmership in the hands of the Government and to close the various
pri-vate sections of the cemetery.
Since the early days of the Colony there were 'problems
with b,¡th the adrnlnistration of burial leases and the upkeep of
the firavesJ by various organi-satÍons v¡ho l:eld" sections of the
cenetery. Matters carne to a head in a973 following a visit to
the A.I.F. section of the Cenetery by the t4inister of l^lortr<s, the
Hon. J.D. Corcoran r¡¡ith Sir Thomas Eastick, Presirl.ent of the
Returned. Servicemenrs League. Rather than upgrade the A.I.F.
section only, it was recommended by the Direqtor, Public Buildings
Departnent, LIr. R.K. Dunn, that thetrupgrading of the \'üest Terrace-
Cemetery as a v¡hole be sought.uSl Letters were sent out to
various organisations who had some invol-vement with the cemeterlr
to attend a meeting on this matter. Particularly the R.oman
Catholic Church ,r;a.ii under Ðressure to u.ngrade íts sec'bion of
the Cenetery, because graves \i¡ere overgro\¡,In with weedg.
This nove by the Government offered the Church an opportunity
to review their involvement in expensive cernetery administration
and maintenance. Father Mclennan pointed out that: -'

trthe attitude of his Church had

changed j-n recent ti-mes and there
was ño longer an insistence that
the Cathollc section be held under
separate title bY the Church.rr 32

The Jev¡ish congregation vras gratified that the Government proposed

to upgrade the cenetery; but they pointed out that:

-21
)Lo Director, Pub]ic Buildings Deoartment to Minister of lforks
25/6/76 Docket PBD 64/73.
l,lanager, PropertY Services to Director Public Buildings
Department. Docke t PBD 64/73.
)L.
 167.

fraccording io the Jewish 1avr, no

grave may be cleared of the
remains of those buried therein
nor may monuments be removed.rl 33

Agreement in prlnciple was given to transfer the control- and

management of the Jer,r¡ish section of the l'Iest Temace CemeterSr
to the It{inister of Works:
tfsubject to no grave being
disturbed and no headstone being
removed without the aPProval of
the Board of T'Ianagement of the
Adelaide Hebrerv congregation. tr 34

A proposal to enable the Government to assume responsibility

for the futr.rre control and management of the l'lest Terrace
Cemetery was consid.ered in Cabin"t;f5 n.rt it was referred' back
to the Minister of works, the Hon' D' corcoran' ru¡ho had recently
visited St. Davidts Park in Hobart, ''¡¡hich was a city park
converted from a cemetery. He was entirusiastic about thi s idea
for the ldest Terrace Cemetery and an officer was sent to Hobart
to lnvestigate tiris concept; but the condltions of burial leases
r¡/ere differentrbecause in the case of the llest Terrace Cemeteryt
over seventeen thiousand leases r,¡ill expire in 2032. Eventually
Cabinet approved. tre enactment of legislation for the Government
to assume control- and. maintenance of the v¡hole cemeterlr so that
in the long term it could be closed and returned to Parklands.

33. Rabbl T. Rafalowlcz First l'lini-ster Adelaice Fiebrew

congregation to Mr. D. Ridley, u?rlager Property services'
JOtñ Oõtober 197h. Docliet FBD 64/73.
3L+, G. Rohan, Secretary Adelaide Hebrev.' Congregat_ion. to
Secretary eu.Utic eüitaings Department , 25th l,larch 1975.
Docket pan 64/73.
35, Considered in Cabinet on JOth l'iay, ¡.975.
 169,

The establ-ishment of a committee to recommend on aspects of

fu.ture adrninistration and the closure of the cemetery was
approved^ by Cabin"t.36 The 1{est Terrace Ad.visory Committee t'¡as
appointed in December 1975 and" carried. out a public involvement
exercise by inviting surbmissions from organisations and private
individuals through advertisemen.ts 1n newspapers. New legislation
v¡as enacted ín I97'o to vest the lnlest Terrace Cemetery in the
Government, rrfor present manegement and future development of the
land u .37 A special sectionSS ,r"" r¡,,ritten into the Act Juo protect
the Jewish graves from being disturbed. The next Vear, Cablnet
approved the general aim of conversion of the Cemetery into a
mennorial park,
Although from a plarrning point of vievi, a cernetery v¡ould not
usually be consldered. a conpatible use for a public park; ti:e
l{est Terrace Cenetery, by'¡irtue of its age and l-ocation, has
becom.e an area of special iristori-c significance that provides

a remarlcable record of the life of the past generations. \{hen

the cenetery is developed as a memorial park there will be
elements of historic, botanic and passive recreational usesr so
converting what could be considered as a dreary eyesore into a
pleasant parkland. area for a lvider public use cornpatible with
other sections of the Adelaide Parklands.

)ô. Approved in Cabinet,ZTth October 1975.

2F7
','Iest Tg ace Cernstertr -Actn.57 of 1976.
38. ibid, Secti-on 10.
 169.

Si-gnal Station now Australia Post - Tel- InstÍtu+*e

A market place of appro;eimately two acres r/ras set aside
ZO
in the Parklands opposite Franklin Street by Colonel- Lightr-'
but it was never used for tiris purpose. A flagstaff was erected.
on this site in 1841 in order tC provide the business communi-ty
rvith useful- shipping information. Those who knev¡ rqhat the
signal flags and bfack balls hoisted to the top of the mast
represented, cauld }<nor¡ wel-l in advancerthe shipping movements
1n Gulf St. Vincent. The man stationed on the platform about
half l¡/ay up the mast coul-d seerr^rith the aid of a telescope
v¡hat ships \¡¡ere coming or going, then raise the appropriate
signals. In the early 184Ots during a period of strÍct financlal-
economies; the signal service was discontinuerl for a brief
period-.
No boundaries for the signal station were rnarked out until
1851 v¡hen less than one tenth of an acre was identífied on an
lr-Õ
official map of Adelaid.e.*- Apart from the signal mast, there
u/as also a cottage on the site for the flagstaff keeper, because
of the necessity to man the signal service at least during
daylight hours. By 1849, one acre !'¡as officially identified as
a signal station ín the schedule of Government Reserves in the
Parlclands, attached to the 1849 Act to constitute the
Corooration of the Citv of Adelaide,4l It v¡as not until 186l

?o See Appendix l'Iap -4.

40. Fennant and Gelbraith, Pla¡ of tire l41p__o-l_4þfa:Uþ, State

Printer, lB5
Government rchives.
41. To Constitute a t''lunicipal Corooratj-on f or the Cit.¡ of
Adelaide. 11 of 1849.
 170,

that the amended t{unlcipal Corporations Act described the exact

boundaries of the signal statlon in the Parklanci.".42 !trhen the
first rna65netic telegraph line from Adelaide to ihe Pr:rt v¡as .,'
opened in 1$56; this spelt the beginníng of the end for the
signal station:
ttthe station which has been very
useful in the early daYs of the
Colony, has long since ceased to
be of any service
t' to the business
community. 43

Apparentl-¡r the site was used. after 188J as a telegraph station,

because when the Commonwealth took over Posts and Telegraphs at
the time of Fed,eration, the transfer of properties to the
Commonr¡¡ealth descri-bed this land use as a, Ittelegraph depot and
stablesil. fn later years, probably in the agz}rsrwhen motor
transport superceded the horse, this area \¡Ias listed officially
u.44
on Comnonr¡realth record.s aS rrthe P.l4.G. Departrnentts garage
Under the Financlal Agreement Act of 1927 bet't^¡een the States and
the this site along v¡ith otnersrlüas actually
Commonr,¡ealtho
transferred. to the Comrnon',.¡ea1th in return for the Comrnonv¡ealth
assuming responsibilities for each Statets loan raising and
their public debts.45 In the case of South Australi-a, the value
of all transferyed property was one million, thirty-five thousand
six hundred. and thirty-one pounds, and although the Bill did not
specify each site to be transferred:

42. Þlunicipal Corporations Act, 5 of 1861, SectÍon l-1.

43. Obsgr"vel ¡ 9ta JulY 1881.
44. Australian Archives' A.P. 563/I.
Âq Financial Agreement Actr ]837 of l-927.
 L7L,

ttthe value of the site in questi-on

was one thousandt one hundred and
forty-six pounds. ft became the
absolute propertY of the Commonrvealth
on the lOth June, rg3g.r, 46

As a prelude to a fundamental change in the planned use of

the site by the Commonwealth; in September 1956 an application
was made for the Real Property Act Title by the Commontveal-th
Deputy Crown Solicitor. Plans were announced by the P.Ì4.G.
Department to transfer its West Terrace transport depot to
Grote Street but retain and upgrade the lttest Terrace property
as a recreation area for ¡nembers of the South Australian Postal
Institut".*'l!-7 The sensitlve issue of the Conmonwealth owning
property that might be consj-dered part of the Parklands v¡as
hotly debated.. As could be expected, the Farklands Preservation
League campaigned to have the property returned to the Parhlands:

ttthis is astoni-shing to find that

the Commonrvealth control-s and owns
portion of the Parklands. Even
more disturbing is the nev¡s that
although it plans to demolish
certain unsightlY buildiÐgsr it
proposes to enclose one site and
þerrnanently deprive thq overrvhelming
majority of citlzens of its use.tr 4B

Emotions ran high rvith the Director of Posts and Telegraphs

arguing that, t'the site v{as never part of the Parkland""'49

46. Australian Archives, S.P.2r Part 9. MS/J}{.

47, Advertlser , 5th Decernber L956.

48. Secretarl' Parklands Preservation League, Mr. G. Laycock,
Advertiser , 5th December 1956.
49. Director, Posts and Telegraphs to tþe Honorable the Premier
ãi-Sãutrr'Australia, lgth-october L956. Docket 6307/56.
 17?.

This was refuted by the Acting Director of Lands r,vho replied

that:
rfinvestigations do not support
your statement that the site rn¡as
tnever part of tire Parklandst; but
rather that it was originally part
of the land set aside for Parklands
and was one of the rexempted areast
when t the reserves of Crown Lands knor'¡n
as the Parkl-andst \t/ere placed r¡nder the
care, control and management of the
City Council,rr 50

It that the upgrading of the site including

rvas also argued
the recreation role of the Postal Institute v¡ou1d. be conpatible
v¡ith the Parkl-ands. The Federal l{ember for Adelaide , C.
Chambers, M.H.R., even went so far as to say that the five
thousand members of the Postal Institute ï¡ere:

of people and their use

tra fj-ne body
of the transport depot site for
recreation purposes r,voul-d be in
harmony with the intentions of the
city founders.rr 5I
It did not take long for the controversy to die downr because
the Post Master Ger:eralts Department held 1egal titl-e to the l-and..
The-rr confirmed this by formally obtaining a certificate of title

in Febru-ary 1957,52 Although the title remalned ln the name of

the Commonwealth.Government, the property was handed over to the
Australian Postal Institute for Recreation Activiti ut.53 The

50. Acting Dj-rector of Lands to Dlrector Posts and Telegraphs

llth Õecember L956, Docket DL 6307/56.
E1
)Lo Advertiser , 5th December a956.
É,t Certificate of Titl-e, Department of Lands CT 3\00/167.
ÃZ Official Opening of the Australian Postal Institute
Recreation- Cornplex, 8th August, 1960.
 L73,

neme has since 'been changed to the Australia Post - Tel

Institute, and now provides recreaiion activities io both
Australia Post and Telecorn emploj¡ees. The original gerage is
still used as a" gJ¡mnasium and sports a,rea. There a.re also flood-
1it tennis coui'ts on the property, club roorns, and other
recreation and sporting amenities. From tine to iirne other
organisations have u.sed the facilities so tirere is a linited
ar¡ount of connunit.¡ use.54
Both the Adelaide Ciiy Counci l- and the State Governrnent
v¡oul-d encourage the Comnonwealth Government to return al-l their
EE
in the Parkland-s
resera,'es for eventual public use.r-'' According
to the Depar"tment of Adrninistrative Services:
llprevi-ou-s lolinisiers of Adninistrative
Ser-vices had indicaied that th.is
nropert'lr 'r¡ill be handed baclc if the
Connonwea.lth has no further use for i-t.
There are no indi-cations that this is
liliel1' to haopen j-n the near future." 56

c'-l
Eni,qration Scuare// - Observatorr/ -
'il éÞ th e r. Byr e-au.
-.:: :\ d gl3 i d e_:HjS,þ- ic h g o -1.

Further along r,fest Temace bet','¡een l'.ra.ymouth and Currie Streets

in tire earl-y days of setilenient there 'r..¡a.s a group of anr:roxiraatellr
tr.¡el.,'e rough wooden buildings original-l-y brought out from England,

54. Examnles of Commr¡nit.¡ Groups r,tho have used the facilities

are - The Ad.elaide College of I'iusic, South Australian
Fencing /,ssoci aiion, Àrchery Association, Southr Australian
G)'r¡nastics :\ssoci.etion and the Ad.elaide iTigh Scl:ool.
Cit-,' of lLdelairle Flan 1977 , ;'\delaicie City Cormcil.
EL Leference i{. F1o11o,,';, Deoartneni of Adninistra.tive Services,
8th Februari¡ 1980.
The terns Ìtllnigrationrr and 'rImmJ-grationrr were used
interchangea'b'11.r,
 L74.

and erected in the form of a square known as Emigration Square.

These bulld^ings r¡ere used for arrivaLs to the
aceommodatíon by new
Colony. By the winter of 1839 the number of buildings had
increased to;

trabout thirty wooden cottages each

divided by a partition into two
houses, having consequentlY a door
at each end - a familY lives in
each of these apartments. There
are about eight or twelve Paces
between each cottage.rr 58

colonisation reached its peak in 1840r uP

li'Ihen systematic

to fortir buildings occupied. this area of the Parklands. The

conditions were Prirnitive:
tta cheerl-ess abode incaPable
of protecting his familY or goo4s 59
from the inclercency of the weather.tr

In addition to the poor standards of there vlere

accommodation,

complaints about the neglected state of the buildlngsr these

were dra.wn to the attention of the Resident Cornmissioner, James
Hurtle Fisher, and attempts trere made to clear out rrnofficial
squatters from the huts and houses. By 1853r the destitute poor'
who nor¡,, occupied these dilapid.ated. quarters l''¡ere Shifted to the
Destitute A.sylum on llorth Terrace. The buildÍngs on the l''lest
parkland.s probably disappeared as firewood: orr¡¡ere cleared away
by the Adelaide City Council r,¡ho now had care, control and
nnanagementof the Parklands. This use of the Parklands as an
Emigration Centre was fortunately only a temporary blot on the
Parklands.

58. Colin Kerr, A Exelent Coline - The Practical Idealists of

1836-1846 , ç1
O

qo South Australian, 26th June 1839.

 L( )o

0n this same site Jater, Charles Toddt

seven years
Superintendent of Fosts and Telegraphs and also the Government
Astronomer founded ihe observatory, having transferred it from his
C.^
oi\rn home in North Ad.el-aid.e.tu In l-861, four acres of the tr'Iest
Parklands between liayrnouth and. Currie Streets were excluded. from
the control of the Adelaide City Council, and created into a
Government R.eserve for an Observato"u.6f Although the area had
been off icially allocated r ho boundaries r¡/ere defined until lgg}.62
l"lost of the early r,vork carried out by Charles Todd was for
neteorol-ogical purposes. The only astronomical work carrj-ed
out 'was v¡ith a telescope borrowed from the Victorian Government.
At the time of Federation, the Commont^,'eaith Government
established a },leteorological Division which took over most of
these functions frorn the State and arrangements r,'¡ere made to
use the Astronomert s Residence in the obserwatory conpound for
Conmonwealth lieteorological staff, without interference to the
State Astronomical Section. A lease for tl'¡enty-one years at
fiftir pounds per annum rr¡as issued to the Commonv¡eal-th Governrnent
for this bu.ilding.6J Tne sharing of facilities by State and
Cornmorrv¡ealth staff apparently worked reasonably well for some

)¡êars; but prior to the end of the lease period negoti-ati-ons

.",/ere corimenced by t:he Comnonv¡ealth to resume portion of the l-and

occupied by the I'ie;eorological Section. Strong arguments for

60. Firs to bservatorl' establ-ished in I'Torth Adelaide l-B9, i then

move Á+ o tire \,lest Terrace site in 1860.

61. See Appendix i.lap T. qnd the ,

16 of 1861, Section 65, and SõFedulã-Õ.
t'lunicipal- Cor-oo¡'ations rþt.497 of 1890, Section J6B,
^) Süb-:SãCt ion 39 .

63, Itliscellaneous Lease 7571, from Ist Jul1r 1909.

 ]-76.

a permanent CommonÏ¡ealth l,{eteorological site rt¡ere made:

I'it is of the greatest scientific
importance that there is no break in
the continuity of the observations
tire meteorologi-cal observations there
are quite rmique - having been
continuously taken on the Present
observatory site for a period of over
sixty-five years r.^¡hich r.¡ill be
rendered practically northless if a
new site comparable v¡ith the present
position canñot be obtained.rt 64

The suggested area rr¡as very sna11 being less than a quarter of
an acre, on the corner of West Terrace and a proposed nevl road,
nov¡ Glover Avenu".65 Strong resistance \¡/as encountered' fro¡r
the State Governmer:t Astronomer, Mr. G.F. Dodwell, vlho wrote
to al-l States and requested information on their affiliations
lvith the Commonv¡ealth Governnnent. A suggestion Ì','aS made to the
Conmonr,vealth that land immediately west of the observatory
conpound. might be rnore suitable; but ',then the Cornnonwealth
Goverr:ment opened. negotiations v¡ith the Adelaide Crtlr Councilt
they l.rere inforned. tnat although the land in cuestion was u:rder
the care and" control of the colncil1 the¡r had no pol"er to give
either long term leases or sell- the land. Letters between the
Fremier and Prlme l4inister contj-nued for three yeers until
Cabinet approved:

ttthat the Commonwealth Gor¡ernment be

granted a section of the Observatory on
r-vhich to erect a buil-ding subject to
rninor arrangements, the detail as to
v,'hat is actually required by the
Cornmon'¿/ealth Governnent v¡ould be fi;<ed
by mutual agreement betrveen the
Gôvernment Ãstronomer and Commonrvealth
Governnent.rr 66

6ll prime Minister to Premier lSth Irlarch 1926, Docket CSO 249/l-926
4tr, See Apnenrlix i4aP U.
OO. Cabine'L anproval given 16th June 19JO.
 r77 ,

Financial stringenc'ies during the 1930ts cui the proposed three

storey meteorological building to a single storey building on
land forty foot by one hundred and tr,vent-v'foot, but it v¡as not
erected until 1938. At this time, another maior Cecision v¡as
mad.e to move the observator\/ to the universi-ty of Adelaide and

the land re-dedicated for the Adelaide Boys lligh School.

An exanple of hor,q ad hoc planning determines the use of
Gorrernment Reserwesin the Adelaide. Parklands can be seen by
tracing through the saga of how the Adelaide Boys High school
site was chosen. Far reaching decisions were made to change the
use of this existing Government Reserve frorn an observatory to
a Ì:igh school during a period of instability caused by the
approaching war. As early as 1930, it had been decided to
maintain the obseryatory as a Government department on the
l,,lest Terrace site, rather thran hand over the operations to the
Univev'si-ty of Adelaid-e:
ttCabinet approved the Observatory
remaining ã- Government departrnent
and tirat the University Coumcil
should. by arrangement with the
Governmeñt ¿strõnomer be permitted
to use the buildings, equiPment
and. staff for ed.ucation purposes.rr*'
^.7

TÌris Cabinet decision temporarily bloci<ed moves by the University

to take over astrcnomical research. Al-so at this time the
tv,,enty-one year lease by the Commonr'¡ealth for use of the
observatory buildings for meteorological purposes had ex-olredt
6B
and. Cabinet approved its renewal for only ¿ five year peraod'

67. Dj-rector of Education to the Registrar university of

Adelaide t 7th l{ay, LgzO. Docket CSO 249/l>q26.
68. Cro'¡¡n i'liscellaneous Lease 866I.
 t78.

This was an indication that tl:e State Government rvished to keep

open its future options for the Government Reserve. The next
year it seemed tha'b the Government had been persuaded to confirm
their cornmitment to the observatory by the proclamatlcn of a
reserve for observatory prr.po="".69 l"lhe:r the lease to the
Commonrvealth expired in 1935; it was renewed for a further five
yearsrTO vrith a special condition that it would terminate as
soon as the bu.ilding originally designed eight )'ears earlier was
erected for meteorological purposes by the Comnonrvealth.Tl 'lrlhile
the Commonv¡ealth and. State Governments negotiated the future of
the meteorological land" and buildings in the middle of the 193Ors;
separate aoves v¡ere made by the Director of Education, Mr. l/,I.J._

Adey and Minister of Educaiion the líonorable Shirley Jeffries' mem-

ber of the Legislative Assembly, to obtain an appropriate location
in the Parklands for an Ad.elaide High School, then situated on
tvo campuses 1n Grote Street and Cumie Street:
ttas an appropriate recognitj-on of
the excellent rvork tirat has been
done in this premier schrool of tire
Deoartment, the Government should
undertake to erect a boys high scÌ:ool
building either in portion of the tr .7)
Parklands or facing- the Farklands. / e-

Other arguments for this school 1¡rere that the project could be
a lasting State Centenary lvienorial Building, also l{el-bournen

69. Government Gazette 29th October l-93r-.

70. Cror+n l4iscellaneous Lease 9060.
7L. I4eteorological Building erected and occupied 1938.
Acquisition of Land for l"leteorological Purposes lilotified
-Commonwealth
in Gazette 161, 7th December 1939. Certificate
of tit1e issued to the Conmonv¡eal-th Government, 27th
February 1940. Vol-ume I7l+4, Folio a29.
'7) Director of Education to }linister of Education 16th JuIy,
1935. Docket ED l]-06/35.
 1"7Õ

Sydney and Brisbane had excellent central schools, and:

ttthe need for a nev¡ school is

most urgent and v¡hi1e building
costs are lov¡ it is essential ín
the interests of thousands of
present and future students to .zz
build a nev.' Ad.elaide High School ,ttt)

Perhaps the most convincing argumeni for a nevi high school was

that:
¡rthe school rvas scattered all
over the p1ace, variouslY hemmed
in by the sr¡ell of hides, the
clack of bottles, the gloom of
high walls, and the crash of a
five minute tram service.rt 74
An investigation of possible sites incl-u.ded the other
Gover:rment Reserves in the Parklands sucil as the Ol-d Exhibition
Building in Frome Road, and the lnfectious Diseases Hospital
on the corner of Botanic and. Hackney Roads.75 Strong
personalities in the Education Department were able to have
their way. Particularly the Director of Educa.tionr IJ.J. Adey
had a Itremarkable force of character'r ,76 ^nd. an equally strong
Irlinister of Ed.ucation, the Hon. S.l,{. Jeffries convinced the
Government to allocate the observatory site for a prestige
boys high school. Cabinet reversed its decision rnade nine years
earlier to retain the obsärvatory as a Government deoartment;
now the Lrniversit.v of Adel-aide were to take over the observator-\r

73. Superintendent of Seconda.ry Education to Director of

Edlcation 16th l'{arch , 1936'. Docket ED l.l]6/35.
7l+ . Colin Thiele, Grains of l"lustard Seed - a narrative outline
of State Educa a 1875-1975, Education
Departnent 1975, P,98.
75. See Chapter Three, P.J6.
76. Colin Thiele, Grains of Ivlustard Seed , P.93.
 180.

and locate it in a nei,¡ building being planned- for the Physics

Deoartment. Approval for the high school on this prime 'l'trest
Terrace site v¡as given by Cabinet fn lt939,77 Not everyone ll¡as
happy rvith this juggling of the l,{est Terrace Government Reserve.
For exarnple, a srnall group of astrononical enthusiasts 1ed b5r
the Astronomical Sociei,y l{ere sorry to see the observatory
moved. Tn addition, the Adelaide City Cor.rncil were suspicious
of the school being placed in the Parklands, and to this day
theli have a long terrn promise to return this area to the
Parklands and cornmr.:ni.ty ,uu.78 Alsor ul']-named resistance was
mentioned in Farliament;ttsone sections have since appeared to
be working to prevent the work being carried out."79
These pr.essures were countered by the parents of the
students r.,'ho became increasingly critical of the existing
school conditions:

"r,¡iador,¡s r,vould not shui oÍ' opent

ground s are so snal-l, the school
is scattered all over the Place
henmed in b-v 1¡s sme1l of hides
and the clack of bottlês. tÌ 80

In the long run, Adelaj-d-e v¡as to ha.ve its prestige high school
on i,hris site. Design r,vork for the nerv high school attracted
rnore than sixt¡r submissions and in 1940 the v¡lnning entry was
annor-rnced by the Premiet'. The I'"linister of Education stated

Approved 1n Cabinet Jlst October lg3g. Docket ED lIA6ß5,

The ÀdelaiCe City Plan, 1977 , Action Project 5, P.93,
"70 Houseof Assembly, Question A.'V. Thornpson to l"linister of
Education, 19th October, 1939.
80. Col-in Thiele' Grains of l"iustard Seed 1] 1QQ I..LUUa
 1 A't

that v¡hen corn,oleted, there would be ttno better edu-cation

a'l
building in the sou-thern hemisphere.rr-r Nol'¡ it was time
for the Government Reserve to be dedicated officially for
its ner,¡ role. First, the previous use for observatory
purposes was resurned., then a new section consisting of sligh-r"ly
over three acres without the small corner for the Conmonwealth
l.îeteorological Building was re-dedicated as a school reserve"82
As lvith many other projects, the Adelaide Boys High Schocl
vras dropped from the Government Esiirna.tes in 1.941r because of
the ¡¡¡ar time energency. Eventually a cbntract was let and
the denolition of the observatory buildings l'ras conmenced in
l946 ',^¡1th tiie last build ing cleared from the si-te in A952 as
the school construction proceeded. Althoi,rgh the high school
build.ings are situ-ated on Government Reserve landl the
adjacent school piairing fields amounting to over t''¡¡enty-six
acresrwere originally leased. from the Adel-aide Ci-r"y Council
for tr,¡ent)t-one )¡ears for an annual fee of sixt-rr pounds,
subject to revier,v at the end of each five year period.SJ An
advantage of these grounds is that thelr are not restricted by
fencing and therefore provide rveJl kept, pleasant open space
.;,'ithin the Parklands.
One of the Adelaide City Council!- policies r¡as io develon
this area along lrfest Terrace for public use. This r.¡as in part
accornpli-shed. in the i'leteorologi-cal Bureau 1'¡as
1'979 .;,'hen
dernolished. The Education Departrnent íought hard over four

a'l ibid , P.\93.

a) Government Gazette , 19th Septernber 1940 and Apoendi-;1,

93. ;\s from lst Seotember 1978, at the conclusion of the Lease
Period., the Adi:laide High School Grounds were placed on a
yearly Pernit.
 I82.

years to obtain the use of this building for school purposes.

At no tine lras the Education Departrnent acknov¡ledged that the
high school should be rnoved from the Parklands:
rrit is not considered Practical
or desirabl-e that the school be
re-located and the site given
over conpletely to commrrnit)¡ use. It 84

One of the first to obtain the use of ti:e Meteorological

moves
Bureau Buildings by the Education Departlirent for school- purposes
v¡as an unusual attempt to substantiate the obscure cla-im that
the Ad"elaide Boys Iìigh School site l'¡as not part of the
Parklands: j

ttit is believed that -,,he Adelaide

Bo¡rs i{igh School is located on
laña which is not part of the
Par"klands area, bu-t in factr âñ
arny t bamacks s j-te trr . 85

The reason girien for tÌli-s investigation lilas:

ttto assist in ratner difficuli

negotiatj-ons r¡ith the Adelaide
Ci{¡r Cotmcil regarCing the furiher
locâtion of secondarlr scirool-s in
the Adelaide CitY Councj-l aT'ea'
it is desii'able that confirmation
of tiris belief shou-!-d be obtaii:edt
and., in particular, 1t would be of
valu.e to knov¡ lvhether the Adel-aide
Bureau. of l'leteorologY is also
l-oca-ted on rarrnY batterY I land
rather than tne- ParlilanCs.rt 86

g4. Cornments on Second Report cf the Cit-r' of lidelaide Planning

Studlr. P.14. Docket ED 768h/rc4
85. Director, Researci:l and Planning -to Direc!91',-Administration
and Finaåce ¡ 5i-n August L975, Dockei trD 758/l/114.
8b. r- Dr-d..
 lBJ.

rt did' not take long for a reply that indicated, rrthere is no

record of tiris being arm]¡ tbattery' 1¿'"¿".87 Cabinet apparently
\{as faced l¡í'th three proposals for the use of this site: fj-rst,
to denolish the l'4eteorology Building and return tire area to
parklands as r','as the long standing arrangenent r,vith the Adel-aide
City Council and. the Cornmonwealth Government v¡ho or.vned thre
property; secondn to convert the building for use as 6overtrment
offices; ti:ird, to sell the buil-ding to the Ed.ucation Departrnent
tor IIITy Tnousand dollars as an extension to the ¿Aefa:-¿e
High School for use as a language centre. The last proposal
l.¡as strongly advocated by the Education Department,because a
sirnilar buiJ-d"ing lv'ould cost tv¡o hundred thousand dollarsr and
in an5' case there Ì,ras no likelihood that additional parklands
.¡¡ould be availab-Le for a school: "

rrf reconmend that you advise the

Iriinister that '.'¡e woul-d be rnost
anxious to acquire the use of the
l'4eteorolog1r Bu.reau. Bui lding as the
onl-1,r possible extension to +"he
Adelaíde lli-gh School ''vest Terrace
site, vrhich appears never likely io
be apÞroved by the AdelaiCe Citli
Corurcil-. rr 88

Other ministers aiso supported this reconrnendati-on: the l'Tinj-ster

of Lands suggested that ttthe land should revert to parklands
the buill-ding has no fu.rther economic ,rse."B9 The l'Tinister fo
,..rilen

Planning, ihe llonorable Hugh Hud.son, former Minisier of Ed.r¡cation

tvas also synpathetic and reco¡rmended:

Q.7 Land and Buildings Officer to Directcr, iìesearch and

Pianning, I2-tyt August, 1975. Docket ED 768/1/104.
aa Di-¡'ector. .Education Facili*uies to Deouty Director General
(nesourcás) 14th lvTarcir 1977. Docket-ED 76e/1/L1).
gg. l,4inister of Lands to tne Fremier , 24ih' llarch 1977.
Docket DL 3674/75.
 194.

trthat Cabinet approve the proposal

to lease the building previously
occupied by the Bureau of Meteorology
for education purposes by ent,erlng
inio an egreement r.^¡ith the Corporation
of the City of Adelaide to lease the
building at a fixed income annual rental.rt 90

0n the 12th Apri1, L977 Cabinet approved payment of fifiy

thousand dollars to the Cornrnonwealth for the Bureau of
l,leteorology Building on \'/est Terrace. ft v¡as agreed that the
site revert to parklands, Apparentllz, there r,ras some confusi-on
about '.,¡hat Cabinet did approve; because the l'{inister for
Planning sent a letter to the Tor.¡n Clerk in 'þrhich he advised:

I'that the South Australian Government

has approved the expenditure of fifty
thousand. dol-l-ars for acquisition and
u-se of the building for education
purposes over a period of seven years.
This approval is based on the prcviso
that the buj-lding r¿i1l- be demolished
and the area returned to Parklands at
the end of that period.rr 91

Also, the tlinisier of Education rvas confused about the decision

of Cabinet r¡hen he v¡rote to the þiinister of tr{ortrcs that:
ttthe Education Department obtain the
use of the observator¡r building for
a period of seven years on the
u:rde:'standíng that the property l'¡i1l
revert to parklands at the exrpiration
of the lease.rr 92

c'tat l'iinister for Planning to the Premi-er, Docket ED 768/L/IIO.

o1
)La l4inister for Planning to Tor¡rn C-],erir, Adelaide City Council,
z3th April 1977. Docket ED 768/L/LLQ,
ot I'linister of Education to l,iinister for i'trorks, lt'ay l-977 .
Docket ED 763 /I/l'Io.
 186.

of Works r.¡rote across thre rni-nute thairrthe

The I'linister
Cablnet decision of 9th },lay to stand".96 A chequ.e for fifty
thousand dollars r+as lodged rn¡ith the Commonrvealth Government
in December L977, but it not until January 1979 that the
v¡as
area v¡as dedicated as Parklands and the observatory building
oa
demolishêd.''

The Adelaide Gaol ancL Por'¡der lÏagazine

Prisoners in the ner"¡ Colony l,fere first kept aboard the

ttBuffalotf - the unpretentious flag ship of Governor Hindo*"sh.98
A stocicade for eight prisoners r,'¡as soon buil-t near the present
site of the Adelai,Ce Gaol- in the l{est Parklands in ]-1fl36.99
gaol acconmodation and security uere Soon a problem to be
faced bi' tne second Govei'nor of the Colcny, Colonel George Gar,¡ler:

'trespectable persons confined for

debt are cror,,¡d€d in a smal'l space
with felcns of the ',','orst descri-ption,
and- all are icepi in, not by r,ralls, but
by a mul-tiplica,tion of sentriest
creating a very exPensíve gaol
establishment. Five pr'! soners escaped
frorn the gaol d.uring the past year, of
r.rhorn, hor,.,'ever, four v¡ere retairen at
a coñsiderable e>:pense of hours of
time e.nd labour.fr 100

Complaints about the situation \'iere voice'd by various sections

of the connuni*'y:

oÁ, ]9th Augu.st 1977. ED 76Bh/Lo4.

o"7 Governmeni Gazette 25th January 1979.
List of FrÍsoners Confined on the rrBu,ffa^}o" 15th Januarir
to Jlst }t'ay Le37, S.À. Arcirives, A 54?- P8.
99. I(enneth R. Pointcn, Iiistcrica.l liotes, lJovernber 1977,
Department of Corr"ectional Services.
100. Governrnent Gazette , S}t.in Anril 1840, Journal of Proceedings
o oLìncl- , rea d by the Governor,
 Lg7.

'rafter representation of ttre strongest

kind krad been made upon the subject
by the grand iury r v¡hiclt r,'¡as fon¡¡arded
to me by the ,,iudge, r,'rith an equallY
strong expression of hli s honest
opinion, the reports of the sherlfft
and the ۍovernor of the gao1, and,
the complaints of the Prisoners
rr
thenselves. 101

The Governor tooic up the challenge and added a new gaol to

his criticised expensj-ve pu.blic wo¡'ks building programme.
much
As r.¡ith oiher public buildings of the period, tire site for the
net,' gaol ,¡^¡as discussed. in vague terms, ',uith the Government
o.,,iriêd Parklands bei-ng an i"nevitabl-e sj-te:

ttHis E:.:cellency elipressed his

opinion that the most desirable
site for the ner* gaol rvould be on
tire southern bank of Thebarton,
bu.t His Excellency vrould pl'opose
to leave -t his point as r'¡ell- as
tÌ:e consid-eration of the se-¡eral
tenders for carr'f ing out the rtork
into execution.Ìr AO2

A conmitiee tras established by the Government to consider

the plans and, estima.tes for the nelu gaol. It consisted of the
Survei;or-Genera.-l-, Assistant Commissioner and Colonial Secretary;
but becau.se tl:ie Colonial Secretary, Robert Gougerr was too iIl
to attend ihe rneeting, the Sheriff Ì¡as appointed as a mennber in
irj-s place,record can be for.urd of this comrnittee having
lVo

ever rnetror it reporting back to the Go'¡erncr; but tire site

for the new gaol seems to ha.ve been selected in July 1840.104

t-ol_. Governqe!!-tesstle, 22rtd April 1841. Annual Finance

ffi to Council.
Governor
toz, Governrnent Gazette , ît:n July 1840,
10J. Government Gazette t 5tln June 1840.
l_04. R..l'{. I{ague, F{ cf ofL in South A st 1ia , Thesis,
S. A . /rrchiv ôc
!-,t er
 188,

l4aybe the Act to legalise the ner.r'gaol, passed on the 17th

December 1840 contained details of the siterlo5 but this Act
along l¡ith other record.s l',rÈre burnt in the flre of 1841 r';hich
destrcyed a.ll-l- records stored in the old Government l{ouse,
rrnot a síngle copy is knor^,n to exist. ttl06
Controversj¡ surrounded the construction of the gao1,
there rîâ.s a d.ispute witli tlie contracto"*l07 over price. In
addltion the architect, G.S. Kingston (former assistant
Surve)ror-GeneraL to Light) 't'Ías accused of poor
Col-onel
su¡ervi sion rel-ated to the gaol construction. Probably the
same menbers of the public r,,'ho cornplained about the poor
conditíons in the gaol, now criticised both ih.e size and the
arnorm-t of rno:ie-.,, spent on the gaol in a titne of financial
st,ringency; I,1r. F. Dutton vrritin¡ rn l-845 reflected this
element of public opinion:

rtthe gaol is an eyesore to_ the colony;

nê1,r'coÌììêFS on seei-ng it, ask, quite
agtiastr t',uhat do you rvant with such
a large gaolL in a free colonY? I - a
building upon whichi ti:irtY-four
thousano pounds i-ras been thiro'r,'n awayt
ornamented with a parcel of lumpery
and useiess tol'¡ers, each r*l:ich cosi
thousands, a building coniaíning
acconunodation for a hundred and fortv
imaginarlr prisoners - a gaol so larget
and still only half finished as
necessari' to entail heavy yearly
exÐense on this colony to guard only
half a dozen poor devi Is rvho are
occasionally loc}<ed up in it.rr 108

105. Adelaide Gaol Act 4 Victoria 7 of 1840.

overnmen ze e rnber 1840, indicated the
Act r'¡as re ad for a sec ond tine and passed.
106. R. I{istorV of l-a...¡ in .South Australia Ð rÀÁ6
I'i. Hague , L a t t vJ a

lo7 . l'lessrs. Baryort and Goodier.

108. Advertiser , l-2tln December 1906.
 189.

Governor Gawler was we-'ì,l awareof the criticism and strongl-y

defended l:is decision to build. a ne1{ ge,o1 of such proporti-ons:

trthere were t¡¡¡o courses open to

choose - portions of a large nod-el
l,¡nich r¡¡ould not thereafter be
discreditable - orr they mighi have
been constructed on a snall conplete
model on designs appropri-ate for a
young conmunity and of materials
l,¡hich night endure in good order for
a few years onl-y. f cnose the first
node on r,¡ell- consi-dered grounds it
r'¡ould have been fo11y to have built
a gaol ioo sroall. It lvil-l- contain a
hunCred prisoners, and the average
number in confiilement, inciudíng
debtorsr âs being about fifty.t' 109

IIo rnention v/as made of the gaol site as a. Government

the Adelaide City Council was reconstituted 1n
P.esei-ve .,,,¡hen
1349.110 It was not u¡ti-l 1863 thai an Anendment Äct corrected
this situa.tion by renovi-ng the gaol site frcn the care, control
ar:d managenent of ihe ACe1aide City Council. ït tras no'u'¡
ofíicially identified as a Gor¡ernment Reserve.lll-
Acp'r'oxi-nate1¡' trvent3r acres r¡.¡êrê set aside as a gao]-
reserve in 185f : but extensi',¡e use of the Parklands outside
tne ',^rali.ls has l:een marie to provide rtork for the orisoners in
the cultivation of ol1ve trees for the produ-ction of olive oi1,
and i:ay *r.kirg.llz As early as 1877, Sir George Kingston nov,r

109. Governmeni Gazette , 22nd April- 1841-, Annua1 Finance

l'linute read by the Governor i-n Counci-l-.
:ì_10. i.'Iuníci¡a1 Co orations Àct , 11 of i849, Schedule J.
111. I\iunici-pel Corao:'ations Àmenclment tct, i or 186J.
Section 11 and Sc:edule 2. See also À;oendix ].iao V.
112. Reqister , B-uh licvember, 7-878.
 1go.

Speaker of the House of Assembly and former architect of the

gaol maintained that j-t v¡as an |tunauiÌìorised encroachmentft and
that, trthe sheriff r¡/as year by year enclosing her.u portlons of
the Parkland.sft .!a3
city gret'¡, pressure mounted to move the por"rder
As the
magazine located in the most populous areas of the ltTorth Terrace
section of the Government Reserve to safer area.114 Part of
the gaol. reserve vias set aside ltto provide for a slte for the
Adelald,e gunpowder magazi¡st'.115 l'ia.ybe it was considered. that
¡risoners were nore expendable if an explosion occumed. ÏJlten
the Cornmonwealth assumed responsibilities for defence at the
tlme of Federation, a twent]t-four perch portion of the gr.mporr,'der
magazine was transferred to ihe Comnonwealth.116 over the lrss¡g
small portions of the original gunporrder magazine reseï've ha.ve
been iahen over by ihe Commonr,vealth mainly for posts and
telegraph stores and naintenance purposes. In 1950 approxi-rnately
one acre kno\,'r-u as the north rnagazine was leased to the
Coniaonr,.¡ealth and used for the construction of automatic telephone
].1-7
buildings.*'' Additional land adjaceni to the north povrder
naga.zine v¡as reqlr.j-red. by the Connonrveal-th r¡¡ith a secure tenure
so tirat posts and ;el-egraph rvorlcers amenities could be erected.
This extra land was dedicated. to tÌ:e Comrnon'r,vealth ín ]l954.118

'r.l7
LL) t F-ouse of Assem"oly, J-3tln November 1877.
114. See Chapter Four, P.
115. The Adelaide Gunpor¡der i,lagazine Act, 247 of 1882.
ll6. Cornrnon..^¡ea1th Gaz ette , 8, 1904, See Aonendl:r, I"'iap V.

LT7, Crorvn l'.liscellaneous Licence , liumber 73L9. See Apnendix,

I'iap V. !ln1a rgernelt Inset.
118. Gor¡ernment Gazette , 17th June , 1954, See Anpendix I'iap t¡.
 191.

A certlficate of title ',vas requested by the Comr,ronrvealth for

their original southern magazine in 1956. This raised the
legal requirement for an access road, although over the years
by custom access had been a-¡ail-able to the Comrnonr'tealth,
"ho1¿ever for all- practical purposes the road is there and nay
perhaps by use have become ded.icated as a road¡r.119 After a
year of 1ega1 and bureaucratic argument, the right of vray
acquired by the Commonwealth v¡as gazetted in 1959.l,2O
It is the intention of the Adelaide City Council to have
the Adelaide Gaol F-eserve ancl no doubt the Gunpovrder MagazÍ-ne
Reserve includ1ng the Cornrnonwealth owned section returned to
public use, ttto convert the historic Adelaide Gaol buildings
for cultural and recreational usesrr ,l,zf' Certainly efforts
should. be made to preserve the gaol build.ings because of their
links l.¡ith the early history of the State; but the task to make
this gri-nn area. of the Parltlands attractir¡e for public use will
be a challenge to the planners.

Thebarton Police Barracks

police and rnilitary barracks v/ere erected

Ternporary wooden
on the idorth Terrace Government Reserve as soon as Colonel Light
had conpleted his survei¡ of Adelaide, Governor Gar,vler then
built the flrst substantial stone oolice barractrrs on the same

119. Regi strar, Land Titles Office to Director of Lands,

lgth I"iarch 1958.
l-2O. Conmonwealth Lands Accuisltion Act of 1 7,
orjirìonl{ea e anuat'1.¡,

L21. Cit.,r of Adelaicie Plan 1977 , Action Project 12.

 r92.

site during his extensive public works programne in 1819- 40.A22

Ilu v,'âs noi r.rntil lgl_J that provision was made for the
poJ-ice barraci<s to occLlp]¡ their present site on the Port Road.
A five acre section of the West Parklands was transferred. from
the Adelaide Cit,v Cor.mcil and vested in the I'linister of Pub1ic
tr'iorks io allor"¡ the Commissioner of Police to:

fterect such buildings, and r¡ake sucir

otirer irnprovements as h.e deems
suitabl-e for the purposes of barracþ,s
for the accomrnodation of menbers of
the Police Force, and may make such
oiher use thereof of the purposes of l.23
the Police Force as he deems proÞer.rl

This land rvas pai't of a package that included anoiher tlventy-

five acres of parklands v¡hich 1i/ere also transfemed to the South
Australian Raj-l-v¡u1r",124 Four years later an extra tr.¡o acres
1.,,,as added to the police barracks in a cornplicated exch.enge of

';arklands that placeC tì:e parklands surrounding the parade

gr"ound. und-er t}:e care, control and. management of the Adelaicle

Citv Council.'l,25
It rvas an advantageous land sl,,¡ap by the Adelaid"e City
Cormcil on two counts: more ecreage was obtained, because the
land surrrounding the paraCe grounC. 'i,'as larger than the t'ç^¡o
acres requ.ired blr the i¡olice barracks. fn addition, there vras
a strategic adr¡antage in that the more central- area ad;acent to
I(ing l,'¡il-liam Street near the River Torrens would. attract more

I22. See Chapter Fou.r P."9 for further discitssion on the lTorth
Terrace Police Barracks.
I23. The Adelaide Farklands Alteration .ict 1l-40 of ]-9l-3,
e rv rv

l-24. See P.195.

125, Ine Itaefaide parXfan¿l4f þefation Act, l.275 of 1917.
See Appendi->1, l"Íap L. and i,iáp1'1.
 193.

public use, this in an indirect lvav would place rnore pressure

on the Common'¡¡ealth Government to -uhinl< in terns of eventuallir
handing over tire parade ground to the State Government for
transfer to the Adelaicle City Couurcil- as part of the Parklands.
Little public interest was raised, even the ever v¡atchful
Parklands Preservation Society clid not offer any opposition
to this land exchange:
rrhaving considered the proposa.l of the
Governnent to erect Pol-ice Barracks on
a. portion of the Parklands, vízi that
part knov.ri as ihe gaol olive plantations,
r*hich have been for fifty yea.rs under the
control of the prison authorities and
used exclusively for 1ts o'l'rì pu-rposes,
and being i-nformed that it is the
intention of the Government on acquiring
the present Parade Grounds north of
Goveranent ,House, to devote the same
to the public garden for the use of
the people, ihe cornmittee fs of the
opinion that it is not desirable to
offer any opposition to -uhe proposal in
view of tire valuabl-e public propertl¡
to be acquired in lieu of the suggested
occupaiion of the olive plantation blr
+"he Goverrrment.rr l.26

hdjacent to the Folice barracks, horses are depastured on

leased land that rvas once the olive plantation. An area is
fenced off and kept entirely as a training area for pollce
horses; but the ma jor porti-on of the land is norv used during
r.¡eekends as a public car park r.,'hen Bonytìron Park facilities
are ireavily utilized.
It is the long tern policy of the Adelaice City Cowrcil i./as

to have tire police barracl',s returned, "iït planned stages for

public recreation use ,u127

l,26. Parklands Preservation League Letter, quoted by the Chief

Secreta::y, Legislative Council, Second Reading Debates
Iztn Decenber, I9I3.
L27 . The Citr¡ of Adel-aicLe Flan 1977, Section 42, P.19.
 194.

Railwar¡ Encroachments on the 1{est Parklands

The sprawling tangle of rallrvay lines inevitably extended

from the Adelaide Station, built on the Govern¡:ent Reserve
l-and over l'{orphett Streetrand on to the i,{est Par.klands. True,
the first railway to Port Adelaicle rvould not har¡e had rnuch
effect on the Parklands in 1856; but sj-nce thenr âs r.vittl all
cities, the railwayå have usurped large sections of land. in
tire name of progress:
rrthe situation and arrangement
of the railr'ra¡rs of Adelaide do
not suggest that anything unusual
was done in Adelaide to pre''rent
the railvrays marching into the
in the fashion of railrcys
tor..rn
of that oeriod. tr 128
Certainly, compensation of six hundred porrnds v¡as paid to tire
Council by the Board of {Jnd"ertakers responsible for the
construction of the line .I29 No doubt the Council also benefited
because the rai1Ì,'ay was adjacent.to the Council operaied cattle
and sheep market and continued'past tire slaughter house in the
liIest Parkl-a.nd.".1J0 l.Text year, the northern line to Gawler rras
opened, and the North Adelalcie station âs h,ê11 the raih.iay line
alienated nore of the Parlcfe*nds.131 In l-9C4, anotÌ:er triangular
piece adjacent to the l{orth Adelaide statj-on }Iâs vêsted 1n the
South Austra.lian Railr¡a'¡s Commission ',.'hen four sections of

128. Thomas Adams, The Plan and the Planner of Adela i.c1e.
The Builcler J ourna ,
120 Annual Financial Report Adelaide City Council 1354.
r3a. See Appendix, l'1ap X.
L3l-. The .Adelaide and Gav¡l-er Tor,,,n Rail--l^¡ar¡ Act - 18 of 1854.
 106

raih¡ay land. mainllr along the River Tcrrens was placed under
the care, control and management of the Adelaíde CitSr Council;
in exchange for land forrnerly used by the Government Survey
1Z)
Departrne:rrt .t)'
This pi-ecemeal railway alienation of the Parkl-ands !¡est
of l,lorphett Street r^¡as consolidated in an arnend.rnent to the
Iîunicipal Corporations Act of 1861:
ftpieces of land. in the schedule to
thÍs Act sha.ll no longer be under
the care, control and rnana.gernent
of the Corporation of Adelaide and
may be appropriated by the Government
foi the erection of public buildings
for any o-uher purposes.rr :--33

A schedule to the .{ct described ti:e total area for railr"¡eys

use nortir of l'lorth Terrace anC v¡est of }iorl:hett Street. The
second- line to the Port in 1878 required nore land, r^¡:rich was
17'L
duli,, pi'olrided, bi' Ac*, of Parliament ."* Also during 1878t the
ê^delaide -uo I'laj-rne l-ine ,¡¡as ccnstructed, skj-rting tire outer
boundary of tne ì,'lest Parklands behind tire tr"'lest Terrace Cenetery'
Again, the i,Iest parkl-ands suffer"d-.I35 The Lord- Mayor of
Adelaide, Smlth, vrho probably did more than any other
Ed'..rin
Loi.d. i4ayor to protect a.nd develop the Parklands comnented on
this railway al-ienation:

I32. See Chapter Fiver P.150.

See APPendix, l4aP X.
lez An Act to Amend the l'{unicipal Co orations A 5 of 186J,
ec on
r34, An Act to Au*"ho:'ise tire Coinmissi-on er of Rail'.,¡a c s to Take
OSSESS ono o ono e Õ, e r o

12Ê.
L)) o Adelaide to iilairne Rail¡r¡a Act 'LI'/ of l-878.
ee x,
L.,, l-iD
 Lg6.

trthe first section of the line

1n passlng through the olive
plantations, has very much reduced
thle value of this ProPertY. ltlo
less than 364 olive trees of
eighteen yeers gror'rth have had to
be removed - the area of Parklands
occupied bl' the railvralrs equals
trventy-f'¡¡g acres.rr J36

Another significant area of the Pari<lands was rendered

usel-ess v¡hen +,he loop line between the Port and Nairne line
was constructed in 1908. This cut off a large portlon of the
Gaol Reserwe .l-37 An area of approxirnately four acres was
tai<en away frorn the Gaol Iìeserve fronting the River Torrens
v¡hich v;as separated from the gaol by the Adelaide CitSr ¿¡1¿

Port Railway. The section of the east side of the lreir v¡as
placed under the caï'e, control and management of the Adelaide
City Council .138
It was only a matter of tine before the v¡Ì:ole of this area
iras placed under the control of th.e Railway Comnissj-onert
because the railr"iay encroachment on the Parkl-and"s r,vest of
Morpirett Street had" left this area a tangle of railway lines.
This opportu.niiy stoue r,vhen the cattle and sheep markets, along
r..¡iii: the slaugl:ter house moved out of the Parklands to Gepps
Cross in 1911, Tr,.¡enty-five acres r,vas vesied in the Railway
Commissioner in lglJr at the same tine as the Thebarton Police
Barracics t¡ere allotted five acres of Parlclands on the opposite
side of the jrdelaide to i'Tairne Railway.I3g A total of thirty

l36 "
l4ayors F.ePort , Ad.elai-de CitSr Council L878-79.
l-37 . The Adelaide Loo line Railwa s Act ,966 of I-QOS.
.TìYì
ee Y Y"ê d.p

-ì 2Õ
L)() c The Adela irle Gaol- Reserve Alteration Act ,IO39 of 1911.
See App I4ap \/.
I39. The Ad el-aid,e ParkL ands Alteration Act ,11-40 of 1913.
See ApDe ndix l,1ap \'/.
 1ô'7

acres of Parklands were lost to public use in one year.

Finally, a small one chain r.¡ide seetion of Parklands on ;he
opposite side of Port Road. following the iiTairne lj.ne was
vested in the South Austraiian Railrtays Commissioner.s at
the san:ìe time as the alignrnent of hlorth Terrace r,vas autirori-sed
in 1926.140
hIo doubt ihe Rail'órays, in the nane of progress have been
a major force in the alienation of both the Government Reserves
rvitkiin the Parklands and the l,,lest Parkland-s areas under the
care, control and management of the Adelaide Cit-rr Cou,ici1,
The extent to which these railvralrs areas can be creatively
developed for public use has been cenvassed over the years:

"tire existing Adelaide Railr.vay

Yards have blighted the Parkl-ands
and the tov¡n acfes of the Uest End
precinct, and severed the city
fror¡l tìre Torens. The desired
fu-ture character of the l'lest End
precinct envisages the renoval of
rai},.,ay yards and the creatio¡:. of
a.n active leisure area lntegrating
a fair ground and a forest park.rl 141

Engineering anc1 Vater Su-ppl¡¡. R.eservoirs and

Deoots in the Parklands i

i{ater carts ryere licensed by the Adelaide City Council

to pro',ride the citizens r,vith l,¡ater, until reticufation v¡as
grad-ually introduced by the State Government on the cornpletion
of the Thorndon Park R.eseri¡oir in 1E60. By 1872 th.e Hope \¡a11e1'
R.eservoir came on stream to assist in the provision of r,vater

140, l'lorth Terrace ancl F.aih{âl/s Larid Actr]-742 of L926.

See içþéndix i'"lap \'i.
141. The Cit-¡ of .A-delaide Plan , 1977, Action Project 11, P.99.
 10a

to tkre metropolitan area. A holding reservoir was required

in the north of tire city and the obvious place vias in the
Parhl-ands. A \'trater.¡¡orks Act r'¡as passed in 1B7B to authorise
the Cornmissioner of l¡,'ater\'¡orks to take possession of a. portion
of ihe Farklands on the corner of Barton Terrace and OtConnell
Streetrd.escribed in a sched.ule attached. to the Act.142 This
reservoir is still an integral part of the l,¡ater supply systen:
and ihere is no possibility in the foreseeable fu-ture that
this Government ReserVe '¡¡ou1d revert to Parklands. In order
to supply r,¡ater for the G1enelg arear â0 Act lvâs passed. in 18BO
to provid.e another hold.ing reservoj-r; in the South
Parklands nea.r Beaunont Road .I43 This reservoir is not in use
at presen-u but:
trthe Department ','¡ould v¡ish to
retain sane for possible future
use. " l44

vas a major vror'hs pro;ect that eventualf)t commenced.

Ser";erage
in the 188Ofs, Inevitably, lanC Þ'as required to store the large
quantities of pipes and other necessary equipment. A Bil-l r^¡as
placed þefore Parliament in 1.879 to, trauthorise the CommissÍoner
of Public Horks to of and use tv;o portions of
tal<e possession
the Par'l<1and.srt .al+5 The fifteen acre section of the l'Iest

l.42. iíater' ]'forks Act 99 of 1878. Section 1.

e X ap Y.
]-43. Glenel-fi_[atenvorks åct. 173 of 1880. See Appendix tlap Y.
l-44. Minute V.B. El1is, Adelal-de City CouncÍl 3}th August
l.972 quotlng l'1r. Gebhardt, Superintendent' of I'/ater
Distribution.
l-L+5. /idelai<ie Sewers and r¡Iaterr,'¡orlis Act I13 of 1879.
 1gg.

Parklands lras essentially a store yard to be on a lease for

twenty-one years, then t,o revert to the City of Adelaide. There
lvere objections from the Adelaide City Council- l¡ho opposed the
extent of l-and requrired in the llfest Parklands. Fifteen acres
seemed a large amount of land on r,t}:ich to store pipes over a
period of tv¡enty-one years. Also there Ì¡ere fears that the
railr,rays v¡ould eventually absorb this 1utd.146 At the sane
time, the ttvaLve houset' situ?ted in the Farlclands on Dequetteville
Terrace since 1857 v¡as officially identified. as a Government
R"eserve, and four acres 1.¡as set aside in this Act. There were

objections raised by property ov,:iers nearby:

ttv¡ho had expected r,'¡hen they
built their houses to have a
vier"¡ of tne Parklands,r' L47

iiost of the rnembers of Parlianent probably agreed lvith tl-r,e

iionorable J.C. Bray when the issue of Farkland.s alienation by ihe
Governrnent for essential- servicês r¡râs raised, he clained that:

rrhe would do iris best to preserve

the Parklands for recreation and
healtir of the cj-tizens, he r'¡ould
not oppose any such appropriation
as this so long as the cj--uizens
got some indirect benefit.tt l-48

The section of tl:e Act rel-ated to the Dequettevill-e Terrace

Depot set dor..rn a tenure of nine hrrndi'ed and ninety-nine years

]-46. Fíon. G.C. Ila.¡ker, Conmissioner of Fublic líorks,

Parllarnentarv Debates House of Assembly' lst Jul"Y T879.
1-47. I{on. R. Hal/, I{.L.C. Par'1i arnent Debates , Legislative
Council, 22nd julY
148. Hon. J. C . Bra¡l , Parliamentar.,' Debate s I{ouse of Assenbfy,
lst July 1879.
 2C0.

which v¡as virtually in perpetuity; but this 'l.rras changed.

during the debates to a term of sixtlr years. 1o',/hen the twenty-
one year lease of the 1,,Iest Parklands se\'/ers yard. r.ras d.ra'"ving
to a close, a Bill r.+as read for the first time in the ilouse
of Assembiy to amend. the original Adelaide Ser.¡ers Act of 1879.
The object of this amendment \^".as to extend. the possession of
tiris area for another tv¡enty-nine years by changing the tvrenty-
one year terni in the original Act to fiftir years, on finding
out that the Bill was before the House of Assembly; the
Adelaid.e city council immediatel;r opposed it. A deputation
v¡alted on tl:e Conmissioner of Public },ior}<q and a peti.tion to
both Houses of Parliarnent. In add-iti-on, a letter r^¡as also sent
to ever]¡ l'{ember of Parl-iament protesting against the extension
of the l-ease. The Bill r,¡as withd.rar"m - noi because of pressu-re
from the Adel-aide city council; but becau.se in the opi-nion of
tiee Cro'l¡n solícitor, the t.lunicipal corpcratlons Act of lgEO irad
defined -bhe sewers Yard 1n the uest parklands as part of the
Governmeni Reserves, therefore it r¡as not necessar:f to proceed
v¡ith the Bill to extend the rease .r49 This lg8o Act also
provided continuity of tenure for the tl.¡o reservoii's and the
Dequetteville Terrace Depot, The seuers yard rer¡ains firmly ¿s
one of the many Government Reserves in the parkrand.s; although
the AdelaiCe City Councíl have plans for the return of this area
to Parklands tf for pu.blic recreation usetf .l5O

149, Annual Reoort Adelaide Ci Council- I , see

c er'L o eÌl o e rc V ,) , elaide City
Council.
f50. City of Adel-aide Plan 1977, Policy 42, P.19.
 201.

TJhen Thornclon Parh Reservoir \,ras no longer requì.red for

',tater supply purposesr âñ a.nnouncenent r¡¡as made b)r the Premier
ín 1975,151 ti:at the Engineering and i,Iater Supply Depot and.
\'trorkshons located on the Dequetteville Terrace wj-ll be phased
out over six yearu.I52 This l+as confj-rrned in a letter frorn
the Acting I'{inister of ldorks to the Lord I'iayor¡
I'f advise the Departnentrs
operations at Kent Tor,¡n depot
v¡ill- be gradually phased out
and it is eqoected that all
operations a"t that depot lvil1
have ceased by 1p8O.rt l..53

Since that time, a nurnber of feasibility studies have been

made to develop a concept plan that lvill open up the area for
public use, and retain its historic links v¡ith the growth of
Adelaidets regional r¡¡ater reticulation system. It was decideC
earl¡r in the negoti-ations that the original valve house should
be }:anded over to the ÞTational Trust, along v¡ith the bl-uestone
house, to be redecorated and refurnished in the oniginal- style
of the Victo::ian era, including a Victorian Garden. ft has
been reconrûended that the other buildings on the site be
rnodified for a horse-drar'-'n vehicles museu-m, horse stall-s and a
nuseum depicting the historical- developrcent of the Engineering
and i,later Supply Departrnent, or the buildings demolished.
The high brick rval-l surrounding nuch of the site should be
retained:

151. The FIon, D. Dunstan.

.] tr.)
L)é- o April 1974.
l.Iews, Jrd
r53. Acting I'iinister of r.'iorlis, The llon. I{. I{udson to the Lord
Ma1's¡ of AdelaiCe, Adelaide City Council File l+5/A/72.
 202,

rrupon entering there will be

a sense of rarrlvalt, a private
space, quletness at a human sca1e,
r,¡hereas outside v¡ill be noise and
speed of impersonal commr.nicatj-ons
r'¡hich cones and goes, but is not
of any place.rt A54

Both the City Cor.mcil and State Government together with

the National Trust have co-operated to plan the developrnent
of the Kent lown Depot as an llj.storie Park open to the public.
The success or otherwlse of this venture could deterrnine the
fuiure use of other Government Reserves that'tuy b"
returned to the Parklands for public use.

154. Ad.el-aide City councll File 45/A/72.

 203.

PAR.T T].iO

/rllELtt,IDE CITY COU1'{CIL - TRLTSTtrE of the PARKIÀ}'TDS

Fart One dealt v¡ith hov¡ the Parklands 1'Iêrê accuired

ttfor the use and recreation of the citi-zens'tl by Governor
Ga'+r1er, and their subsequent alienation thrrough the almost
continuous encroachment of the Governnent Reserves.
Part Tr'¡o nor¡¡ assesses the role of tire Adelaide City
Council as trustee of the Parklands.
Chapter Seven will trace the changing managerial role
by the Adel-aide Citl' Council of the Pa:'klands, using their
annual financial- statements as one source for determining
major shifts in management and r:olicies, that either ccntributed
to the aliena.tion of the ParltlandsI oI developed v-'ider putrlic
use.
Chaoter Eight d-escribes horr¡ najor sports organisations
acauired. exclusíve use of public parklands, because the-V have
aliva.ys been signiíicant and privilegeci users of the Parkl-ands.
In the final chapter, recreation uses of the Pariclands
are identified and linked to the intrlnsic values of tire
Pa:-kland.s and" the need to preserve the Pa.rklancìs froin further
a1i-enati-on.

1. iLdvertiser Izth- l,ilovemi:er LB77, l,rticle blr Sir George

Krn gston, IO rmer lissistant Survel'6¡ to Colonel i{illiant
Light, SLtrve -vor-General, in 18J6.
 204.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The Adelaide Citr¡ Council

as ManaFers ,,of the Pa,{b}ands

It would be difficult to imagine the Parklands sumounding

Adelaicle managed. by any administration other than the Adelaide
City Council; but this wasthe situation v¡hen the first Adelaide
Municipal Council was established with the boundaries of the
city being the inner llrnits of the Parklands. As Adelaide was
the largest settlernent and the State capital, it became the
Austral-ian guinea píg for the introcì.uction of the principle of
self-government through an elected municipal council,;

Itthe expediency of giving to the several

torvns established and about to be
establi.shed in the said province as they
respectively acquire a population of two
thousand inhabitants Elective l.iunicipal
Instituti-ons on the principles therein
detailed is recommended to the favourable
consideration of l{is Lordship,rr 1

Conflict between Governor Grey and the new Council led to a

breakdo,¡m in the functioning of the Council. ItThe members
(of the Council) were alnost at with the Governor."2
open r,var
Although the Parklands were not administered by the Council,
it indirectly suffered. A specific dispute over the control
of the ner,r¡ sl-aughterhouse erected in the Parklands further
placed the Council- under pressure, as Governor Grey tried to
rescind the previous commitrnent made by Governor Gawler, to

I Municipal Coroorations Act' 4 of 1B4O n Freamble.

2 Thomas, i-'torsnop, Historl' of the Cit'¡ of Adelaide D ÃÉ,
 205,

transfer the slaughterirouse to the Cor-mc1l, This upset the

Councj.l, becau.se a consiclerabl-e sum of money was spent by -rhem
to have the builditrgs upgraded so that the inccne frorr
slar,rghterhouse fees could a.ssist the Cou.ncil finances.
Eventualllr Governor Grey reluctantly conceded" that the
Council v¡ould rernain rftenanis at r,¡i}l - without rent".J
Unfortuna-r,ely tne erperiment in municipal governnent r'¡as
oreinature and to some extent this affected the Parl<lanCs:

rrafter the collapse of the first

City Council in i843, t}:e Parklands
deteriorated tradly. They \.¡ere
stri"i:ped of trees, heaoed lvith
rubbish and offal, and vrere
scarued by clay and lirne pits a.nd
squatters rr
t shacks. 4

City Commissioners r.¡ere appointed by the new governor,

Sir FIei:ry You:rg in 1B¿r8, and tirey also assuned conirol of the
City of AdeiaicLe until ihe Council r,"'as reconstitr:ted in L852.5
.{ rnonth earlier, t}ie Legislative Council passed an Act to
r
constitute the new l'Tunicipal Corporaiion of Adelaiae;5 but

3. ibid, P"54. See Anpendix Map t¡, for Location of

Slaughterhouse.
4 Derelç llhitelock, ;\delaide l-836-L97'o , P,195,
iiio'ue: The Act t o reþéal- ffe -IiuñfClpal- Cor¡oration of the
Cit¡r of I'delaj-de was not ena.cted until Septenber 1846. fn
fact ihe last' Co uncil meeti-ng r,ras held 19th Januar.r' le41.
Ân Ordinance Further to AnencL and Continue the Ordinance
u r ù SSESS!flEN e o -t
e (-^ e o rov or e mÐrovemen o
until- i:iuniCipal Institutions shall be Establisned ,L3of1 B4g.
Cít¡r Cornmj-ssioners ai:poi-nted '¡;ere, Car:tain A.!I. Freeling (R.E. )
I'lessrs. S, Davenport, F.S. Dutton, ',ir. Blyth and R..F. I'iev¡land.
Gcvernment Gazette, 4ih October ]849. First tleeting of
the City Cornmission ireld on the 26th Sentember, 1849.
l,.ct to Constitute a i'iunici al- Cornoration for the Citr¡
o e <lr et o ASSE ugus
 206.

three years pa.ssedbefore the legislation v¡as proclaira ed..7

During this interim period thre ParkLand.s l'rere also adninistered
by the City Conmissioners. Apart from expenditures on river
crossi-ngs and" the slaughterhouse situated in the Farklandst
the City Conmissíoners did not develop the Parklands to anir

marked extent.
undoubte<ily the 1849 t'{unicipal corporation Act t'¡hich
reconstitutecl ,Adelaide, lr'a.S a landmark in local government
legislation the forenmner of many subsequent I'{uuricipal
a.nd

Corporation Acts that created other autonomous adninistrations

Ín io.¡¡ns and cities throughout South Ausi:ralia. Its significance
to tlie future development of the Ad.elaid"e Parklands l'/as contained-
in Section 79, r.rhich placed the Parklands rrnder the care, control
and nanagernent of the Adelaide city counc1l, vri-th the exception
of six Governnent Reserr¡es d,etailed in Schedu-le J attacneC to
the Aci.8 Alsc ti:is section of the Act vested. all pu.blic roads
and tiroroughfares through the Park.land.s in the Crovrn, therefore
aS new roads \fere developed illei'e lvas a" gradual reduction in
the acreage of Pa¡kl-ancì.s actu.ally under the control of the
Adelaj-de Citlr Cor-mcil. Lightis original plan indicated only
thirteen roads througir the Parl',lands, but j-t was obvious

.7
Procl-ained lst June L852.
B. Schedul-e i - -A.rea along liorth Terrace to the River Tomens
from r¡¡þere l,îorphett Stieet v¡ou.ld eventually intersect the
Þãrärà"es io Päyneham lìoad (ltz acres) '
Ceneter-v Siie (60 acres)
Signal Station, ll'est Terrace (:r acre)
BairacÌ"s (4 acres)
Sa.nners Quarters (f acre, 4 nercl:es)
i'íei'¡ Signal Station (f acre)
A total of fSrl ecres ltere reserved for Governnent Ðurposest
leaving a balance of 1920 acres of the oríginal 23OO acres
purchased by Governor Gar'¡ler in l-8J9.
 247.

that he had confined his pl-anning t'o the survey of to',.m acres
urgentl5r rec.uÍred for sale by the R"esident Colonization
Commissioi-ler, because this plan clea.rl-y indicated that along
most of the terra.ces surrounding the city and lrlorth Adelaide
there 1,¡ere nrotuberances to represent fuiurre access roads.9
Toda¡r there are approxi-mate1;,r forti"r-s1x public road.s in and.
through the Parklands. Not only have these roads decreased
the Parkla.nd a.creage, but the rvidening of existing roads Ìras
acieed significantly to this loss. Colonel Lightts Assista.nt
Survelrorn George l{ingstcn, r'.rhen he v¡as Speaker of the House
of Assembly conmented:
rta.s reg;arrls opening uÐ nelv roa.ds I
readillr adntit that the orogress of
settl-ement of ihe countrlr around
Adelaide has rendered necessar\,r
(anc will again do so) the opeäi."g
up of ner¡ lines of roads across the
Parl¡-lanrl.s in directions not
contennlated or laiC- out by Colonel
Lj-,ght, but think the Corporation
and. not the Goverhrnêrrt, should be
tne body to decide such cuestions,t' 10

Fortunatelyr in recent tirnes, agreernent betrveen the /idelaicle City

Council and the State Go'¡ernrnent through the City of Adelaide
Developnent Conirol Act has to sonìe extent assisted the
ratj-ona.lj-sation of city planni-ng ,¡.nd development, including road
access through the Parl.ll-aricìs to the city.11
Another lirnitation of ti:e 1849 l"iunicical Coraoration Act
,,ra.s -tl:at it did not give the Adelaide city councir any clear

i-ndi-cation on h.or'¡ the balance of the Parklands was to be

o See A¡aendix ),lap A.

10, Àdr¡ertiser , Aztln llor¡eniber LB77 "

l_1. The Ciiy of ACelaj-C-e Develì-opment Control_ Act , 4 of 1976.

 209.

develoned., except tffor public pur.Dosesu.I2 In a negative sense

the Act was certainly speclfic regarding the lack of Council
povrers to:

rrsell, alienate or lease any areas

of the Parklands with a proviso
that the Council could derive ta
fee on llcences to depasture a
limited number of cattle in the
parklands rrr. 13

In fact, a major source of the incon:e was obtained by the early

Councils frcn depasturing licences, for not only cattle as in
the original Act, but also from licences for sheep and horses.
For the first sixteen months, the Council obtained å504 frorn
depasturing, rising to €,1 ,394 ín IB72 and to Ê.2rA3I in 1882.
During these perlods the expenditure on depasturing did not
rise above F-74 f>er annum. Another advantage of depasturing was
that the grass rr/as kept under control for negligible labour
costs, As the d"er¡elopment of the Parklands transformed areas
from paddocks ínto plalring fields, the proportion of income
derived. from depasturing fell significantly. During the 1920ts
brevreries, dairies, bakeries, and other service industries
changed over to motorised transport and the need for agistment
in the Parklands, particularly at weekends, tapered off. As
horse riding has grown in popularity, there are now increasing
pressures on the Adel"aid.e City Council to provide open space
to city dwellers who ov,'n horsesn for recreation purposes.

12. Municipal- Corporations Actrll of 1849, Secti-on 73,

13. ibid, Section 79.
 tno

An uneasy relationship between the Adelaide City Council

and the State Government v¡as inevitable over the lnterpretation
of rrpublic userrfor the Parklandsras described in the 1849 Act.
All the resoonsibility for care, control and management v¡as
placed with the Adelaide City Council, but no power v/as provided
to determine what uses were compatible with public purposes as
laid dor¡n in the Act. Lack of finance was the major dov¡nfaIl of
the first Adelaide Council; and to a large extent the revised
Council had the same problem. Ccnsequently they faced a need to
generate additional income from various sources, apart from rates,
to nneet Council operati-ng costs. Until the 18BO t s the Council
consistently derived more income from the Parklands than it
excended on mainienance, works and improvements. Often the
sources of Parklands income were purely commercial and contrary
to the purposes of public enjoyment envi-saged by Colonel Light.
when he encircled Adelaide with Parklands" Financial survival
of the Counci-l deiernqíned policies, and lack of public interest
reflected tire extent to r¡¡hi-ch the Parklands r{ere considered worth
preserving as open space, or merely used for financial gain.
For exanple, during the first sixteen months of the revised
Council-, from 1852 to L853, the major income derived from the
Parklands v¡as from the slaughterhouse and cattle market dues.
Another lucrati-ve income for the Council- rvas the sale of dead
*ur.êês up until 1868. In the first sixteen months î.522 was

obtained from the sale of dead trees, whereas income from

depasturing rvas €,504 and the cattle market dues were Ð373.
trarly in the life of the colony, trees were plentiful;
 210,

Itthe snlendid gurn trees v/ere still

gror,ving in all directl-ons, but the r
finest hrêr€ in and about Adelaide.'r*'
/_¡.

Unfortunately, the Parklands suffered, particularly duri-ng the

lBAOrs and earh' 185ots from the idea that:

1îif it moves shoot ítt if it stands

stj-ll chop it dov¡n.1r 16

Bir the middleof the 1850ts, the Parl<lands l..rere almost denuded
of large trees and. in l-856 a tree planting scheme r'¡as Íntrodu.ced
by the Council:
trthe first stand being rnade on the
north of ti:e river, betr';een it and
Pennington Terrace on each side of
the city road.rr 16

Þlost of the Parklands v¡ere undeveloped open space that prcduced

incorne from depasturing licences, and al-so frcm quarrying lea'ses,
brick-naking,and lime burning. Even before the Cormcil obtained
responsibilii5r for the ParklanCs, pressures l'/ere placed on the
Governor by private interests to retain the use of the Parklands
f or ccmniercial pu.rposes. rilhen Governor Gawler appointed a Board
to enquiry into the quarrying of limestone in the Parkland-s, he
rrias assured that:

"the ''¡ithholding of permi-ssion to

raise l-imestone upon the parklands
willl have a tendency io imnede the
nrogress of building by causing a
consioerable rise in the price of lime.'r t7

:--L+. Journal. 15th January 1839. Q'-roted by Derek

l,1rs. Maironey I s
¡¡thitelock in fA Sense of Differencer Radio ,UV 1978.
T5, ibid.
16, Thomas lilorsnop, Sor-rth Australian Jubilee Public¡.tion 1886 Þc
17. Government Gazette. 15th Decenber 18J8.
 zl-l-.

This argument was constantly used l^.'henever threats \rere made

to discontinue the use of the Parklands as a quarry. By 1856
income for the sale of limestone was sufficient to have it
recorded as a separate iten on the Councilts financial siatement.lS
Although the amounts were never very large, limestone appeared
as a regular ítem in the Councilrs financial statements up until
1918. For example, in 1904, t4ilne and Lev¡is took alray 11262
cubj-c yards cf limesione fronr paddock number six and James Collins
had access to paddocl<s tvrenty-eight and tv¡enty-nine for quarrying
'lo
limestonè.-' Depressions in the ground caused by quarrying nade
useful rubbish tips rvhich dc'uted the Parklands for many years,
and provided the Council- rvith a cheap source of rubbish dispo"al.2O
From the first financial records of the Couneil, dredging
for both sand and gravel provided a regular incone to the Council
either through leases to pri-vate contractors or as an internal
cost against roadv¡ori<s and other engineering expenditure iterns
within the Council itse-l-f. After 1941, sand fees no longer
appeared in the Council- fj,nancial statements.
1,/lien Colonel Light chose the site for Adelai-de n access to

fresh v¡ater r,vas one of his prime considerations:

frhe was later to call the plains
around the River Torrens a
little paradise. rr 2I

ìo
IL) ¡ 1856; Ð54 rising to î,r89 ín 1857.
l-g. l"iayorrs ReÐort 1905.
20. The last tip in the Parklands closed, October i-958.
2I. Derek \',iìritelock, Adelaide 1836-l_976 P. B.
 2r2,

Although pictu.resque ai times, the Torrens v¡as more often dry

in summer and liable to flash flooding in winter. This led
Thomas lrlorsnop, the Tov¿n Clerk and early hlstorian, to make the
stinging comnent that:
rrthe so called River Tor"rens is
nothing more -uhan a mountain torrent
in the wet season, and in the sumaer
a pretty stream, r*hich in England
would scarcely be termed a brook.
The v¡i-nter ravages destroy the high
banks, from the rush of v¡ater
gathered by the .mountain rarrge
v¡hich l-ies to the east of Adelaide.r' 22

As a consequence of this capricious behaviour of the watervray,

the first of many plans were prepared by the City Surveyor', in
1,857, to restore the river banks. Included in the City Surweyorrs
plans were:

rrdrives, vralks, gardens, or other

enclosures, ave]1ues, and other
arrangements of trees and shrubs,
a racecourse and cricket grounds,
together with other appropriate
means of public health, recreation
and convenience.rr 23

Itïothing came of these plans because the necessary funds were

not available, either within the Council-ts o$rn resources, or from
the State Government,
After only t.,,.'enty vears of settlement, the ravages of
civilization had severely polluted the previously pure rvater
supply. The picturesque gum trees along the riverbanks v¡ere

)) Thomas r,'lorsnop, Flistorv of the city of Adelaide , P.235.

Z). ibid , P.ll+3,
 2r3.

gone, so was the birdlife and the plentiful source of fÍsh in

the rj-ver. Something had to be done to clear away the debris
along the ri-verbanks, to regulate the flov¡ of water in the
river, and to improve the quality of the water. Attempts were
made by the Council to obtain financial support from the State
Government for a dam across the river, but rrthe request v¡as not
well received .24 The River Torrens woul-d dominate many Councj-l
u

discussions over the years to come.

In 1861 a nev¡ },{unicipal Corporations Act was p.u="d;25
this Act fundamentally changed the attitude of the Government
towards both the Adelaide City Council- and other municipal
councj-ls, soon to be establlshed in South Australia. A section
of the Act r¡¡as devo-i,ed to clarifying the areas of responsibility
for the Ad.elaiCe Parkland"s, betr+een those that resided r,¡ith the
Crownrand those d.elegated to the Adelaide City Council-.26 First,
the Cron"n reserved the right to take temporary control of
portion of tire Parkl-andsr"for the purpose of military tra'ining
and exercise or for otleer military pu:-posesttfT l'lext the Act
allowed the Council:

ttto fence or otherv¡ise enclose,

level, drain, form walks and
carriage drj-ves through and over
the Parkle.nds.rt 28

24. ibid, P.235.

25. içlunici al Co orations Act 16 of 1861.
¿4. ibid, Section 10.
41. ibid, Section 10, Sub-section 65.
28. ibid, Section l-0, Sub-section 66.
 2l-1^+.

Also the Council coul-d rrconstruct dams and reservoirsrr. 29

Then, for the first tirne the Government stated in an Act that
the Parklands were dedicated. for |tthe purpose of public
recreation, amusement, health and enjoyment,'3o In order to
fulfill this purpose the Council was gi-ven responsibility to
rrad.apt such landstt;31 nr-,t the Act went on to reinforce that the

Parkland.s were not owned. by the Council-; they vlere ltvested in

Her Majesty and. her successors".J2 In the next section of the
Act, depasturing licences were allowed, as in the 1849 Act. 0f
particular i-mportance was the section of the Act that directed
the Council to adopt a conservation role for the River Torrens t
t'within the limits of the said city to be reserved for the
supply of water for the public ,rset'.3J on numerous occasions
in the early 1860ts the Council approached the Government to
take control of the v¡aterwortn".J4 Probably the Council 1j
considered that this rvould be a useful source of income; but
the Government contínually rejected the clain of the City Council
to provide vrater to its inhabitants. Responsibility for the
River Torens through the Parklands was now clarified as
residing v¡ith the Adelaide City Council and therefore becane
an integral part of the Parlçlands. l'trithin two years and then
for many subsequ-ent years the Council pressed the Government
vigorously for loans to erect a dam that would provide Adelaide

)o ibid, Section 10, Sub-section 66.

30, ibid,, SectI-on 10, Sub-section 66.
?l ibid, Section 10, Sub-section 66.
32, ibidr Section 10, Sub-section 65.
ibid, Section 1O, Sub-section 69.
34. Thomas 1^forsnop, History of the City of Adelaid-e, Þ ))o
L . L¿ J
'
 2t5,

flooding, beautÍfy the river banks and make

'{\Iith l,¡ater, control
an artificial lake for recreational purposes.
Pernission to grant sand and gravel Licences which r.¡ere a
significant source of income for the Council v¡as written into
the 1861 Act; as also v¡as the ability for the Cor.mcil to license
both the building and operation of slaughte"hor-r""".J5 These were
both significant income producers frorq Parkland resources for
the Council. Provision r¡ras also made for the future developrneni
of public baths, and rl¡hen erected in 186J, they provided a regular
incone to the Council.J6 Periodic capital expenditu-res and
maintenance costs over the years mad.e the public baths marginally
profitable; bu.t from 1959 onv¿ards, when tLle North Adelaide
Swimmlng Centre was built, this recreation facility became a
significant deficit on Council finances.JT Frorn 1861;
a nevr t4r:nicipaÌ Corporations Act brought abor-rt the first
significant change in Council policy touard the Parklands
Therefore t}:e financial statement of the Council in the year
prior to the nev¡ /rct provided an insight into the proportioa of
income derived from the Parkla.ndsr and what was actually spent
on the Parlclands. fn l-860 the total revenue from the Parklands
'uvas €,2rlAT made up from permits and rentals, depasturing fees,

sand fees, sale of dead trees, cattle market feesrand

slaughterhouse fees. This amounted to eleven percent of the
Council income. During this period the Council expended 91r984
on the Parkl-ands under items such as l,vorks, supr:Iies, maintenance,

Z6 Muni a lCo o tions .A t 16 of 1861, Section 10, Sub-

sect on
36, Public Baths incorne in 1863 rvas f,4J6.
2 /'7
See Chapter Five, P.7-37, for further d.lscussLon on the Baths.
and Swimrning Pool,
 ¿Lo.

denasturing, cattle market, and the slaughterkrouse totalled

nine percent of tne total Ccuncil e:,penditure,SB Therefore
the Council actually made a pr"ofit from the Parlcland.s, but
both the Co',u:cil attitucLes torvards the Parklands r./ere changing,
Two lrears after ihe 1861 l''iunicipal Act, the public baths
,ao
constructed by the Council r,'ere operaiional on.a lease basis,/7
Anothrer attenpt v¡as made in 1864 to gain Government assistance
amounting to one qua.rter of a rnillion pounds for drainege,
constructlon of a darn across the riverr âh artificial lake, a
nen bridge across the Torrens and lighting ihe ciiy streets
'- Altirough the Government u.¡as favourably disposed to
40
'.vitn gas.
some of these requestsí as negotiations proceeded, it becarne
obvious that, the extent to r^,']rich the Government Ì,¡as prepared.
to fjnance these Iarge capital works r¡¡as that:
rrther,' would guarantee a loan to be
secureC on ihe cit-y rates, and, tirey
''¡ould girre prison labour and material-s
free for the erection of the darn. 'r 41

A brealithrough occui'red in the Council received

1867 r.¡hen
î,6128,6/5/6 frorn the Governrnent as a special vote for irnproving
the banks of tiie Torrens, and å400 towa.rd-s the erection of thie
. ¿+2 Prison labor-:r rrnder the su-pervi-sion of the
Torrens d?*n,-.-
Sheriff , R.i'i. Boothbl', frorn the Adelaicle Gaol ha.d alreadlr

?Q Alpendix A.A. for detailed Cou-ncil !'inancial detail-s for

1960.
39. See CLiaoter Fi-¡e , P,A3B for deta.ils of the Pub-ì-ic Baths
Land alienati-on.
l+O. Thomas r,lorsnoc, The Fiistory of the City of ll4elaid.e P.229.
4r. , P,229.
ib,-ld

42. ibid , P.268,

 2t7 ,

commenced v¡ork on the Tomens d.am;43 ¡,rt tit" engineering

expertise of the Sheriff and. hj-s prison l-abourers was not
equal to the forces of nature, and l-ater that year a very heavy
flood carried away the dam on the 5th October 1867.
Two years l-ater the Government gave specific responsibility
for the improvement of the River Torens to the Adelaid.e City
Council-. Legislation was passed to provide the powers for the
Council to construct a dam on the River Torrens and use its
banks within the Government Reserves for:

ttal1 such sheds, boat houses,

stands, landing stages, and other
bulldings requisite for the purpose
of rendering available for Public
use the sheet of r¡¡ater formed by
the erectj-on of the said dam,
together v¡ith the banks and r|.LL
approaches of the said river.

An anendment to this Act allowed the Council to transfer power

to construct a darn to othersrby leasing either the damror the
Lc
river.*? Fortunately, this r+as not necessary; but ten years
vrere to pass before the problem of darnming the River Torrens was
again given financial support by the Council. In the meantime,
concern for people swimming in the river was shown by efforts
to fill in thetfd.eath holettin 1859 and again in 1880.46
Aoparently this rrd.eath holet' was caused by the scouring out of
a deep section of the river near Hackney Bridge, and used by

l+3. The first expenditure on this project was recorded in the

Council finaircial- statements iñ fð6¡ design work î.47 t but
the first significant expend.iture of î,31286 appeared in l-866.
44. River Torrens Imnrovement Act.lJ of 1869-70.
45. Torrens Dam Amendment Act.8 of 1872.
46. Ad.elaide City Cquncil Financial Expenditure Statemerts 1869 -
Death Hol-e Ð3/6/A, 1BBO Death HoLe- î.62.
 2TB.

adventurous boysr in parti.culare for diving.

swimmlng and
l4ore was d"one d.uring the 188Ots to develop the Parklands
for public use than at any other period. T.G. Ellery, the Tovm
Clerk at the turn of the century claimed ihat:
frthe first systernatic effort to
improve the appearances of the parks
appeared to have been made in 1878,
when Mr. Henry Scott was l.{ayor.Ìt 47

But Scott was only ín office for one year, then Edwin Smitir
who succeeded him was undoubtedly an [active and progressive
maSro¡rrf8 orno gave leadership and donated liberally to a wide
range of civic projects in Adelaide. His two terms of office
at the beginnlng and end. of the 188Ots consolidated the Parkland.s
as one of the most important assets of the Adelai.de City Council.
Farticularly the question of whether a Land Title for the
Parklands existed., and i¡¡hether Governor Gawler actually did
purchase of these lands in 1839, naised. the Councilrs hopes
that the Government may not legally be the oumers of the land.
The intention of the Council was to propose to Parliament a
special Act vesting the Farkl-ands in the Corporation. Over a
five year period Thomas ldorsr:op, the industrious Tov¡n Cl-erk and.
Council historian, l-aboured with Lond.on solicitors on this
complex legal issue, which was flnally resolved in 1885 ín favour
of thre Governmen'".49 One benefit of this controversy was to
heighten the Council-rs ar¡/areness that the Parklands were an
important asset. Again the problem of effectively retaining

47. Advertiser , Jlst August 1904. T.G. Ellery Tov¡n Clerk

l-899 to 1915.
48. Derek l',,hite1ock, Adelaide 1836-l-976 , P.11
49, For further discussion on the purchase of the Adelaide
Parklands see Chapter Two, P,I7.
 2lo

water in the River Tomens by the construction of a n¡ej-r for

rrornarnental and recreative purposesttfo was partially solved by
the City Surveyor, J.FI.C. Langdon, who designed sluices that
l,¡ould be opened up vrhen -floods threatened to v¡ash aviay the
structure. From this point oñr the Torrens Lake constituted a
signiflcant expenditure each year of betr,.¡een å1r500 and €.2r500
for off-set to a smal1 extent by the sale of
sand dredging,
sand to pri-vate contractors a.nd its use by the Council engineering
department. The opening of the v¡eir in 188151 *u" cclourful
v¡ith a procession of :
rrforty boats and three steam
launches from the landing s-Lage
at the v¡eir to the landing stage
at the site of the old Frorse
footbrldg€. tt 52

Undoubtedly, the Torrens Lake contributed significantly to the

beautification and recreational use of the Parklands. Ti:e area
between King l',Iillian Road arrd the lake was also developed at
tÌ:is time through an exchange of land invol-ving the RailL,a)rs.55
A handsome donation from Sir Thomas Elder of a cast iron rotunda
imported from Englan.d, was located in the nerrr park, thereafter
named Elder Park.
Olive plantati-ons in the Parklands vrere a regular source of
income to the Council; this amount varied with the quantity of
ol-ive oi1 processed at the Adel-aide Gaol v¡hich in turn v¡as
dependent on seasons, fires, vandalism, and the care gi-verr to
the trees, by either the Parkland workers, or prisoners who

E /'\
)\) c l4ayorrs Renort 1B8O-81 , P.164.
Â1
).L. l'/eir opened 21st JuIy 1881.
q2 Mayorts Report l-BBO-el , P. l_06 .
tr7 See Chapter Five, P.150.
 220.

vrorked in the olive plantations adjacent to the gaol. Du-ring

lvlayor Srqithrs term of office, the income to the Council from
the sale of olive o11 rose from {76 in AB77 to a hieh of €,f01 in
188r. In his Mayor?s Report, the vi-rtues of sound business htere
extolled:
rrthe Council wi1l, I believe, find
the smal1 expendi ture norr made on
thenn, result in a profit of all- fruit
production increasing v¡ith the age
of the trees year by year," ,4
During the 1880ts the Council debated vigorously the
replacement of the public baths. Pressure was put on the
Council by the State Government to relocate the baths because
the land in King l,rilIiam Street was adjacent to the proposed
houses of pailiament and cou-ld have been required. for further
extensj-ons. Also, the Railways Commj-ssloner r/as consj-dering an
extension of the line acrcss King t¡tri11iam Street. Over the tr¡o
financial years 1B8l and 1884, {71000 r.vas expended by the
Council- to provide si-iitable public baths for the gentlemen and
ladies of Adelaide. The facil-ities included a large swinming
bath for rnales, a smaller bath for ladies, eighteen hot baths
with dressing rooms and a suite of rooms for the lessee.
To'¡¡n planning and the inprovement of urban conditi-ons were
being debated in Britain during the l-atter half of the 1880rs.
Garden cities and tov¡n planning associatlons beca¡ne a popular
movement because of the rr,ritings of Ebeneza FIoward. His bookr55

54. Iîa'¡orrs Reoort 1882-8J. P. 34.

trE Ebeneza Ho',rrard, Tomorrov¡ : A Peaceful Path to Real Reform
London 1898.
 é1L o

focused thinklng on the value of Parklands in large cities. Even

trÊ.
a fater edj.tion of his bookrr"did. noi give recogniti-on to
cities such as Adelaide with its belt of Parklands, which
preceded his garden city concept by over sixty years. One
practical outcome of the garden cities rovement r.vas tkre
ernphasís on the provisicn of chilCrenrs playgrounds by rnunicipal
authorities. The Adelaide City Council placed {35O for thls
purpose on their 19OB estimates; but it was subsequently struck
off. In 1914n Charles C. Reade, enthusiastic advocate of garden
cities and tor^rn planning associations, visited Adelaide on a
lecture tour. Also in that year Herber-u Angas Parsons,
approached the Town Clerk regarding the provisi-on of childrents
playground=.57 He was informed that trthe Council rvould probably
favourably consider the establishrnent of su-ch programmes. rl
',{hen Charl-es Rcade was appointed Government Tot¡n Planner two

J/ears later, the nevily formed South Australia.n Tor¡¡n Planning

Association negotiated with the CounciL on the establ-ish¡nent of
a childrents playground in the Parkl-ands. As a resul-t of this
grovring interest in children t s playgrounds, the lt{ayor of
Adelaide, R.J. Glor,'er, prorrided the financial impetus to develon
childrents playgrounds in the Adelaide ParklanC=.59 He donated
Ð65O torvard the Solrth Terrace childrents playground in l-918'
and another Ê,212/lI/4 a year later to complete this project.
Also during 1919 he contrib'uted another €,500 torvard the ltrorth

56. Ebeneza l{or.rard, Garden Cities of Tomorrow , London 1902.

q'7
)t a l{erbert Angas Parsons, l.lember For Torrens, Legislative
Assernbly.
58. Adelaide City Council Fil-e 8J'/67.
qo R.J Glover, itlayor of Adelaide I9L7-I9I9
LorC l4ayor of Adelaide 1923-25 and 19lO-33.
 ?2?.

Adel-aide childrenrs playground. As Chalrman of the Childrents

Hospital Boardrhe had an appreciation of the need for childrenrs
play facilitíes. Alsor âs Chairnan of the National- Park
Commissioners he v;ould have been conscious of the growing
public interest in both conserva.tion and recreation use of parks.
Therefore his gifts to the Council for the provision of childrenrs
playgrounds stimulated the Councíl- to further develop another
three playgrounds of appro:<imately one and a half acres each,
during the 1920's.60 The.Princess Elizabeth Playground on
South Terrace 'was financed by a donatj-on of å1 ,l3O frorn
unexpended moniesrraised by the Citizents Committeer in connection
with tire visit to Adelaide of the Duke of York in l]27. Each
year, the financial- statements of the Council itemize
carefully the expenditure on playgrounds. Playground.
attendances have varied with the shifts in city residential
ponulation; but manyparents and children have appreciated the
facil-ities provided. at significant costs to the Council over
the years.
ParlçIand policies during the L92Ors placed an emphasis on
how health, v¡elfare and education of the citizens could be
improved. Trai-ned people, in this case, chi-ld care workers,
were nol,.' subsidized by the Council to provide people orientated
services at the expense of the ra.tepayer.
During the Depression in the late f92ors and early 19J0ts,
Parkland policy and management became virtr-rally a holdíng
operation. Unemployment relief work was undertaken rvith funds

60. Playgrounds constructed on '¡/est Terrace 1924, East Terrace

l92i and Soutli Terrace (east) tgZf. Three playgrounds are
named the Glover Playgrounds. They are North Adelaide
East Terrace and South Terrace (east).
 223.

received from the State Government, to restore the banks of

the River Torrensrand. create a new l-ake below the existing *eir.6f
The next major shift in parkland policies, and rnanageraent
occurred in the l-95]ts when \:í.C.D. Veale, Tovnt Clerk',*as at the
height of his long career v¡ith the Adelaide City Cor.rnci1.62 He
had just returned from an overseas visit ín 1957, full of
enthusiasm for ed.ucating pecple to use the Parkl-ands. Veale was
impressed with the:
Itdensitl' of useage of gardens
i-n overseas cities (which) vras
much greater than Adelai-de.rl 63

Large expend-i-tures on parks and gardens in many overseas clties

v/ere seeri as a financlal- asset, and lrere:

ttcompletely justified in the

j-nterest of the cormunity as a
whole and as a tourist attraction
which benefitted the busìness
interests. ft 64

Obviously this a.spect of the Parklands aS an income producer

would appeal to the members of the Adelaide City Council who
represented. a significant cross section of the business life
of the city.

61. €,lOrOOO was received frcrn the State Government as a

contribution tot¡ard the Cor.rncil Relief l,'lork in f9JO.
ô¿. r,,iilliam Charles Douglas Veale; joined Council staff in
1923, appointed Town Clerk 1947, Retired 1965.
63. W.C.D. Veale R t rseas Vis the U.S.À. '
rit esa on nent yo e AI e, ,
a

6l+. ibid , P.l.2!.

 224.

Veale r¡ras particularly keen to re-orient the Council parks

and ;iardens staff av/ay from the provision of park facilities,
toruard. motivating people to use these facilities¡ by the
development of recreation aanagenent and prograrnmes. One of
his recommendations rvas for, ttthe appointrnent of an adequately
trained Assístant Director of Parks and Gard"rr"".65 This and
other recommendations were submitted to a Special Committee.for
the Development of Parklands, in t958.66 During the l-ast seven
years of Vealels tern as Tov¡r C1erk, most of the recommendations
contained in his report vrere j-mplemented. For example, he
recomnended a par three golf course, this was open to the public
in lt'larch 1960. He recommended a new restaurant near the Torrens
Weir, this high quality restaurant v¡ith magnifi-cant viev¡s
overlooking the Torrens v¡as opened in tg61.67
He recommend"ed that a shallov¡ lake be created in the East
Parklandq and in late i-959t farnily activities \'rere encouraged by
the upgrading of barbecue and plcnic facil,ities along with the
provi-sion of a boating lake and kiosk in the future Rymill Park.
Al-so the ârêâ¡later named Bonython Park,was ungraded on his
recomrlûerrdationthat shallow lakes be"formed in the bed of the
Torrens River dor¿'r:stream from the weir, and for some time the
kiosk hired out boats. In addition, a nodel- boatlng lake in
this area \¡ras developed in 1965. Extensj-onsto the golf cl-ub
house \¡rere recommended, and in lg6Ordining facilities for members

65. ibidr P.IJB.

66. Special Committee for the Development of Parklands, 15th
October 1958.
67, Ernests, nolrr Benjamins Restaurant rvas opened. loth March 1961.
 225.

that could also be used forr,vedding receptions and other

functions were developed. The place of formal- gardens,
furnishings, fountains and landscaping i-n the Parklands were
touched. on in Vealets report; but firm recommendations were nainJ-v
to u;grad.e 'i;ire recreati-on facilities and provision of sen¡ices.
Eventually, the Council developed gardens in the Parklands oS
South Terrace, and. constructed the Alpine Lodge Restaurant in
""
this setti-ng. 68
Certainly, the Councills parkland pol1cy changed signlficantly
torvard the provision of recreational facilities that would
attract more people to use the Farkl-ands.
A year after ì/eale retired as Town Clerk, Val B. Ellis r+as
appointed Director of Parks and. Gardens, and an Aseistant Dj-iector
(recommended in the veale report) r'vas appointed at the same
tine. iilan-rr of the policies recommended in the Veale repor"t l",'ere
sti1l being implemented during this perioci. The main aim of the
Councilts policy, according to the present Director \:/aSr nto make
the Parklands more acceptable and more accessible to family
units, .69 i{e also indicated that it r¡as the policy to Ît:ry and
encourage maximum useage of the Parklands by thre maximum nunber
-7.l.
of people"./t Another policar measure adopted in l_971 v¡as the
removal of all wood and iron buildings in the Parklands;
particularl¡r those occupied by various sporting groups, Financial-

bö. Alpine Lodge Restaurant opened 31st January L963.

69. Trevor D. jacques, A Stud of Fe le and Theirê Pla rvith
Parti cular R.eference o ecrea ona use o Õ-

o e o e a e, e a o ege o anc
uca oûr es c
¿t une 1973 , P .61+.

70. ibid , P.65.

 ¿¿4.

encouragement was gi-vento these organisations if they

considered replacing their buildings with more substantial brick
structures. Al-so, wherever possible, sporting organisations
were encouraged to combine together for multi-purpose use of
tlre ground.s. Bet,,veen 1969 and. 1)73 approximately one hund"red
acres of tr:ai'i<lands $;ere seeded, irigated and. mol,\trr regularly
vrlth the assistance of various sporting organisations.
It took unt11 the early l-g|Ats before a detailed written
policy for the future use and conservation of the Parklands
was formulated:

rtthis decision erose from the

expressed concern of the Cor;ncil
Niembers, individuallY and
collectively, that the Priceless
heritage given the peoPle of
Adelaide by its initial Planner,
Colonel- r,{ill-iam Light, should be
retained for i-us intended use and
not r¡¡hittled aÌ,Jay for other
purposes, and tkrat carefullY
prepared policies should be
iormulated to ensure that the
present and future needs are
catered for adequatelY and in a
balanced form.'t 7l

By the tj.me that the Parklands Policy Sub-Committee7z

completed its report Ln 1973, the Cor:ncil had appointed Urban
Sl¡stens Corporation Pt5r. Ltd., to ad"vise on the future development
of the city. The Parklands Polícy Sub-Comrnittee report was

7I. City of AdelaiCe , P for the Future U e and Conservation

of the Farkl-a4ds t une t

72. parklands Polic-rr Sub-Committee appointed 29tn Noven.ber I97L.

lviembers, \'i.H. ilayes, Lord l'iayor, AlCernan-Lady Jacobs,
Aldermaá 1/.L. Bridgland and Council-lor B.R. Harvey.
 227 .

received and referred to the consultants for consideratj-onr and

eventually the salient' reconaendations Ì,/ere incorporated in
the City of Adelaide Plan adopted in L977.
In effect, the City of Adelaide Plan identified the broad
policies for the der¡elopment of the Parklands in the context of
other city planning ob;ectivesr and identified soÍìe specific
action projects; soßê of these related to the Parkland.s. fn
effect, the earlier policy statement became a worÌ<j-ng d.ocument
for the day to day managernent and operation of the Parks and
Recreation Departrnent staff. It clearly identified the proposed
development of the twenty-seven parks and clarified such matters
as car parking arrangements in the Parklands. The rnajor sections
of the policy detailed sporting useage related to leases,
licences or permits. Incl-uded in these sectlons t'¡ere guidelines
for the development of facilities and matters related to the
upkeep of grounds,includlng policies related to the imigation
of sporting areas l¡ith a linriied supply of available ',','ater.
Sections seven and eight dealt with first' the al-ienatj-on
of the Parklands for road widening and future action to be taken
for the return of alienated i;arklands, particularly by State
and. Commonr¡¡ealth Gor.'ernrnents. There is no doubt in the policy
staternent, that the Council would press for the rernoval of the
Thebarton Fol-ice Barracks, the Post-Tel Recreation Centre on
ifest Terrace, the Adelairle liigh School, and the /rdelaide Gaol.
The City of Adelaide Plan is less speci-fic on these rnatters
and recornmends only that these areas:
 229.

fr1.¡hich
are not available for public
recreation should be investigated
for possible return, in planned 7z
stages for public recreation usê.rr//

by the Policy sub-comnittee on the major

ItIo connment was made
Parkl-ands alienation by the Railùays and the tr,Iest Temace
Cemetery. Fortunately the City of Adelaide Plan covered these
omissions by recommendations in the forrc of action projects
related. to both the railruay yardsrT4 .rd. the Adelaide Railway
station.T5 Alsor âh ltinvestigation of the environmental
character of the 1'lest Terraee Cemetery,, .76
At the tine that the City of Ad.eLaid.e Plan .was being
developed, the Parks and Gardens Department changed its title
to Parks anC R.ecreation Department. This indicated the grov;ing
emphasis on recreation as a public service related to parks.77
An appointment of a Recreati_on Officer to the Parks and
Recreation Depa:'trnent rvas made in 1975. No d.ouÌ:t those interested
in horticulture rvould see the importance of gardens in relation
to parks diminished by exclusion of Gardens from the title of
the Department, Another shift torçard the integration of people
services was ma.de in 1,979 ',¡.'hen t:re cornmunity and heal-th services
ÌIê¡'ê combined with the parks department, and a neru d^epartment
entitled Health, Parks and Community Services r,yas e.stablished.TB

'77 The City of Adelaide Plan , June 1977, Objecti,¡e 42, P.f9.
74. ibid-, ActÍ-on Project 11, P.99.
ibid, Action Project Ie, P.101_.
76. ibid, Action Project 5, P.91.
77. Parks and Recreation Department title ad.opted ín a973.
1(J. Hea]th, Pgr\s and community services Department established,
November 1979.
 229.

Council parkland policies have evolved slor.rly over the years

to a point it is nov¡ dj-fficult for individuals or particular
r,¡here
pressure groups to alienate areas for excl-usive use. Ear1y
Cotrncil adrninistrations expected the Parklands suruor:nding Adelaide
to contribute significantly to the Council incorce with expend.itures
to be kept as low as possible. For example, income from the
Parklands provJ-ded tv¡enty-eight percent of the first Councills
income and then betr.¡een eight and eighteen percent each year for
the first ten years; whil-e expenditure was kept exceedingl¡r lovr,
apart fron the upkeep of the slaughterhouse and cattle marke t,t.79
Changing public attj-tudes toward the Parklands are obvious
in tlre lr979-BO budget. Only four percent of the total Cor.rncil
income is expected to be derived from parks, gardens and
recreaticn sources '¡¡hile tlvelve percent of the total budget
is expected to be spent on naintenance and developrnent of the
Parklands.
Although changing Parklancl policies are reflected" in the
Council financial statenents, strong leadership from partlcular
nal¡ors and to,¡¡n clerks have provided. the irnpetus necessary to
effect rapid changes at var"ious times. Generally, the Adel-aide
City Council have de.,reloped policies to protect the Parklands
from alienationT narti-cularly by the State Government, and. to a
l-esser extent the Commonr,.¡ealth Government si-nce the Council
f.ias given
the care, control and management of approxlmately
one thousand sel.¡en hundred. acres in l-849. IJnfortunately this
lmage of the Council as protectors of the Parklands is somewhat
tarnished rvhen dealing with major sporting organisations, The
next cÌ:apter will take up this subject.

79. Adelaide City Council Financial Statements l-852 to 1862.

 23a.

CHAPTER EIGI{T

l.laior Snorts Users of tire Parklands

llot on11' did earl-y setilers bring to AdelaiC.e i.,heir r,¡ork

skills and the social vall-ues of Victorian England, they also
brou,qht an i.nterest in snort:

frsport developed so rapidly in the

Australian colonies because it
reinforced the tj.?e of social
val-u-es that -r"he comnunit;r vranted
to endorse. rr 1
Ade1aide, r^,'ith its fine tenperate climaie and plenty of open
sÐace in the Farklands, encouraged ihe grorving interest of
sport. The cit5r fathers and leaders in society consiclered that
s¡ort built characier, produced manlir qu,a-Li-ties, and contributed
to a healthy body:

rrprorninent, individurals in the

connunity lent their patronage
to the developrnent of games
realizing ihat the¡r were helping
to inculcate in the cornraunit-rr
virtues they hoped Australian
society would pursue.tr 2

llaving recej-ved reccgnition and statu,s, enthusiestic nembers of

snorting clubs lobbied for snecial favours, such as public land
for the de''¡eloprnent of their nlayíng arees and facilities.
Ofien after an initial burst of popularity, sorûe sports declined

1. T.l). Jace,ues and G.R. Pavj-a (ed. ) Snort in Australia,

(Selected R.eadings in Ph.,'si-cal ¡,ctffií1,
Booi< Co. Sr¡dney 1976 - K. Elford, Spor-t 1n irustral_ia
ri Perspecti-ve , P.33,
2. ibid , P.33.
 23r.

and a. sna:l-l mernbership still r'etai-ned exclusive use of .¡aluable

public narÌ<lands:

lfit nay be that tlie area of

public open soace earmarl..'ed"
for tneir use is out of all
proportion to theÍr members.rr 3

llorse ra.cing was one of the first sports to alienate a section

of the Farkland.s for exclusive u.se. Colonel Light saw fit to
identifir a racecourse in the East Parklands on cne of his
l!
pr.el-inlna¡Jr 51¡1rye¡Is.* As a cavalry officer, he distinguished
hinself witi: i'íellington j-n the Peninsula l'iars;5 and hi-s love of
lrorses nay ha.ve influenced. the provision of a racécourse in
the Adelaide Parltlands.
Early race neetings '¡iere haphazard affairs held ai different
venues around Ad.elaide. One of these vê[l]ês r¡,'âs a paddoclc ii:'
the i',Iest Pa,rkland.s n.ear the home of C.E. Fisherr'ttho organised
-ul:.e first rece rneetiirg r^¡hicir over eight hr:ndred peonle attended

on tire first da',':

Itti:e establishinent of races in

I'delaide produced l'¡hat r.*e supp ose
must be cãl1ed a great sensati on.ll ^

It,".,,as not until nine years l-ater that, 'fracing Ì'¡aS hel-d at the
I,/ictoria Farir círcuit, ]'êt anotner alienation of Parklands, from

7
a Ro1r31Australian fnstiiute of Parks and Recreation,
Conference Reoort 5-8 October 1976. George Seddon,
@ Environment of urban open space, P,25.
L
John ArrowsmS-th, Plan of Adelaide , London 1819.
à Queen t s Ov.,ri P.egiment of Dragoons.

Register , z}tin Januerl,' 18J8. The race neeting v.'as held on

ffiffit and second of January 1838.
 232.

I8l+7 .n t
2
lruren the Adelaide City Council became lega1 trustees
of tl:e Parkland."r8 it faced i-ncreasing demands for the use of
various areas by sporting interests. Orre r+ay of n:eeting these
demands was to lease public i:arklands to sporting clubs on a
long term basis; this would allow thern to invest in the provision
of facilities, either by raising funds over a number of years,
or by obtaining a repayable loan using the lease term as
collateral. The problenn vas that the Ådelaide City Council did
not have the powers to sel-l or lease the Farkland-s to sporting
groups. Therefore sporti-ng events Here held on the Parklands
from tine to time, but v¡ith the legal inhibitir:n that no ma jor
sporting club could. make their permenent headquarters in the
Parklands.
the popularity of horse racing grel'¡r the City Surveyor
,A.s

r¿ras instructed in 1357 to prepare deslgns for anong other park

amenities:

fia racecourse and cricket groundst

together with otl:er appropriate
means of pub11c health, recreation
and convenience. rr I

Financial problerns, and the lack of interest by the State

Government 1n the provision of grants or loans for this and
other Couneil projects, stifled the development of sport in
the Parklands; but the Council was very interested in pi'oceeding
l.*ith the racecourse, and P.B. Coglan r*ith a group of racing

"7 Derek ilhiitelock, Adelaide 1837-l-976 , P.238.

B. Legal Trustees of the Parklands from lst June L852.
o Titomas r,',rorsnop, The-CLt:¡ of Adelaide, P.l-43.
 472
t-)) c

enthusfasts were encouraged to establish regular race meetings

on the East Parklands course. This syndicate spent a conslderable
amount of money in erecti-ng a Brandstand, fencing and a saddling
paddock; but after two unsuccessful meetings in 186f,, the project
was temporarily abandone,l..l0 This course becane known as the 'old
Racecourserr and in later years r.¡hen racing was successfully re-
establisi:ed, it beca.me a sentimental favourite course for nany
race enthusiasts.
A valuable asset lay idle because it v¡as not possible to
provide potential lessees with security of tenure, therefore the
Council pressed Parl"iament to provid.e them i,¡ith the powers to
lease a section of the Farklands for a racecourse. An .åct with
only one section was passed in 1863, to provf.de the Adel-aide City
Council v¡ith poì¡¡ers to lease up to one hrrndred and. thirty acres
of the East Parkland.s as a public racecour"".f1 opposition to
the R.acecourse Act a.nd the alienation of the Parklands v¡as
reflected by Joseph Peacock in the I{ouse of Assenibly when:
rrhe l'ras grieved at heart to think
that the Council- had sancti,oned
the Act whi-ch would divert the
Parklands to suchr purposes - he
remembered from the earliest days
of the colon-rr tire inhabitants
manifested extreme jealousy at
any attempts to deprive then of
the entire use of the Parklands
particularly as a charge was to
be made for admission and for a
purpoÊe in v¡hich not one in ten in
tlre ccmnunity participated.rr LZ

10. ibid , P .222.

11. l& of 186J.
Racecourse Actr
l.2. Register, lst October 186i, ParU-amentary Debates, House of
Assem.oly, third R.eading of 8i11, Proceedings in Parliament,
3Ath Septe mber L863.
 234,

Fortunatelyr this early opposition set a pattern for

resistance to fencing the area r,¡hen it v¡as raised in later
Jrearsr so tirat todav, vi-ctoría Parkl3 is the only racecourse in
an Australian capital city on r'¡hich patrons are ad.nitted to
the rrflatrr free of charge.
tt'üictoria Park r,¡as knol{n a"s the
rneoplers' courset because at
one tiäre anyone had ihe right
to enter all but the grand,sta.nd
area without charge.tr 14

The fi-rst established rneeting was held on the East Parkland,s

cou.rse in 1871- ',.¡hen an eleven race progranae i*¡as conducted by
P.B. coglan and h'is associates, r,lho agaln exnencled. nore noney, -

incl-u.ding five ihousand por-rnds for a new greno-stand to malie the

old course trtì:e undispu.ted leading racecourse in South Australiu.tt15
I{orse racing uas legally established a.nd ponu.lar as a r:rajor
¡arkland snort by the 1E7Ots.
Also in the early 18701s, noï/ers were given to the Adelaid-e
city council io irnprove the banks and the quality of r.;ater in
th,e River To"""ru,16 As a sirle benefit, boating as a sport
received a boost when tire Ade1ai de City Council rvas granted the
Þov/ers to lease for up io fourteen years, boat sheds and landing
stages:

L3. rlold Racecoursetr renamed victoria park Racecourse, June

lE97 in honour of Queen Victoriats Diamond Jubil-ee.
lL¡. .8. Pi-tcÌrer, i-ctorian anci. Edl¡ardi-an Adelaide frorä Cld
1,'f

Photoeraphs , o in erguson, 1977, Caption on Plate

1-5. South Äustralian Jockey CIub, Victoria Park Centena rv
1871--1-971-, Adelaide, I97L,
L6. River Tomens hnnrovement Act , 13 of 1869-70.
 )zq

rrfor the purpose of rendering

avaiLable for public use and
recreation, the said v¡aters or
banks and approaches of the
said river. tt aT

Over the years ccmmercial leases have been granted for public
pleasure boating and also six private schools and a state school
have now establ-ished ror,ii.ng clubs on Jeased areas along the
river banks.l8 In addition, the University has a rowing club on
leased l-and ancÌ on railways land adjoining the Torrens. Also the
Adelaide Rowing Club and the Railways Institute have boat sheds.
Because of theír exclusive nature, these rouing clubs alienate
areas of the Parklands, although they do not represent major
sports users. On the other hand, the eommercial leases have
prcvided nany thousands of people with pleasant recreational
boating on the River Torrens si-nce the 187Ots, using leases on
smal1 areas of the river bank controlled by the Adelaide City
Counc11, i^¡ithout the need to refer either to Parliament or to
the ratepa¡'ers.
For three years, racing ad.ministration passed through a

traumatlc period r+hen the South Australian Jockey Club was

formed in 1873, and the lessees of the East Parklands course
refused to recognj-se the jurisdiction of this club over racing
in South Australia. Behind the lack of co-operation between
these tv¡o bodj-es, was a personal dispute between Thomas Elder
and l¡filli-am Blacker, both avld race horse or¡,Tlers and breeders.
ThomasElder (later Sir Th.omas) donated the l,lorohettvil-]e
Racecourse to the South Australian Jockey CIub, rvhich effectively

T7, 1'Did.
l_8. I{ings (novr Pembroke) College, Scotch College, Christian
Brothers Co11ege, St. Peters College and Prince Alfred
Collegeo Pulteney Gramnar School and Adelaide High School.
 216.

located the headquarters of raclng at l"lorphettville, William

Blacker was one of the four trusteesralong with P.B. Coglan of
the ttold. Racecourserr, and played a leading part in the early
development of thls coursei no doubt to provide an alternative
venue for racing his horses. The lease for fifteen acres of
Parklands knovrn as the |t0ld Racecourserr Ìrras renewed for twenty-
one years in 1879r r^¡ith liIílliam Blacker and three others as the
10
lessees.'7 Four years later ihe lease was again renewed to the
same lessees; this time identified as ittrustees of the Adel-aid.e
Racing Clubtt.20 A1so, the premature rener.¡al- of the lease
aLienated. another two acres of the Parklands for the racecourse.
At the l{ay race rneeting in 188f, a di-spute arose betr¡¡een the
Trustees and 1.1r. Thompson, bookmaker, over the failure to pay
a bookmaking fee. At his subsequent arrest ancl trial, the judge
indicated, Itthe lease trrrâ.S Utluêrly wrong, and. that it was bad".2l
The Court found in favour of the bookmaker. The problems of an
inadequate lease and a poorly r,.¡ritten Act r'¡ere to remain until
the end of the lBBOrs. In the meantlme, a new Adelaide Racing
Club v¡as formed from the Licensed Victuallers Racing Club in
))
l_BBBrtt tvhen thelr took over the lease and co-operated with the
South Australian Jockey Club to ratlonalise race meetings, and
avoid ruinous competition for patrons with the l'lorphettville
Racecourse.

l_9. Lease renev¡ed , 9tn January 1879.

20. Lease renewed, l-Oth December 1882.
2I. Adelaide City Counci-}, l'lavorrs Reoort 1882-8f , P.46.
)) Formed lst Decenber 1888.
 tzn

At this time, pressure r¡.'as also being placed on the Adelaide

City Council for a central cricket ground in the Parklands as
the nain venue for important cricket matches. Cricket ì:ad been
enthusiastically played since 1859 when the first reference to
a criclçet match (not in the Parklands) vlas reco"ded'2J By the
1870 t s I cricket had d.eveloped into a highly competi-tive sport
r,.'ith overtones of both interstate and international rlvalry v,'hich
forrned part of the grorvth toward. an Australian national identity:

rrone of the \rays in v¡hich this

nationalism came to be exPressed
roras in a preoccupation with a
competitive sport; particularlY
in the internati-onal arena.rt 24

No longer rverethe covr paddooks of the Parklands suitabl-e for

the passions that ¡*ould be aroused in the future by the clash of
the cricket greats suci: as fi.G. Gracen Joe Darling, Clarrie
Grinmett, Victor Richard.son, Don Bradman and- the Chappel brotirers:
rrAustralian rlaying fields burnt
brov¡n by a" merciless sun 1'tere
certair:ly no place for softies
during the early days.rr 25

The Adelaide Cricket Club had the use of a ground in the Parklands
by the Torrens Bricge I tt'¡¡hich they held on suffrage from the
Co:.porationtt . ¿o In 1871- the South Austral-ian Cricket *l.ssociation
t^

23. Register , 19th October 1839.

24. David Mercert Leisure and Recreatíon in Australia , Garrett
Publication, r a, ,

25. I{ax Colvell and Alan NaY}ort Adelaide an fl-lusirated

Hi-stor.¡, Landsdolrne Press, 1 e ourne, a a

26. Hon. J. Darlíngt Par-Liamenta Debates , House of ^dssemblyt

Second Readíngt e , Oth Septenber 1871.
 238.

hras formed and. one of its main aims r,vas to establ-ish a central
cr1cket gror,rnd. with good playing surfaeesand specta.tor facil-ities.
As'1.¡ith the racecourse, it vfas necessary to obtain an Act of
Parliament:

trto enable the Corporation of

Adelaide to lease a porti-on of the
Parkla.nds for a crlcket ground, n 27

Littl-e or no oppositiorr \¡as raised to the alienation of up to

tv¡elve acres of pri-me land for a cricket ground in the North
Parkl-and.u.tu It seemed that cricket v¡as consldered:

Ita peculiarly English game, 'rrhich

tl:.e colonists l^rere desirous of
favouring, and noi a single voice
had been raised against the Bill
in tire other House and, the citizeirs
d.esired that it should be passed.rt 29

The Adelaide Oval r¡as opened on the first of January 1874 with
an internatj-ona.l crichet n'latch against an En6lish cricket
eleven led. by Doctor r,t'.G. GraCe, r'rhich dis¡rlssed tvrentl'-two
South Australian players for sixty-three runs. Six thousand
spectators pai-d. two shillings and slryence each to see this
forerunner of nany great matches on v¡hat has become one of the
most pi-cturesque of cricl<et grounds;

27. The Adel aide Crlcket Ground Act , 2 of 1871.

ao
ë-l) ¿ See Appendix l[ap Z.
29. Hon. 1,'/. Hilne , 1"1. L. C . Chief Secretar¡,', Parliamentary
.

Debates, LegiÁlatj-ve Council, Second Reading, CricÌ<et

Ground Bil-l, 18th October 1871.
 9;<O

trthere can be no other criclcet

gror:nd in the v¡orld that more
agreeably sets off the garoe and
reflects its traditional spirit
than does the Adelaide Oval.rr 30

By the late 1870rs, both racing and cricl<et'¡¡ere r.¡ell established

as major sports with leases of areas in the Parklands granted by
Acts of Parliament, Pressures to enclose the rlOld Racecourserr
_
and the cricket grounds, particularly the Adelaide Oval, 'were
mounted by the sporting organisatj-ons lvho used the popularity
of sports as a reason to enclose grounds:
rrthe Parklands were dedicated for
the amusement and recreation of the
citizens and as cricket v.ras by far
the most popular of all games among
English speaking communities, they
r{ere consulting the rvishes of the
great majority when they asked
for this piece of land.rr 3L
An anti;fence lobby was mounted, and David Galf, ã strong'
advocate of open space in the Parklands, argued that one of the
maj-n hazards of cricketers could be avoided l¡ithout the grounds
being fenced:

'rif cricketers will gíve a man

a shilling or trvo to clear the
ground of manure, ihe only
feasible objection to open
grounds will be removed." 32

30. Derek -l'trJritelock, Adelaide L837-1976 , P.23r.

3r. The Hon. G. I(ingston, Parllamentarv Debates, Flouse of
Assembly, SoutÌr Adel aj-de Bill , 7th lrïovember t 88r.
32. Register , 26tY\ April f8-79.
 24A.

Petitions were also organised and presented to both houses of

Parliament against the enclosure of g"o.rrrd.".J3 The Chief
Secretary, J.C. Bray, argued that rtit was not desirable to
alienate tire Pa.rklands to devote then to specific purposesu.3lr
Although the bill to lease the oval in the South Farklands
passed the House of Assembly, it v¡as not to proceed. any further
in tLre Legislative Council because of a technicality.. The
President ruled it was real.ly a public biflr and should not have
been introduced as a private members bill on behalf of the
Adelaid.e City Council. At the same time, when the racecourse
lease v¡as renewed on the tenth of December 1883, the Mayor
reported:

rrprovision Ïras made in the

lease for the renoval of the
high galvanised. iron fence
erected at the north east corner
of the Adelaide Racecoursê.Ir 35
LeaSe problems arose in relation to the racecourse l¡¡hen the
AdelaicLe Racing Club found. i'b did not have'the powers to exclude
objectionable people from the enclosu-re or grandstand. Also
tj::.e club had no por'rer to keep order at race meetings, or renove
and replace buildings, because the 186l ,X.ct v¿as brief and
rrincomprehensibl"u36. A ner¡ bill was introduced. to remedy

33. Petition llouse of Assembly tabled 7th Novennber 1B8t

109 Against. Petition Legislative Council tabl-ed 2Oth
November 1e83 r237 Against.
34, Hon. J.C. Bray , Parliamenta Debates House of Assembly,
7th November 1
?Ê l.layofl¡_ ¡gprt IB83 / 84, P. 58.

36. I{on. R..C. Baker, Parliamenta Debates , Legislative Cor--rncil,

Second Reading Ade ó- e cecourse , 26th october 1892.
 24L.

these defects, which eventually led to a nev/ tr+enty-one year

lease to the Adelaide Racing club. Parliamentarians l{ere
generally agreed that:

rrthe Parklands belong to ti:.e

citizens and they should be
made available for all sorts
of healthy and proper amusements;
but still it was highly desirable
that the po'lcer. proposed in the
Bill be conceded,rr 37
Football r.+as one of the first sports to use the Adelaide Parklands:
rrprobabl-y
the fírst recorded
game held in the province took
place in the North Farklands in
April 1860.' 38

It soon grehr in popularity and became the alternative major

v¡inter sport to the sumrner sport of cricket. !,Ihereas horse
racing and criclcet had venues in the Parklands leased and
enclosed; football did not obtaj.n a leased section of the
Parklands by special Act of Parllament, although fooiball.
certainly had grolrn in popularity. It may not have been
considered as respectabl-e as cricliet and horse racing:

trso the notables tended to

ignore the grovrbh. of football
in Adelaide - until i-t becarne
too r,¡ell entrenched to be
overlooked anymorê. rr 39

By the tj-me football became organised to apply pressure on tlie

Adelaide Cit;' CounciL for a fenced oval in the Parklands,

37. Hon. J.T. Scherlc, Pallj-amentaqr' Debates, Second Reading,

Adelaide Racecouís !892.
zÕ c
)() Derek l',4eiteloch, Adelaide 1837-1976 , P.185.
?o ibid , P.234.
 242.

resj-stance against the alienation of Parklands for exclusive

uses !,ras also grouing. The Municipal Corporations Act of 1B9o
seemed to prorride a r+ay ou-t v¡hen all councils in South Australia
were given permission to:

rrgrani leases for any portion of

Parklands not exceeding ten acres
each, for any term not exceeding
twenty-one years to be used for
cricket, football, bowls or other
athletic sports, agri-cultural
shor¡sr or public recreations.tr 40

This Act gave councils flexibility to enter into long term

leases rvith sporting organisations, but a ratepayers pol} could
be requested. Apnroaches lrere made by the South Australian
Football- League to the Adelaide City Council- for a lease of
approximately ten acres i-n the South Farklands for an oval, but:

rrin ¡¡iev¡ of tire many sti.ong

objections to the erecticn of
fencing and ultimatellr a
pavilion so near South Terrace
(tne Council) .as of the
opinion that the site asked
for should not be allor¡¡ed.rr l+I
This decisi-on agaì nst a fencecl football ground coul-d have been
influenced, b5r i¡s surprisinglSr sinall re.si stance to a new
-jtdel-aicie oval Act introduced as a private mernbers bil-l by the
former l'1a]ror of Adelaide and nor¡¡ rnember of the Legislative
Council, Sir Edwin T. Smith, '..¡ho said:

40. itlunicir:al Corporations A,ctr 497 of 1890.

4L. Adelaide Cit¡r Council, Annual Renort , 1908.
 243.

Ithe l/as disa.ppointed that the

Association lSouth .Australian
Cricket Association) did not
seek for more land. According
to the present plan there vtere
little ]-ess than twelve acres
no'ç,¡ enciosed by the fence, and
the Association l¡,Iere asking for
three acres more. He had hoPed
that they v¡ould have asked for
a portion knor'rn as the neutral
groi.rnd - he questioned r'.'hether
the r,¡hol-e extent of the Parklands
outside the ova]. afforded as much
pleasure and arnusement as the
twelve acres enclosed didt
although, of course, on the score
of health, it rr'as r¡¡ell to
preserve ihe pa.rks." 42

Although there 1{âs vêry little opposition to the Bill in the

Legislative Council, it r¿as a different natter in the House of
Assenbly, ,..,,krere members, including the Premierr4' raised" doubts
sinilar to that of the Hon. A. Ca.tt:

tlthey ought to conserr/e every

acre for the benefit of the
inhab-ttants of Adelai-de and the
su-burbs, who Ïrere entitled. to
nalce the best possible u-se of
it, and ¡,vho should not be
debarred in any lralr from using
any portion of the Parl<lands.rl 44

of the l{ouse of Assembly procrastinated and forced the

i,tembers
Legislative Council to consider amendments to tire Act. The main
one being to insist that in future, the proposed lease be laid
before both Houses of Parliament for at least ihirty days t oT¡
in lieu of this procedure, that the proposed lease be approved

42. Sir Edr'iirt T. Smith, Parlia.r¡enta Debates , Legislative

Council, First R.eadingt e qc , lOth l,Iovember L897.

47. The Right Honorable C.C. Kingston Q.C. t Premier South

Australia.
44. Hon. A. Cattt Par'1ia¡ilenta bates , House of Assemblyt
Bth December
 244.

by the Governor, Another suggested amendment indicated there

r4¡as concern about ad¡lission charges to areas that r,^¡ere once

public open space. Thomas H. Brooker suggested an anendment to

allow free admissj-on to a section of the oval so that, ttpeople
dorr¡n on their lucl< coul-d witness sportrr.45 This rvoul-d have
been a. sinilar arrangement to the free ad.mission to the ttflattt
on the East Parklands racecourse. The suggested arrlendnent v¡as
defeated. Sj-r Edv¡in Smith, the proposer of the biIl, became
impatient with the procrastination of mem.bers in the llouse of
Assembly and thei-r proposed amendments, He tried to hasten
the bill through b]'using the argument that if the land required
had been under ten acres, parliamentary approval would not have
been necessary. He indicated that the Adelaid"e CitSr Council-
eou1d" haVe approved t','io leases of up to ten acres next to each
other. Of course, there r,ras also the additional matter of an
extension from tv;enty-one to twenty-five years on the new lease
that r¡rould have invalidated the proposal by Sir Edwin Smith.
Eventually the Adelaide Oval Act obtained Governorfs assent on
the eleventh of December 1879. Thi.s consolidated the South
Australian Crícket Association as the leaseholder, but al-lor+'ed
a v¡ider use of the oval for other sporting and recreationa]
activities, ad.ded a.nother three acres to tire oval area (no,,v
fifteen acres), extencLed. the lease oeriod from tvrenty-one to
tv,'enty-five years, and allowed for the renev¡al of the lease
b), the Governor anC not Parliament. Indeed. the South Australian
Cricket Association r"¡as fortunate to have an Act of Parl-ianient,

45. Thomas H. Brooker, Parliamenta Debates t l{ouse of Assembly,

SeconC Reading, Ade e a c , cernber 1897.
 245.

and the best of lease conditions given to any sport in the

Adelaide Parklands. It coul-d be arç5ued that the CrÍcket
Assoclation has not fulfil"led the spirit of its lease, which
tryas to provide a r,vide ra.nge of sporting uses ruith adeq.uate
spectator facilities at the Ad.elaide Oval. For example, the
John Creswell stand at the southern end of the oval, erected
Ln 1923, î.tras the most recent a.d"dition to spectator facilities.
Rather, the Cricket Assocj-atlon in recent years has opted for
the development of pri'rate rnembers amenlties with little regard
for public requirements at a major sporting venue over the last
f ifty-seven years. ft r'¡ou-ld be hoped that the proposals for
spectator facilities can be n:atched with the comrnent by the
Council- that:

ttthe object of anY lease l/tas to

ensure tnat first-class cricket
continue to be PlaYed at .Adelaide
Oval and ina.t the best Possible
spectator sport be attacired to
tire oval to connlenent the cricket
sector.rr 46

Tlte continued exclusive use of this area of the Parklands by

a i:od¡i of rnenbers '¡,¡itl: so little regard for the public is
contrarli to tne conce¡t of sporting use of public parlclands.
Only the lrdelaj-de R.acing Club,and the South Australian
Cricket lissociaiion have lease-s of major areas i-n tile Parklands
that originat,ed from Acts of Parliament. These Acts undoubtedl-y
provided a str-cng basis for re-negotiation of lease renev¡als
r.¡hen necessary. iìdd.ed. to this, there is little chance for

46. Advertiser , 27tÌr I'iay 1980.

 246.

anotÌler sporting organisation to compete for these leases t

or for any other organised opposition to the lease conditionsr'
because a few years before these leases terminate, a major
upgrad.ing of the facilities or a ne''¡¡ building is i:roposed rvith
finance required over an extende<ì. period r" hence the need. for
a net¡ l-ease. Tiri-s ahvays places tire Council in a r,¡eak bargaining
posi.iion. For example, ir: 1910 the ,Àdelaide Racing Cl-ub applied
for a new lease three years before the trventy-one year lease
expired, becau-se:

rfthe Club r,sas not disposed

to spend large amounts on
i-mprovenents r,¡j-tnout fixed
tenure for a longer period.tf 47

Àgain in 1920 tne Club asked for a tvrentlr-one year lease, eleven
:¡ears before it exoired, Itbecause of expencLitrrre cvet' five years"|€
SinilarLy rvith ti:e Adelai-de Oval, the South Australlan Cricket
.{ssoc-iation has been ab}e to retaln the lease of this valuable
ground against the e>pressed interests of football; because of
their powerful lobby and. the coromi-tment to upgrade the faciliiies
prior to the expi-ration of the lease period;
rratv¡enty-five year lease had
been sought so the cost of
projects the Association t+ished
to undertal<e at the Oval coul-d be
amortized over a greater Period
than the seven and a ha-1f Years
remaining on the present l-ease.rr 49

47. Adelaide City Council, Annual F'enort 1910 , P.27 ,

48, ibid L92o, P.16.
49. I\i. FI. Blundel 1, Se cretary, South Australian Cri-cket
i\ssociation, Âdve rtiser 27th Ì.lovember 1979.
 2l+7.

Predictably, the Adelaide City Council agreed ln principle to a

nev¡ trventy-five year lease in favour of the South Australian
Cricket Association v¡ith the proviso that seven years of the old
lease should be taken off the .l"t ot".5o Certainly, cricket
remaj-ns the major sport in tiris al-most sacred area of the
Parkl-ands:

rfthe Council agreed that the

object of any lease was to
ensure that first class cri-cket
continued to be played at the
Adelaide Oval, and that the best
possible spectator sport be
attracted to the oval to 61
eomplement the cricket season.t''o

These lease conditions are not significantly different fron the

original Cricket Gror:nd Act of 1871. No doubt football v¡i1l
continue to be played on the Adelaide Ova1 in tÌ:e winter months
as a secondar)¡ activity to cricket, but the Football Lea'gue
,.,¡anted either a. significant management input to the Adelaide
Oval or a venue of their or,tn. Ctpposition by the South
Australian Cricket Association to any shared management Íorced
the Football League to seek another site for their headq.uarters.
Tl:lree possible areas in the Parklands \,rere explored in a Very
preliminarlr 1¡¿y l,¡ith the ,{delalde CÍty Council- in t97I52, prior

50. Adelaide City Council l,{eeting, 26th }'{ay 1980.

5j.. Advertiser , 27th l'.Iay 1Çt0.
É,t Posslble football ground. sites \./ere:- in the South Parklands,
bounded by South Terrace, Good',;iood Road, Greenhill R.oad and
Lewis Cohen A.venue; in the Uest Parkla.nds, bounded by Hest
Terrace, Glover Avenue and Hilton Road; in the itlorth
Parkland-s, bounded by Park Terrace, I,ienorial Drlr¡e and tlie
railr.lay line.
 249.

to the decision to develop Football Park at l,''iest Lakes three

years later.5J Council members v¡ere aware that public opinion
r+ould not have ccndoned the alienation of another large area
of Parkla.nd.s, even for football, one of the ¡nost popular major
sports. Tn hindsight, the massive concrete monstrosity that
dor,iinates rJest Lakes would have been even more objectionable
if the Adel-airie City Council and- the South Australian Crlcliet
Association had acceded" to the Football League request for a
major developmerri .t the Adelaide Oval or alternati.vely on
another site in the Parklands.
La.l.¡n Tennis came to the colony of South Australia Soon

after it became popular in England during the 1B7Ors. It was

a Itgenteeltt activity appropriate for both l-adies and gentlenen.
Tl:e d.evelop¡rent of tennis courts in the large ground.s of private
homes of the vell-to-Co in Adelaide became something of a s-uatus
s:¡mbol-. Tennis clubs and. public courts catered. for the gror'ring
interest in cornpeiitive tennis. r,rlhen the Adelaide Oval- r,vas
given an ad.ditional tl:ree acres of Parkland, one of the
justificatj-ons for -uhis r'¡as to provide tennis courts. The
first major ter,nis tournaments l,.rere played on the Jubilee Oval,
nou occu-pied by University buildings. Later, the tournaments
were transferred. to i,ìre Ade]-aide Oval courts behind the grand-
stands.54 In 19ll the South Australi-an Larm Tennis Association
Ì¡as forrned, and six acres of Parltl-ands in the area bounded by
Ãnzac Highway, Goodlrood Road and Greenhill Road was leased to

qZ Football Park, r,'iest Lakes, opened May 1974.

54, See also Chapter Four, P.24.
 ?hO

the Association, after a ratepayers Ðo11 in July l-9I3 endorsed

the Council-ts decision. The Association lvas req"uired to develop
trventy-flve grass courts and a clubhouse within three y"u.t".55
Unfortunately, water shortages were a problem and. the Association
v¡as unable to carry out the condítions of the lea.se. By 1915
the lease r,vas terminated in l1eu of another five a.cres in the
North Parkl-ands adjoining the Adel-aide Oval, A ratepayers meeting
held on the fifteenth of October A9l-5 raj-sed enough opposition
to force the Council to reduce the land area to a l-ittle over
three acres. This allowed the Association to be.come established,
then another tv¡o and a half acres of Parklands were added for
tennis in ]-)23,56 An additional quarter of an acre 'b¡as granted
to tire Associ-ation in the next ]¡ear to more t}:an compensate for
a portion of land on the south rrrest side that was resumed for
alignment of the War Ï{er.iorial Drive. Also at this ti-me, the
I{eswick and lila'y'vílle Tennis Clubs 1'rere given a tvrenty-one year
lease of over one acre of Parklands off Ânzac Highvray.5T Ten
J/ears later another trvo and. a half acres l.rere leased" to the
Tennis Association on the opposite sld,e of l"lontefiore Road
adjoining Victorla Bridg".58 Over the years, other tennis
associations have been established, but the South AustraU-an
La,,vn Tennis ,rrssociation situated. at l''lernorial Drive was always
considered the senior bodlr becau.se ii was the venue for the

55. Adelaide City Council, Annual ort 191J.

56. Adelaic'Le City Council, Annual Report :--923 Þ'to
t L aL)a

See also A ppendix l'1ap A.A.

C2 Lease from 1st July 1923, See Appendix Map A.A.
58. Adelai-de Citi"' Cor:ncil, Annual Reoort 1933-35.
 25o.

Davis Cup round-s on a number of occasions. AS v¡ith ma.ny other

sports, the cost of administration was ahvays kept to a rninimum,
v¡ith overall administrative.costs being absorbed by the tennis
cl-ub at lviemorial Drive:

rrfor years our nembers have

borne the brunt of all tennis 59
administration in this State.rt

Negotiations took place during the late 196Ots to separate the

gorrerni-ng body (South Australian Lar.m Tenni-s Association) frorn
tkle }lernorial Drive Tennis Club. A nerv body called the South
Australian Lar+'n Tennis Club vas formed l,vith administration of
tennis now to be shared on a pro rata basis among affiliate
clubs and associations. Although the Adelaide City Council
approved the South Austral-ian Lar.on Tennis Club Incorporated
taking over the lease originally held by the South Australian
Lawn Tennis Association;60 u ratepayers po1l was required i'n
order to comply with the Local Government Act.61 An interim
lease for four years was provided to the South Australian Lalm
Tennis Club by the Ad.elaide City Council until the ratelpayers
poI1 was held in L972.
Other tennis clubs and. public courts occupy a significant
propor.tion of the Parklands. These clubs are granted annual
sports permits.

59. Soutir Australian Lãl'¡n Tennis Club Incorporatedr $$

l{er.','sletter , SeÞtenber 1970.
60. Transfer of l-ease apnroved at l\delaide City Council
I{eeting , 23rd June 1964.
61. Loca 1 Government Act 2l5t of L934 Secti-on 457.
 25r.

0f the major snorts to be esta.blished in the Parklands,

golf has indeed been one of the most fortunate. Fer..¡ other golf
eourses have been developed. so close to the business centre of
a major citir. In the Adel-aid"e Parklands there ere two eighteen
hole a par three eighteen hole course on parklands:
cou-rsês¡ and
all courses v¡i-bh magnificent views of the city.
Governor Sír James Ferguson established a smal-l nine hole
golf course in 1870 on the rrOld Racecourse'f (novr Victoria Park
.R)
Racecourse)." This course l.,/as obviously not for public userand
in any case the lack of v,'ater would, have tnhibited the uplteep
of suitable greens duriirg the summer months. A nine hole course
lvas established by the lrlorth Adelaid-e Golf Club in the Ì{orth
Parklands on apìlroximately the same site as tire present south
cour.se. This ,,,¡as a private club of apnroximately one hundred and
fifty members, but the course on the Farklancls 1s stil1 availabl-etc
the public.
In 1920 ti-re Adela.ide City Council l{arkets and Far}<s Conmittee
called for a report on th.e possible establishmen-u of a pu'clic
golf cout'se in the Farkland.s¡ ori â similar basi-s to the Sydnelr
i'iunicipal Golf Links at l{oore Park.6J Negotiations betv¡een the
¡\delaicie City Council and the North Adel-aide Golf Club led to
tÌre Councj-l taking over the course on ihe basi-s that another nine
holes v¡ere constructed. Eighty-six of tire one hundred and fi-ft1r
members agreed to becorne annual subscrlbers, and forrn a basis of
a private club assocj-ated. v,¡ith a publie course. A mix of private
and public use r,vlthont limiting the publj-c access to the course

o¿. Derek r,'ileitelocl<, Adelaide 18J7-1976, P .242.

63. /rdelaide City Council, Annual Renort, lg2o, P .I7 .
 252.

proved popular, and as golf began to attract increasing numbers ¡

particularly after the Second. rforl-d Uar; a second eighteen hol-e
course rvas developed in A952¡ knovrn as the Itlorth Course. After
the overseas visit of the lovrn Clerk¡ ì,1.C.Ð. Vealer a par three
couÌ'se vres opened in 1960.64
Approximately one hundred and fifty acres of parklands
provid.ed both publie and private golfers rn¡ith by far the largest
public area for any sport, Valua.ble parklands specífically for
golf v¡ould not ha.ve been tolera'ced; fortunatelY, public access
to these parklands has been protected.. Golf has provided funds
to maintaj-n areas of the Parkla,nds in a pleasant year-round
green cond"ltion, at no cost to the ratepayers. In addition, the
public participation in this sport, ât a nominal green fee,
r,¡iihout the necessity to join an exclusive club has assisted ín
ta.i<ing arrray the image of golf a.s an elitist sport, Actually'
a major proportion of the golfers enjoy the l-ow competitive public
recreational r,rse of this facilityi only 3 small number of golf
club members pay club fees to compete at the j-nter-club
tournament level.65 A fine balance has been maintained 'oetv¡een
the preservation of the Parl<lands for public user and the
alienation of snecific areas for e:<clusir¡e snorts user ,golf, is
an e;<anple of hov¡ this balance can sometirnes be achieved.
Lav¡n bowls developed into a najor sport user of the Parklands
frorn 1892 v¡hen the Adel-aide Bor,.rling Club had its origins on part
of the Government Reserve on the northern section of Kintore

6l+, See Chapter Seven, P. ?-23 f.ot further details of 1;l.C.D.

Vealef s overseas visit.
65. lOJroOO Golf Rounds, April 1979 to April 1980.
280 members of the Adelaide Golf Club and
12O associate members of the Golf Club, June 19BO'
 aE2
L)) o

^66
-'l-venue.-- Sixteen )¡ears after the Adelaide Bowling Cl-ub r.¡as
establ-ished, aeÐroxinat,el-y one acre of parlclands was l-eased. for
twenty-one J¡ears to the Parirsj-de Bor,rling cl-ub, in tÌ're south
Par]<--l-ands nea-r the corner of Glen Osmond and i{utt Road.s.67 lfhen

the lease fo¡'the Bor.rling Club was rener,¡ed in 1954 for another
five yearsr âñ aCditionaL area of half an acre r,.,'as granted under
É.ç
annual i:erinit."" This club nov¡ has a ten 1rg¿¡ lease r,¡hicl:
exnires in Aprii- 1984.
In 1928 the South Park Bowling Club r¡as granied a lease of
anproxinateli,r one ecre in the Soutn Parklands off Greenhil1
.6q It no'¡¡ ha.s a tl¡ent\¡-one y'ear lease
lload.."' ',,¡hich exnires in
l,ia,rcn 1992.
The shift by ilie Adelaíde Bov;ling Cll-ub from Kj-ntore .A.venue

to iÌre East Fa¡'klands in 1958, inciicated iire strensth of sporting

grouÐs ín negotiations r¡¡ith both Sta.te aild Local Goverr:.nent.
Traffic rroblens a.long tiorth Terrace convinced both tkre Pr.enier,
the lionorable Torn Flar¡ford and the To',.¡n clerir',,I.c.D. vea.le io
rlalte iiintoi'e Avenue a throu.gh road. Iniricate negoiiations at
tle highesi level tool< place in tire 1950ts, to transfer the
;\delaide Bo',','li-ng c"l-ub to its nresent site on tile East rerrace
Parklands .nep-r Deq"ueitevil-le Temace. A meeting betv¡een flre
Tc',,,'11 c-lerk and iriessrs. Ii. cohen, L.J. Lilie and F.ir. Braria-n,

represenl,a.tives of the Club, v/as neld on the t,;",ent5r-sighth of

l'"a1r 1952, ât'r¡hich the To',.,'n clerk r,.¡as under iiie i-rnpression

that onl1r six i"rears of the Bovrling Club lease renained. -Actualiy,

See Cirapter Four, P.96. AIso dee :\rpend.ix l.Tap L.

c'( . Leased frcm lst l\1ay 1911, See l',¡oendj-x }rtãp Z.
Âç Aclelaid-e Cit;r Council, Annual P.enort , tg63-64.
69. See Acpendix I'iap Z,
 254,

the usu,al twenty-one r¡êâr lease had been renewed. in 19jB for
tuenty-six years. This v¡as above the legal rnaxímum of tvrenty-
one J/ea.rs for lea.ses rmder the Local Governrnent Act; but because
the original lease 1,¡as on a Government Reserve not parklands
under ihe care, controì- and managenent of the Adelaide Cit5,
council, the tr,,,'enty-one year maxj-mum did not appl_v. This allor"¡ed
the Clu-b to negotiate from a position of strength with bottr i,i:e
State and Local Government. Eventually -uhe present site on
Dequ.etteville Terrace uas offered and accepted by the Bowling
C1ub, because it rvas central, and double the size of the Kiniore
Avenue property. This nev¡ site provid.ed an ad"d"itional nine rinks
on one and three q.uarters of an acre.To Originally ihe club
rrrantêd a trtenty ]¡ear lease to protec'u its future, and this r.vas
agreed to by the Adelaide Citi. Council-; but then the club changed
its req.uest to an annual- permit. The reason for this strange
tu-rn-abou"t r*as the strong opposition to ihe proposed transfer b.¡
the Parklands Freservation League. This rnatter was brought up
in Farl.iament bit ihe Honorable J.,{. Fieaslip at question tirne:
Itha.sthe Preni-er noticed in tleis
morningrs tAdvertiserr a plan for
the proposed site for the Adelaide
Bovrling Club, to r,,'hich the Parirl_ands
Preservation League has talcen
exceotion? On the plan the site i_s
shor,.¡n as an insignlficant portion of
the parl', adjacent to Dequetteville
Terrace. As Victoria Park Ra.cecourse
nearby is mainly used for horse racing,
to t,'hich I talle no exception ''¡hatsoever,
ancì. as I rrndersianC the narlçs are to
provide breathing space ior the city
and recreati on and exercises for its
citizens, rlould the Prenier say vhether
it is rnore desirable to exercise horses
or Ìrunan beings in these parks?rl

74. Arpendix I''iaps L and Z.

 )qE,

The Prennier replied:

rrthe Government believed that the

land (aAetai.Ae Bowling Club) was
necessary for public purposes as
suggested by the Council and v¡ou1d
be nrepared to rnake it available
provided the Council reached a¡nicable
agreement r¡ith the Club for the lease
and for sone other aruangennent with
the Club - the negotiations received
tl:e ful-I support of the Govern¡nent
becau.se a public purpose wíll be
achieved by them. " 7I

Neither the council or the Adelaide Bowling club v¡1shed. the

rnatter of the l-ease to go to a ratepayers poll¡ tkrey t¡ere
concerned that the Parklands Freservation League could whip up
support; therefore the best rvay to avoid this possibilit;,r was to
rely on an annual- permit, trusting to the goodrvill of the
Aderaide city corincil for renewar of their pernit each year.
clauses l./ere also written into the one yeâr r-ease wllich
formalized the transfer of prooerty and financial compensati-on
io the club.'-n) By the tirne the Premier opened. the Bowling club
on the 21st June ].g5B, the 1ease v¡as on a flve year basi-s.
This v¡as a neat vray of avoi-ding a rateoayers poll. The.¡ittornev-
General- on openlng the i,g6z Bovúing season rcongratulated the
the club - for the part it had played in helping to beautify
tÌ:e Farklands .u73
Because of the need to mai-ntain their greens, lar+n bowls
have been more concerned than the other major sports users of
the Parklands to keep the public al{ay by means of fences.

7r. Pa¡!þpentarlr Debates of Assenibly, 5th Novenber I9j3.

, House
'7) Lease cornmenced 29th Seotember t955. Clauses 15a and 15b.
9_fficial opening of^Bowting season r3th october 1962 by
Hon. C.D. ,Ì.ov¡e I\i.L.C.
 256.

Overallr ño more than five acres of Parklands have been alienated

to bov¡ling clubs; maybe thi-s popular sporting activity can
justify the alienation of public land to this extent, because
it serves predomi-nantly the older citizens of the commr.inity.
Both the Uníverslty of Adelaide and the Adelaide College
of the Arts and Education have been ma¡or sports users of the
Parklands for ma.ny years. On the flrst of December 1928, the
University of Adelaide Sports Association obtained approximately
eleven acres of prime land on a twenty-one year lease in the
North East Parkland.r.74 Another nine acres v¡as later obtained by
the University on arr annual licence for use as an undergrad.uate
sports ground. Within trr¡o years, tire Ed.ucation Department,
througi: the l'{inister of Education, leased approximately ten
acres of land on the east side of Frome Road on behalf of the
Adela.ide Teac.hers College for stu-d-ents sports grounds. These
tno tertiary institu.tions have betv¡een them nearly thirty acres
of valuable Farklands for specific sports use. Fortunately,
public access has been naintained and ti:e provision of exclusive
facilities for tÌ:e use of the various sportS-ng clubs has been
kept to a minimum.
Pressure rvas placed on the Adelaide City Council- b)' the
I'1ir:ister of Education to permit the Adelaide Teacher"s College to
erect additional change rooas near I'lackinnon Parade, This r.¡as
strongly resisted by the Council, and after intensive enc-uiries,
George Peters, Chairman of the CoLlege Groirnd.s Committee, found
tl¡o blochs of land availabl-e for purchase on l,lackinnon Parade,

74. See Appendix itlap Z.

 257.

Principal of the college recommended their

and througir tl:ìe
purchase for ti:e requi-red change This resistance by
"oo*".75
the Council- to additional builCings for specific sports Furposest
indicated that even nith srr,rong support fror¿ a por.rerfr-rl State
Government de-'lartment; sporting organisations lirere no longer
able to assume thei' r'¡ould be granted area.s of the Parklar:ds for
their exclusive use,
. l,lore Parklands were alienated b5r tiLe railways ihan any
other Government cì.epartment, public institution or sporting
organisation.T6 Yet on the first of April it927, the R.ailways
Comnissioner'tlas granted a lease of teir acres in the llest
Parklands off Port R.oad to be u"sed- b3r tire F.ailways Institute
menbers for varj-ous strorts suc}l as cricl',et and football, then
in l-ater:¡eers, also for bowls and tennf".77 This grouncJ. r+as
once fenced-, ancL a.fter a long dra-r,¡n ou-c dispute r*ith the
.,i.delaicle City Cor.rncil, the fence was renoved except for tire areas
su.:'i.ounding the tennis ancj. bowl-s fa,cilities. l/hen the tr.'¡ent]¡-
one 1/ear lease expi-red in ]979, tiie nailway sports ground v;as
gre,ntecl an annual- sports lease in accordance rvith the policy
of tÌre Adelaide City Council.TB
Svrimming was both a sport a.nd" a recreation r+ith varj-ous
s-,;rimming holes in the Ri-ver To"""^".79 In addition, the
J:-delaide City Council becane directly i-nvol-r¡ed in sr,vimni:rg by

75, Deputy Director of Ed"ucation to the I{on. the i'{inister of

Edücation, 15th Àugust- 1963. Docket ED B5A/t/55.
76. See Chapter Fir¡e, P,liO, for discussion on Railr,va1's gss
of the ParklanCs.
77. See Appendi:i llap Z.
78. Polic For tire Future Use and Cons ervation of the Parl<lands
une, , a

'70 See Chapter Five, P.l-17, for dj.scussion on svrimming in the

River Torrens,
 )qa.

Overal-lr ho more than five acres of Parkl-ands have been alienated

to borvli-ng clubs; maybe this popular sporting activity can
justify the alienation of public land to this extent, because
it señres predoni-nantly the older citizens of the community.
Both the Uni-versitlr of Adelaide and the Adelaide College
of the Arts and Ed.ucation have been major sports users of the
Parklands for many years. On the first of December 1928, the
University of Adelaide Sports Assocj.ation obtained appro;<imately
eleven acres of prime land on a twenty-one year lease in the
North East Parkland.r.74 Another nine acres v¡as later obtained by
the University on an annual licence for use as an undergraduate
sports ground. Within t'r,vo years, the Education Department,
through the l,îinister of Ed.ucation, leased approxirnately ten
acres of land on the east side of Frome Road on behalf of the
Adele.ide Teachers College for students sports grounds. These
tr^¡o tertiary institu.tions have betv¡een tliem riearllz thirty acres
of valuable Parklands for specific sports use. Fortunatêl;r,
public access has been maintained and the provision of excl-usive
facilities for the use of the various sporting clubs has been
kept to a minimrm.
Pressure r.ras placed on the Adelaide City Council by the
llinister of Education to permit the Ad.elaide Teaci:ers College to
erect additlonal change rooas near l,{ackinnon Parade. This vras
strongly resisted by the Council, and after intensive enquiries,
George Feters, Chai-rman of the College Grounds Committee, found
tv¡o bloclts of land available for purchase on l'lachinnon Parade,

74. See Appendix YIao Z.

 259.

part of tireir physÍcal education activities for girls.

Aoproximately one hundred and fifty-five courts with bitumen
surfaces are nolt scattered. throughout the Parklands for the
use of netball, tennis and basketball.82 The South AustraU-an
Netball Association and the United Church Netball Association
have developed their headquarters on. a large area of the \{est
ea
Parklands.o] Irlo l-eases are provided¡ oîr1y annual sports permits.
There are tr+enty sports who use the Farklands on the basis
of annual perrnits, vrith four hwrdred and seventeen annual permits
issued during lg78/7g year.84
Since 1973, it has been the policy of the Adelaide Cit-rr
Council io elirninate long term leases of the Paritlands by
sporting organisations because :
rrexperience has shov.¡n the efficienclr
and er:tirusiasm of sporting club
officials varies ccnsiderably, also
that the popularitlr of the individual
sports 1,¡axes and v,'anes r,¡ith the
passage of time. In the j-nstance
r.¡here organisations are granted long
term leases of the Parklands, it is
often extremely difficul-t to get then
to effect desirable modifications
or' lmprovements l'Ihich are not vritten
into the lease. Ti-lese same
organisations are much more responsive
they have the apprec5-ation that
r¡¡hen
their continued useage of the
Parklands depends on their performance
of tl:e previous season or year.
Council- must be able to protect the
Parklands dr-iring these tdol,'nt periods
to ensure their aesthetic appearance
and functlonal useage does not drop
bel-ov¡ an accepted standard.

8.2. Ad.¿ertiser t 3Otln Oetober 1979.

93. See Appendix i'iap Z.
84, See Apperrd"j-x B.B.
 26C.

It Ís considered highly desirable

for Counci.l to have effective
control by way of seasona.l or
annual- sports permi+"s, of all other
recreational facil-ities in the
Parklands.rr 85

Therefore, when long terrn leases have expired, sporting

organisations such a-s tkre Kesviick and tr'íayville Tennis Clubt
South Australian Railways Institute, and the Unj-versity Sports
Council- have been granted annual- sports permits. Other sports
users with long term leases such as the nine ror^ring clubs,
will probabl-rr not have their leases renev¡ed when they ex_oi-re
in 1981. This colicy rvill not affect the major traditi-onal
snorts users such as the Adelaide R.acing Club anC the South
Australian Cricket Associ-ation, who were allocated leases by
an Act of Parliament. Also, tire South Australian Lar^¡n Tennis
Association Incorpora-ced musi-be considered in a special
categor'1r, becau.se the major venue is toially fenced and
adrnissions are charged. Although not orotected by an Act of
Parliament, the long term lease offers almost the same prirrlli-ges
as bestowed. on the Racing Club and the Cricket Association.
Sports l¡ill ah",'ays be consldered" the ttsacred covis:r of the
Adelaide Parklands, because of the Australian adulation of sport
and its eniotj-onal and political l1nks ruith our nationhooC. But
now an appreciation for the quality of the environment is also
strong enough to challenge the future al-ienaiion of the
Pa.rklands for excluslve sport use. There is little l!-ike11i:ood

85. City of Adelaide, Policir tr''or þq @

Conservation of The Fâiklands ; L971, P.15.
 26r.

that potential nev¡ sporting clubs and organisations will be

allor,¡ed to obtain additional areas for building elaborate
sports facilitj-es. The Adelaide City Council Ís sensitíve
to public opinion that would now favour the preservation of
the Parklands in their natural state. fn a copy of 1.''lorsnoprs
History of Adelaide, presented to Harry Sucklíng, former
Deoutlr Town Clerk of Adelaidq someone has written at tÌ:e end
of Chapter Oner,"./here ir{orsnop advocates the preservation of
large open areas for:
rrhealthy exercise and enj oyment
as much as for the inhabi tants
of ;\delaid-e itselftr;

then in handv¡riting:
rrff the citizens are not so
stupid as to allow their
appropriation b-v pr"ivate
associ-ations su-ch as cricket
and racing clubs." 86

86. Thomas Ì'dorsnop, Hlstorv of the Citv of Adelaide , P.r3.

 262.

CHAPTER NINE

Recr eation Use of the Parkl-ands

One of the rnajor purposes for settlng aside

the Parklands r.¡as to provide for ttthe recreation of
the cj-tizensrtl. Over the years, approxinately one third of
the Parklands have ù""r, ali-enated and are noï¡ not available
for recreati-on use:
trof the original two thousand
three hundred acres of Parklands,
one thousand six hundred acres r' ¿
are available to the public toda5r.

Unfortunately the concepts of trreçreationlt and itpublic userr

have been i-nterpreted broad.ly in the past, and therefore a 'r,'¡ide
range of public organisations have jusiified their exclusive
use of the Parklands,in the narne of public se:sice,*à¿ to some
extent, recrea.tion. It v¡ould be difficult to argue that there
is not a degree of recreation con-uent in the activities Of,
for example the Zoo or Botanic Gardens, or the Festival Theatret
or in the educational purposes of the Universltir of Adelaidet
Institute of Technology, Ad.e1aide College of the Àrts and
Ed.ucation and the Adelaide High School'
Recreation use of the Farkland.s must also talce into
account people '.vho do not wlsh to participate in organised

1. Ad.vertiser. 12th i'Iovember 1877. Sir George Kingston

SÐeaÌe-ñeffi'the F{ouse of Assembly and f ormer Deputy
Surveyor-General to Colonel Light_r- quoted the coränent
writtän on Lishtts original plan l'[arch IB17 .
2. J.S. c
Ree et A Brief Histo of the Adelaide Parklands ,
A<le1aiCe
 263.

activities, bu.t rvho r,.¡isÌ: to participa,te in activities on an

informal basis. Because they are not organisedr it has alv,'a.ys
been difficult to represent this poi-nt of vier,¡ and to Loi:by
effecti-r.'e1y for the retenti-on of open recreation spece in the
Pa.rkland-s. To sone extent the Parkl-ands Freservation League
fulfilled this role in the ear'ly pe.rt of the century and again in
the 1950rs.
l,Iosi. forns of active recreation were little knorn?ì io the
vrorking classes ín L837, and meny of the social- and, rvorking
patterns of industrial England þ¡ere carried over into the nev¡
col-ony. \{hat little tine there rças ar¡,'ay from the workp}ace coul-d
be considered re-creation tine - nqt tine for fun or play, but
tj-ne for pnysical rest io refresh the body in order to v¡ork
hard.er. I'riany new colonists brought this l,¡ork ethic io South
Ar-tsiralia, but Others wanted, rnore out of theír'life than just
ha,rC r*ot'kr so grad.ually ernphasi-s vras placed on the need to
bal-ance ',.¡orlc and leisure. Also during tiie mid nineteenth century
tire value of open space around. the cities ï¡as being advocated,
to provide iherthmgs of the cityt'3, in order to inrprove the
health of urban peoole. A confusion of health and social- val-ues
was tnerefore responsible in scae fia]/;lor ihe laclc of cla:'ity
i-n definition of the p'rrposes for tne Adelaide Parklands:

ttthe Parklands \',iere first seen

as a kind of general
rf
purpose
no man s ianci..
I 4

3 , Lewis l"lurnf ord t The Citir in Hiqto!1i, Secker and liarburg.

London I95L.
4. Ðerek i'Iìritelock, Adelaid.e l836-l.976 , Queensl-and L977, P.f85.
 ¿o+.

Rui:bish in tire Parkland,s, squatters camped along

r".¡as du.nped

the Toruens, and envious eyes ri.rere turned to the commercíal_

values.of sub-divíding sections of the parklands. Fortunatefïr
those intentions rn¡ere fru.strated by Gar¡rerrs purchase of tl:e
Parkla.nds in 18f9.5 sir George Grey, further enphasised the
public recreation lrurposes of the Pa.r'klands v¡hen he maintained
that:
I'the trarklands are essenti-ally
requisite for the recreatión
and health of the inhabítants.rl 6

Earl}r recreation use of the Parkland.s \i¡as mainry on sunda.ys

and pu-b1ic holidays because these were the only free tines
ava.ilable to most people. No active sport was allol¡ed 'oecause
of the strict 'sund.ay observance lav¡s governing the use of
public parklanCs; tirerefore one of the fev¡ activities arrallable
to farnllies and. cou.rting couples rra*s io pronenade in -uheir
sunda.-r¡ best among the forma], rvel1-lai-d- out Botanic Gardens:

I'on Sund.ay it (tne garden) is 7

open from* to file oiciock.rt
tr.n¡o

¡-
Another/sundalr acti.¡it]¡ fn the Parklands featured the
brass band.s tfiat pla3re,¿ in especially erected roiundalZ
at Elder Park, tire Botanic Gardens and also Kingston Gardens,

5. See Cha nter Two , Preserwation Under Pressure - The

Acouisi tion of th e Farklands.
6. cit of Àdelaid e, Renort on the Purchase of the Adelaid e
Par 1, lanr1s , 1885 ,
l\ façã
* tt- rev o ê onol:a e
Lord J onn Russe 11 , th Septenber 1841.
7. Governrnen-c Gazet te 24tln January 1861-.
 265.

fin ttre Parklands. Ifhile the bands pì-aysd, people of

all ages relaxed. on park seats und-er leafy treesr or sat on
the rve11-kept lavms with picnS-c nampers:-/

rreveryVlctorian park had

a rotunda and a band for
v¡eekend amusement. rr B

Tociay there are nany nore recreation activities avaj-lable

particularly on Sunday, but a stro11 through the Parklands a.nd
along the River Toruens still v¡ith rnu-sic in the baekground - not
only brass bands retains its pcpulari-ty as a recreation pastime.
Another recreation use of the Parklands was for special
public events, For examT:le in 1846, marq.uees were erected^ on the.
Parklantls for an official public celebratlon in the form of
a special dinner held in |tthe grand pavilion on the Parkland.stt
to rvelcome trthat gallant traveller Captain Sturt home from his
explorations"9. As the South Australian colony d.eveloped,
greater ernphasis rvas ple.ced on tl:e more easy-going lifestyle
in v,'hich enjoyment and recreational opportunities urere able
to flourish, In this a.tmosphere, the eight hours movement
found a great deal of suppori during the 1850fs, and the campaign
for eight hours recreation, eight hours rest and ei¡ì:rt hours
v¡o¡'k seemed logical to many of Adelaj_dets citi_zens. Sport
featured strongly as a main element in the recreation use of
free time, and this passion for competitive sport became part
of the grovrbh toward a national identity. Obviously, the

B. l4ichael Cannon, Life in the Cities , P.41.

9. Derek rilleitelock, Adelaide 18 6-1 6 ,B risbane 1977, P.195,
The Dinner v¡as he on e e rue r]' f 846.
 266.

Parklands r¡Iere a mai-n venue for sportulO, Al-so, other less

competitÍve recreational activíties and amusennents occupi-ed
the additional free tine nor,¡ available through the successful
introduction of ihe eight hour day and. the Saturday afternoon
holid.ay. Þiany of these less structured activities rr/êrê
i-ntegrated into the use of the Parklands, because convenient
public open space r¡¡as åVâilable for a gror,+ing urban community,
in ,,.¡hi-ch recreation grad.ually beeame accepted as a legitimate
use of free tine. For example, mass entertainment ì'\tas an early
feature of the Parlclands. I{o other venue rtlas suitable for the
Ìnany thousand.s v¡ho crowd.ed. into circuses and public performances;
sor,.1e of r..¡hich charged" admission pricesn with the profits goíng

to the entrepreneur. i{uge crorrds enjoyed the perfornances on

the South Parkl-ancls of Blondin the famcus tightrope walker rvho
on the 7th February le75 "drerv two thousand five hundred people
to his first perforr:ra-nce on the South Park1and,s"11, Tirj-s fanous
Fre:iciinan, Itthe hero of lliagara"12 had crossed the l\Tiagara Falls
on a tightrope for the first tine sixteen )rears previously. In
Adel-aicle, si>ltlr feet above the ground ire danced, r*alked blind-
folded, turned somersaults, and carried a stove on his baclc:

'trvitir a great displaY of fuss

and energy proceeded to ccok an
ornelet ',virich was afterr'/ards sent 1?
d.or¡,'n to the ladies to taste.rr

iiore fornal functions such as the I{ayorrs garden part-v in tl:e

Farltlands 1"¡ere occasions for the Adelaide gentry to enjoy the

10. See Chaoter Eight , P.?-3O.

11. Iìegister , 8th Febrruarlr L87r.

l-2. ibid.
IZ l- br-d .
 'F.zI a
Lr/

refined pleasures of their own company:

t'wlth the assenbled guests still

resolutely dressed in the style
of Victorian England.tt l-4
Al-so, the 'øorking classes used the Parklands for their special
functions' on at least one occasion' Labour Day r¡¡¿s celebrated
with such activities as buck jumping (on the Jubilee Oval nov¡
by the Universi.ty of Adelaide buildings on the west
occupi-ed.
side of Frome Road) and rrgreyhound jumping over a stick held
fifteen feet above the ground, claimed to be a r'¡orld record
'tR
leaprr12. I{any organisations and- family groups used the Parklands
for picnj-cs. Even on Good Friday, which vras consj-dered- to be
a special religious day on v¡h,j-ch sport and other public amusements
were not encouraged; the Parklands still attracted consid.erable
recreation use:
ttGood Frida¡r is not a holiday
in the accepted sense of the
word, nevert]:elessr meny Picnic
parties I'¡ere held, PrincipallY
ln conneetion v¡ith Sunday schools
and. temperance societies.tr 16

Although the River Torrens v/as rea11y no more than a creek,

it v¡as a pleasant recreational feature in the Pa.r}<lands as rvel-l-
as a source of drinking vrater for the citSr' Its importance vlas
recognised in bl¡ an Act of Parliament which specified
1B7O

both its public use, and. the requirement for a dam to control

l-4. Derek 1''/hltelock, Adel-aide te36-I976 Brisbane L977, P.279.

Photo Nunber 97,
j.5. Observer, 20th October L928.
16. Register , 22nd l'larch 1880,
 269.

the water flor,¡ and storagei

rrpublic use of the sheet of
v,¡ater forned by the erection
of a dam together i.¡ith the
banks and approaches to the
said river. n 17

this time, recreation use of the River Torrens r.¡as

From
encouraged r,vith the provision of boating, fishing, svlimmi-ng,
and a visually nleasairt environment. ït rvas traditional for
many years from the early f9OO I s, to have a llenlelr on Torens
Carnival rvhich attempted to reflect th.e traditional English
Fienley-on-Thames Regatta :

'rBritish to the boot straps,

these citizens visualised the
Torrens as another Thames.rr 18

Certainl,rr this annual event proved popular. For examF1e, in

L928, âÐ estinated -ueïÌ thousand people were attra.cted to this
Carnival during the afternoon, r..¡hile between fifty to sixty
thousand people l'/ere present in the evening. Tirey sar'¡ such
activities as outboard rnctor hydroplanes, decorated gond"olas,
rowing events, water polo matches, and the River Torrens
il-l-uninated at nightlg.
By the s, an efflcient, cheap bicycle røas available
1B9Of
as a rnethod of transport, and for recreation purposes. Cycling
becarne popular among all ages and l-ed to:

17. River Torrens Irnorovement Act, Li of 1869-70,

IQ
L,- t Derek 1'.'liitelock, Adelaide 1836-1976 Brisbane L977, P.288.
Fhoto l'lumber 111.
19. Observer , 8th December 1928.
 269.

ffcycli-ng mania from about 1893,

caused by a rvidesprea"d intro-
duction of bicycles v¡hich were
ideally suited to a flat city
such as Adelaide.rr 20

Competitive bicycle racing on the Jubilee Oval and the Adelaide

Oval attracted large numbers of spectuto""2l; but meny others,
including ]roung lari.i es enjoyed cycling as a recreational activity^
and participated in the cycle clubs established in Adelaide at
this time. Often social outings were held in the Parklands:

s cycling clubs
fr1'Iomen I r,,¡ere
popular in Adelai.de
in the early 1900 r s. rr 22

À policy for the development of cycling in the Adelaici.e Parklands

and the construction of cysls paths vras a highlight of the
Adelaide City Council Annual Report in 19Of:

policy of maklng use of the

rrThe
avenues and plantatj-ons about the
Parklands for cycle paths has been
continued this year. The avenue
along the southern side of the Glen
Osmond Road v¡as converted for this
purpose and non forrns the fj-nest
of all paths as yet constructed,
and bears the nane t Ponder Avenue I . rr 23

As peoole became more prosperous v¡ith the change in social-

conditions, the¡r v/ere prepared to pay for threir entertainment
and facilities such as for exar¡Þle, tine Zoo became economically

20. J.C. Radcliffe, and C.J.iq. Steele, Adelaide Passenger

Transport 1836-1953 , Libraries Board of South Ausiralia
T77T,--P-28.
2I. See Chapter Four, P.94.
)) Max Colwel-l and Al-an ltaylor, Adelaide An lllustrated
History , Lansdov¡n Press, Þlelbourne, L974, P.lO}.
21. Adelaide City Council, Annual Report , rga1.
 270.

viable as i:eoole flocked to enjoy the sight of live anirnals

from other countries. Although the Zoo rvas situated on
Government R.eserve land, it was an important feature of the
Parklands. The Zoological and Acclinatisati-on society, later
the Royar Zoological society, had alr'rays charged. an admission
pri-ce in an attenpt to cover operating and development costs.
I"Íany battles were fought with the Botanic Gardens Board over
the acquisitj-on of add.itional land. for the expansion of this
oopular recreation feature. An opportunity came in 1912 to
lease seven acres of the Parkland.s on thre opposite side of the
River Torrens, for twenty-one years, frorn the Adelaid.e city
council. Tl:e proposal vras to use this land. for a deer park.
Under the l{unicipal C,¡rporatj-ons Act j-t v¡as requi.red that this
lease be subject to ratification a.t a public meeting24. rt
would seem that the extension to the Zoological Gardens was
considered an important r"ecreation activity because the proposal
was a-oproved 'rby an oven^¡helmin6 ma¡ority"Z5. Tv¡o faciors stopped.
this project frorn proceed.ing, first the v¡ar r,rith the conseq.uent
drop in attendances restricted finances for developmento also
tirere v¡as tlie inability of the Society to meet one of the lease
conditions, r¡¡irich specified an access Þridge across the River
Torrens. Eventuallv, a seven foot high fence was erected around
tire property, also a three inch r.vater nain eight hundred feet
long was connected and trees were pranted in this area. l.io
finance for a bridge was forthcomi-ng and the Jease tvas eventually

24. l4unicipal Corporations Act. 497 of 1890, Section 97.

25. C.E. Rix, Ro a1 Zoolo ical Societ of South Austral-ia
L878-t978. r n rESS ou US d a
Ratena5'ers lvleeting ireld in the Tor.¡r FIall l4arch l_91J.
 27¡-.

surrendered in l-924. This alloived the Council to proceed with

ttthe construction of ldar l,lemorial- Drive and the remaining
portion can be utilised for athletic c1ubs,,26, Since its
inceotion, the Royal Zoological Society has endeavoured to
erpand i-ts cramped site, but because of public pressure against
alienaiion of the Parklands, it is unlikely that another
opportunity uil1 present itself to the Society for a large area
of fenced parhlands.
An a.ttenpt wa"s made in 1914 to introdu.ce a large comroercial
recreation activity to the Farklands. An intersta'ue group
reÐresented by A.L. Baird approached. the Council to lease four
acres of Pariclands, south of ihe Adel-aide Oval near the Citl'
Bridge, for an arnusement or pleasure park. This t¡ould have
been C.esißned along the sarûe lines as Luna Park in l{elbourne
and i'ihi'te City (nor.t Luna Park) in Sydnel':

rrr¡e v¡ill }a¡r out th.e nlace in an

artistic nanner r¡ith v,¡ater cou.rses,
canals, Venetlan ternples, and
staircases and bal-ustraded plateaus -
ai least forty sepai'ate at-r"ractiorrso
]¡Ie wj-il_ make a ver:r' special point of
band music - brightly illuminated
granci. feature, a scenic raj-},¡ayr
mlrsteri-ous rj-ver - two thousand feet
of apoarentl.y underground canal -
four hundred gigantic nirrors
rn]¡stifying reflections e fun factopl.r'r
mountain slide - a lilnd of toboggan. rr ?7
Èl

The proposal fo:" a seven J¡ear lease at six hundred pou.nds

',^¡as
Ìler annum. A corrugated iron fence r.¡as to be built around the
area by ihe apolj-cant. No v¡ater coulC be tal:en frorn the

26. Adelaide City Cor-urcil, Annual Renort L924.

Zl. Dail-t¡ Flerald , l-lth June 1914.
 272.

Torrens Lal<e; but the applicant r.¡ould be allov,'ed to run clean

''¡'¡aste into th^e river. r,{hen this proposal v¡as mad.e public,

there was an immediate protest by the Adelaide l4anagers

28
Association-", 'rrho argued that:

trthe policy of the Council -

had ahv'ays been to refuse to
l-ease the city parks for
purposes of private gain. rl

If this cl:anged:

rrlocal people be glven at least

an equal opportunity with out-
siders io tender for sitesrrr

and that:

rras ratepayers of the cit_v and

as proprietors they would be
seriou.sly affected by the
granting of the lease for
several reasons one of r,shlch
r.¡as - that the rental contem-
plated ldlas ver)t snall compared
'¡¡ith other citir rentals.tr 29
Another grcup who opposed this comniencial recreation use of
the ParlllanC.-q ','r.:ìs the ;!de,l-ai"Ce Parklands Freservation Lea,3l:e.
c.T. Hargrave in a newspaper arti-cre titied
eomnented
"The Thin Edge of the l'Iedgetf , that:

28. .A.delaide Managers Association:- I,/est Pictures, Tivoli

Thea.tres, Empire Theatre, J.C. I/illiamson, Pavi-lion
Picture Palace, Star Theatre Picture Palace, and the
Greater I'Iondergraph Co.
29. Daih' Flerald , 16th June 1914,
 273.

t'any scheme for granting a

portion of the Parklands to
any syndicate or company what-
soever for the purposes of
gain should be strongly
condemneC and stopped if
possible at the outset - the
League stron6ly opposed the
me.king of money at all. out
of the Parklands - a great
rnistake has been made in
granting so many leases to
bodies such as the Cricket
Association, and allowing
them to enclose so much of
the Parlclands - this is the
thin edge of the wedge.rr 30

this matter was debated at the Adelai.de City Council

'l'trhen

meeting on the fifteenth of June LgAt+, feelings ran high.

Councillor Sullivan questioned- the proposal in relaticn to
one of the most important purnoses of the Parklands:

they going to lease away

rr'.,rere
this piece of l-and to enterprising
people for seven years to make
moneyr otr were they going to
retain the Parklands for tire
benefit of the people.rr 3J-

Ald.erman Cohen sr-rpported the application with. a financial

argument:

Itbecause in the light of the

fact that the fÍnances were
certainl)¡ not too healthy, he
thought it was his duty to do
so (irrat is support thä nct)
he did not feel justified in
turning dolm a proposed revenue )¿
of six hundred pounds per annum.rr

30. ibid, 19th June f914.

3l-. ibid, 16th June 1914,
32. ibid, 16th June l-914.
 274.

Alderman Isaacs also supported the proposal, using an argument

based on more efficlent use of the Parklands area:

rrthe only sports clubs using

the ground vrere one football
cl-ub and one cricket club
(voice - apd one hockey club),
Apart from that it was only
used for grazing cattl-e. I.,Ihen
they had use for trarklands they,
es representatives of the
citj-zens, had the right to take
advantage of them,' 33

The Council aecepted the application, twelve votes foq and

six votes against. As required by the l4unicipal Corporations
zl,
Actr*, a ratepayers pol1 ruas held on 26th June 1914 to endorse
the decision. Ironically, the major interest group fighting
this proposal was an association of local commercial-
entertainment nunrg*"u t

r¡so opi:osed to the scheme vrere

the managements of various
a.nusement houses in the city
that several of the picture
sirow s'¡:rui-kers lrere stationed
at the entrance to the Town
Ha1l wirere they advised people
passing, to vote tl'do t . " 35

Fortunately, the voting v/as strongly against the Council

recommendation, vrith seven thousand eight hundred and four
votes against, to four thousand two hundred and eighty one
votes for the proposal, and the issue of an amusement park on
the banks of the Torrens v¡as dead, It would be difficult to

AZ ibid, 16th June 1914.

34. Municipal Corpora,tions Act 4gz of 1890, section 97,
z^ Dailt' Heral-d , 27th January 1914.
 275.

conclude that this vote rnras a triumph against rrthe forces of

darknessrr becausethe issue was not really about savlng the
Parklands for the people, but rather local commercial vested
interests keeping out an j-nterstate competitor.
Another uisuccessful commercial venturer that could also
be call-ed entertainnent by some people, was a proposed snake
park situ-ated in the North Parklands between Sir Edv¡in Smith
Avenue and the UniversÍt]r Oval- Grandstand. In 1926 one-fifth
of an acre was apnroved for this ',r"rrtu""J6. Nothing happened"
until itg37 v¡hen the Director of the snake park, A.K, Minchin :

obtained approval for an increase 1n the size of the site to

one acre, viith the consent of the ratepaye?s17. At this ti¡re
the name was changed to the Snake Park and Koala Farmrand
generally became knov¡n as the Koala Farn, v¡hich also housed
bears anci- other animals, including ponies for pony rides.
I,,Ihen the Koal-a Farm closed on the 23rd l'1ay 1960, the bears

r.rent to the l.lational- Trust at Renmark and. the eainel, snakes,

kangaroos, ponies and bird"s were sent to the Adelaíde Zoo38.
By the rnid 1920 | s, Saturday 'i^¡as a half holiday for rcost
workers, and a distinctive Australian r'¡eekend evolved witi:
emphasis on Saturday afternoon sport fo" *.nyr now that work
finished at one otclock. Also a v¡ide range of recreation
activities as well- as sports were novl possible, and the
Parklands l.¡ere increasi-ngfy used¡ particularly for famlly
picnics, fishing and si-mple relaxati-on in a pleasant natura]

5Õ. Adelaide City Council, Annual Report 1926,

2nd l'larch 1977.
38. Adelaide City Counci-l, Archives reference.
 276.

environment. One particular Sr-rnday activity in the Parklands

during this period $¡as the speakerts section in Botanic Parkt
modelled on the famous Speakerts Corner in Hyde Park, London:

ll *lr
U¿f,La T
¿.
l:I
¡¡ . t.I
rl . ( Industrial T,forkers
of the 'i'lorld ) r of ','Io'oblies, had
become the dominant soclal
movement i-n South Australia,
One of their leaders was GeorSçe
Reeve, a great speaker, !¡ho
regularly drett huge crot{ds to
Botanic Fark.u 39

Undoubtedly the free entertainment on Sunday was a valid

recreation actj.vitlr ¡s¡ many people rvho aitended these outdoor
rneetings in the Farkland.s; particularly u¡hen some of the great
political figures of the day travelled to South Australia and
used this ready raade publ-ic audience to get their messages
across:

ttln Botanic Fark r¡;here the

political meeiings vrere heldt
I remember o1d Jach Lang coming
over and aC.dressj-ng poli-uical
rneetings. lie had a lot of
support over here.rt 40

-i'. r,¡id.e renße of ni::or recreation aCti-vities 1.nlêtê locateci on the

n anti these prgv"ided 6a.tisf¡rlnf{ exÐeriences for" a relat-
Pa::'Ìil-ands

íve1y smaLl number of people. For example, from the early days of
tlie colony SOme settlers i,/ere verl/ keen on arcÌlery. Over the
various areas of the Parklands u'ere u-sed for this sport.
.,"êârs

At oresent the Adelaide Archery ClÌ-ub has a perrnit from the

19. F.ussell Porter and Jim Cane' ,\ Ðiffe-ren!-X¿é-i-oq'

Frecipice Press, .ùdelaide ag7Tffi
40.','lend]¡ Lovenstei-n, ifeevils in the Flour , liyland Iiouse,
i'ielbourne l-978, P.
 277.

Adelaide City Council for a triangular piece of land at the

eastern end of Bunde5's Road where a shooting butt has been
constructed. The club prorrides archery facillties for a rfide
age range of nernbers with varying skil-ls. It is one of the
strongest archery clubs in South Australi.4l,
Rifle shooting r,¡as also a recreatj-on activitlz ç¡¿"rtaken
by a small nurnber of enthusiasts in the South Parklands fron
t,2
1861 to 7-878*t. Apparently ihe shooters l.¡ere not verr¡ accurate
because:

rrpeople crossing the Parklands

from Unley io the city cornplained
about errant bullets.¡r 43

Obviously, this dangerous situation could not contlnue, because

as the city grelì¡, the Parklands uere used by people, particularly
as a thoroughfare from Greenhill Road to South Temace. In the
ir{ayoral Renort iniroduced by Edv¡in Smith in L87S/7g, he announced
a change in policy for the use of this area of the Parlcland.s I
rrthe mounds of the old rifle butts
can, I think, be vorked in and
rnade an orna.mental feature in tire
lanc1scape of the South Parklands.tt 44

Linked t'{ith the use of t}ie rifl-e butts rvas the mi-litia v¡ho
also used oiher areas of the Farklands for training purposes.

41. Adelaide Archery Club l4embership of fOth Ìdovember IgTg

l{as 437.
42. Victorian and Erlwardian Adelaide From Old
r,,,I.8. Pitcìie r,
PÌroto S ,J
o rs Second Panorar¡a, taken from the Post a
Office Tower in 187O r,vith- the shooting butts l¡isible in
the Parkl-ands.
43. Derek i'/ìrltelocir, Adet_aide LB36-t976 , Brisbane, L977, P.l-86.
44. Adelaide City Council, þlayoral Annual Renort )€78/79,
 278,

activities 1¡¡ere vo}-rntar_-r', and no Coubt

Because tìrese mili-tari.'
enjoyed by the participants, they constituted a valid recreati-on
use of the Parkl-ands. Apart from the rifle br-ltts, sections of
the Government R.esen¡e were used for rnilitarlr purposes. These
areas were located near the present parade ground and behj-nd the
police barraclcs situated on North Temace approxirnately v¡here
the library is nor,¡-situated45. Also the 1861 I'iunicipal
Corporations ACt made provisi-on for the ero!.,rrl to reserr¡e the
right to take temporary control of portions of the Parklands..
Itfor the purÞose of nilita ry
tra.ining and exercise. 46
rr

Ëlorses have always been a feature of the Parklands, and for

years the Adelaicle City Council has issued depasiuring permits and.
paddoc]çs in the FarF,lands for horses. These horses \'¡ere nainly
used throughout the city in busíness and commerce for deli.¿eries
an¿ otl:er forms of transport. Also horses Ï¡ere extensivel¡r used
by the police force and mj-l-itary C-etachrnents' Horse riding
for recreation d"uring this perlod r.ras confined to the vrealthy
.,*ho could afford, to keep extensive stables, usually on country

estates. iIorse racing and the use of the Victoria Pari<

Racecourse has been a sporting feature of the Parl<l-ands since
LB3B47. As the r+orÌ< horse v¡as superceded by motorised transport
in tire 1920ts and l9JOts, it seemed. that the horse as a feature

45. See Chapter Four, P. Also Anpendix l.{ap J.

46. l"Tunici a1 C ratlons Act 16 of 1861 , Sectlon 1O.
sec on
47. See Chapter Eight, P.?JL.
 279,

of urban life would diminish; but since the 1950rsr there

has been a growth in horse riding b¡r city dv¡ellers, and the
Council is under a great deal of pressure to allocate sections
of the Pariçlands for equestrian and horse riding club
activities, Also aglstment areas for horses ot'rned by
resi-dents in the city have been requested¡a1ong with bridle
paths through the Parklands. Seven specific areas have been
set aside for recreation activities related to horse riding,
In the South Parkland.s, three areas ad.jacent to Greenhill- Road
and Unley Road are held uncler permit by the Horse Riding Ciubs
Association, the South Australian Ridj-ng Clubrand the Dressage
Club of South Australia fncorporated.48 Another area east of
Unley Road is held under perrnit by the Equestrian Federaiion
of Australia. In the I'Torth Parkla.ndsr an area for horse
activities is provicied adjacent !o Kingsion Terra.ce t'¡here a
bridle path, exercise )¡ards and agistment paddocks for up to
forty horses are provided. It has been recor'ìaended that this
area be developed es aftforest parkrrand that there be:

rrthe provislon of stables and

e>rercise yards l'¡ithin the
rforest parkt concept to
cater for equestrian needs
and activíties.tt 49

Another area in the i'trest Parklands south of Flilton Road near

the cemetery also provides agistment for horse ov¡TÌêrs. Although
there has been a critícism frorn various horse riding organisations

48. See Appendix l.lap Z.

49. City of Adel-aide, Pol-ic For the Future Use and Conservation
of the Parklands ,
 2BO.

and individuals, that loca1 government has not provided

adequate facilities for this popular recreatj,on activity;
it ',voulC seen that the Adelaide City Council has more than
catered for the horse ríding interests on the Adel-aj-cle Parkland.s.
During the late 196Ots, jogging, running and fitness
courses or sweat tracks became popular in Eu-rope and North
America.. In the 1970rs, fitness courses were constructed in
Parkl-ands throu-girout South Austral-ia. The National Fitness
Council?O ir. co-operatj-on r.¡ith the Adelaide City Council ,
constructed a fitness course on the r'¡estern side of the
Vi-ctoria ParÌ< Racecourse v,,hich was onened. by the Lord" Þlayor
R.E. Porter in it97O5I. During this period, the t' jogging boomtr
caught on in ,Adelaide, and the Parklands have since provided
an id.eal facility for índ.ividual-s ahd groups to participate
in this recreatj-onal activÍty for both enio:/mentrand fitness,
in the ear'ly morning, lunchtimes, after r'¡ork or at lveekends.
Fortunatelyr its popularity has not created a demand for
excl-usive use of Parkland. areas.
The argu-ment for increased recreatlon use of ti:e Parkland.s
has been raised periodically:

¡rI v¡ou-ld suggest that a very

small nercentage of these people
(aoetaiae's pofulation) aetuaily
u.se the Parklands for their ol.nr
play or recreational purposes.'r 52

50, National Fitness Council integrated with the Division

of Recreation and SPort in 1975.
5L. The ltlational- Fitness Council Sv,,eat Track i¡as opened by
the Lord l'{ayor of Adelald.e, R..E. Porter in l"lay T97O.
52. Trevor D. Jacq ues, A Study of Peool-e and Their Plav v¡ith
Particular Ref erence to Recreation Use of the Parklands
of the Cj-tv ol Aclelal-d.e. Ines is, Adel-aide College of
.42.
 281.

Surveys have been attempted to try and quantify the number of

peopJ-e v¡ho actually use the Parkland
"51
. ft seems to d.isturb
sone people that the Parklands are not srvarmi-ng with people
all the time; they clairn there is a need to attract people
to use this valuable resource:

I rrfor the Par]<lands to achieve

L-bheir original ainn they nust
l .

have people using them and I

believe that the only way in
rvhich the Parklands are going
to attract people and by this
justify their exlstence, they
neededto be developed to sone
extent.tt 54 I
J
It can therefore be argued that the Parklands have becone tire
ttsacred cowsrr of the Adelaide City Council¡

rrit 1s hard to justify this

rhands off I attitude rEhich
results rvhen almost any pr opo sa1
is put forward for pu.tting th e
Parhlands to better use. 1r
55

This line of reasoni-ng is sc¡mervhat j-rrational because recreatj.on

use is limited to only active recreation, entertainment,
amusernents, and sport. significant categories of Parklands
T-r.,tro

users are never adequately represented ei-ther in Sun/eys or

official- reports a.nd statistics. First, those users '*'ho are
not organlsed into any formal groups, but enjoy unstructured
informal- activities particularly on v¡eekends and public holidays.

ibid.
54. ibid,
55. Advertise¡, Znd. Seþtember L97O. Article by Peter Hignett
ftfedTarklands and Sacred Cows t .
 282.

To obtain fu¡'ther insight into how people lnformally use the

Parklands, an opportunity lvas taken to once more become a

typlcal farnily user at both Rymill Park and Bonython Park on

a mÍld Spring Sunday in September 1980. Although the weather
Ïres f ine r âû overcast day probably l-imited attendances to
bel-ov¡ everage use.
At Ryrnill ParL< in the East Parklands many shade trees
make the area ideal for picnic groups, particularly if a
barbecue meal is part of the outing. Anpetising aromas from
sizzling rneat along with appropriate liquid refreshments made
a con-¡ivial atmosphere for farnilies and friends. Our familir,
including the dog, lrere part of appro>:imately íour hundred
neople lvho used these r^¡ell rqalntained park facilities. One

of the most popular acti'¡ities ï¡es boating on the attractive

sirallorr laher',vitir its island anci. rustic wooden bridge. A
queue of tv¡enty-fíve neople ¡ mal-nl5r young teenagers and some
pa.rents v¡ith sriiâll ehilCren r,vaited patientllr for their turn
in these seventeen sturdy and safe craft'. Strangel-y, the
popularity of the boats is unpredictable according to the
Lessee; soi:reti-mes on fine da.ys sone of tlie boats are not used,
but peo¡le irave been lmor¡.rn on 'i,,êt da,,¡s -uo ror/r their boats r+ith
u.nbrellas ralsed. l.lany family groups, like ours, enjoyed a
rela;<ing afternoon just sitting and ta1king, the younger ones
used -uhe -c1a1,'ground ecluipment while oth.ers incl-uding teenagers
and active carents, pai'ti-cularl-v the dads, kicl<ed or Ìrit baIls
around the ot)en sÐaces set aside near tire beautiful Rose Garden.
One particular group of sixt.v adults were TuÞper"rare Dea.lers
 283.

from the metropolitan area, They meet in tkre Parklands r¡¡ith

their famil-ies three tirnes each year to get to knor,¡ each
other and according to the organiser, the Parklands are both
central and ¡rcvide tÌ:e righ.t informal social atmoslrhere.
Of course the kioslt rvas busy v¡ith clrinks and ieecream. r¡,,,41en
the weather is cooler, the Lessee sells plenty of hot coffee;
also she acts as an unofficial information service for touri-sts,
and wisely keeos on hand copies of visitors guides, public
transport maps and tourist maps.
At Bonython Parkrthe large slide is still popular rvith
children, and the model boat pond had one hundred and fiftSr six
people of all ages v"'atehi ng four adults r,vith their radio
controlled boats which roared around the pondn while soine
chrj-ldren l..'ere enjoying an excuse to '*.¡ade in tkre v¡ater and
played with their smaller less soohj-sticated boats. There
seened to be more people at the park than I remember sone years
back; certainly the car park v¡as more crorn¡ded, to the extent
that the former paddock among the olj-ve trees used by the
Polj-ce Greys (horses) v¡as no\,¡ an extension car park.
Appro:<irnatel1' four hundred. cars were in this arear So probably
over fifteen hundred people l.,¡ere using the park faciliiies,
Again people of all ages were barbecuing and relaxing; while
some enjoyed the oaddleboats on the ri-ver. A new long slide
on the top of a high earth mound provided a 1ong, steep, fast
slicie r*ith tlvo dips to add to tire thrills, A very busy kiosk
with long o-ueues of children and parents mainly bought icecream
and drinks, al-so hot cirlps l...'ere popular.
 281¡.

It rvould bedifficult to imagine better uses for the

Parklands than these sirnple, unorganised recreational activities
r'¡hich obviously assist families and others to enjoy healthyt
relaxing out-of-door experiences. Perhaps planners and Parkland
critics should take the time to participate v¡ith their families
in tirese simple nleasures, often forgotten as children gro\'¡
up and other activities cror+d out tliese former fanily pri-orlties.
A second category of Parkland users who are often neglected
in official statistics, surveys and reports are those who
aporeciate the natural environment, particularly the trees and
natural vegetation in the Parklands. Some of these people rnay
not even use the Parklands, but they obtain rrisual pleasure
from the many magnificent Australian gum trees '¡¡ilich dominate
areas of tl:e Parlçland-s. To a major extent the envi-ronment is
enhanced by the trees:

rrtrees and nature played an

important role in this concept
of ur'oan beauty.rr 56

Unfortunatelir, the trees in the Farlçlands uere fair game to

many inha'oitants of early Adelaid.e. Complaints !¡ere made as
early as 1840 about:
rra whole body of natives
herving and cuiting away at
the fine trees opposite
Government House,rr 57

56. Ian C. Laurie, Nature In Cities , John idiley and Sons,

Uni+,ed l{ingdom ,-l-979 , P.208.
57. Register , 19th August 1840.
 285.

Attemots r¡¡ere made the next year by Governor Grey to ,preserve

the tinber"58, by fencing portions of the parklands" Early
Adelaide.city councils derived their income from the sare of
dead. trees from the parkland.s59, In 1g56 the Counci]_
comnenced a tree replanting programme:

lrthese plantations took at"¡ay

the very arid appearance of-
the open parks and squares in
and surrounding the city.tt 60

Restorati cln of the trees in the Adelaide Parkland.s often meant the
replacement of Australian native trees with their English
counterparts. ornamental trees such as elms, poplars, ash,
oaks, and. fig trees were planted.. The conservator of Forests
reported to the City Council in lBZg that:

rfDerhaÌrs the r,¡orst feature

of the Parklands were the
numerous eucalynts. rr

he nent on to say that:

Itthe guns as a rule are not

very ornamental trees, and
besides these in the Parþ,lands
have a ver]¡ r.¡nhealthy appearance.tt

tirel' should, he urged:

rrgive place to others of a
more suitable kind. tt 61

58. Thomas I,'/orsnop,

Historv of the Citr¡ of Adelaide 1879 , P .46.
qo Adelaide city council, Financial statements l-s52-1868.
See also Appendix A.A.
60. Thomas l'Iorsnop, The Jubilee Of Munici a1 Instituti s l-n
"Australia , san ds
6f-, Derelç -\,trhitelock, Adelaidg 1816-1926, Brisbane I7TT, p.1g6.
 ¿óc.

AlthougÌr the appreciation of trees particularly the Australian

nativesr âs an integral part of the recreation use of the
Parklands is norv recogni-sed.; there is stirl the need for open
space for sorne activlties, but this does not mean that trees
and the native bush setti-ngs enjoyed for the more passive
recreation uses need to be fcregone:

I'rnanyabhor the concrete path

mentality of beautification
v¡hich theln say has robbed
Adelaide of a unique bushland
setting and turned its parks
and gardens into artificial
rose gar<iens.tr 62

rt has that there is a place for both a

nov¡ been accepted.
renewal of interest in Australian native plants, and. tree species
which contribute to the recreation use of the parklands, Many
people also enjoy tire forrnal gardens situated in various places
throughout the Parklands, v¡hich orovid.e a pleasant recreational
envi-r"onment for people of all ages. Thelr are l-abour intensive
and therefore costl¡r to maintain; this neans that although
popular, ornanental gardens in the parklands are not likely to
expand. veale and Rymill Gardens, Rundle and Bonython parks
are Ðopular venues for v¡eddings. Traditionally wedd.ings rdere
performed by clergy inside churches, but there has been a gro'"vth
in outdoor rred.dings usually in a garden seiting, from ]1963 v¡hen
the Conmonwealth t'larriage Act r,,,as enacted in South Australi
^63.

62. I'Íax colv¡ell and Al-an Na¡,'lor, .A.delaide - An rll-ustrated

Fíisþry, l'1e1bor:r':i:e 1-97 4, P. 12-
51. commonr'¡ealth Act of pa.rliament. l,{amiage .Act l]5.1-rg7i.
 287.

Ivlarriage celebrants 'r¡ere appolnted r,.rho are able to perform

v.'eddings almost anywhere, nord clergy are also more ame¡:abl-e to
officiating at wedclings outside their churches. r,{ed.dings have:

Itranged frorn v¡hite vreddings with

groon in top hat and the bride
arriving on a horse-drav.rn vehicle,
to simple ceremonles before small
groups.tr 64

Probably the main reasoÍr for in either beautiful

r,veddings
gardens, or pleasant parks stem from the desire of particularly
the bride, to celebrate this important event in a setting equal
to, or if not better thanr âDy cathed-ra1 or church:
rrln the past 12 rnonths about 3OO
marriages r,.rere conducted i-n parks
ln Adelai-de, a 27 p.c. increase
over trrro years. tt 6,

Perhaps weddings are not directly a reerea.tiona.l use of

the Parklands; but they are certainly enjoyable social events
for the guests r,¡h.o are j-nvited to attend. Therefore recreation
is an important secondary consideration.
Undoubtedly th.e recrea.tion use of iÌre Parkland.s has
increased over tlie years as people have now more opportunities
for leisure activities, As energy shortages curtail the use of
the car, competltion for the present parkland spece among the
more than seventSr different recreation user Eroups could
.66
increase'", This requires a bafanced approach to the rnanagement

64. Advertiser pth September 1980,

6j. ibid.
66. See Appendix C. C.
 2gB.

of this finite parkland. resource rather than developnent

for its own sake. But recreation also contains intrinsic
qualities - an attituce of mind r.¡hich includes in the case
of the Parklands, an appreciatj-on of the natural envi,ronment.
Ti:e aesthetic va.l-ue of the parkland"s is therefore as
important to nany people as active recreati-on or sport.
It is difficult to r¡easure the visual worth of the parklands
to, for example, the motorists and the commuters on public
transoortr r.'¡ho use the Parklands as a thoroughfare to and
from their place of r*ork; or people who have decided. to live
in residential areas around the Parklands for:
rrthe magnificent viervs
across the Parklan<is en-
circling the city to the
l''lount Lofty P.anges,rr 67

These intangibl e recreaiíon uses of the Par.klands should not

be ignored.

67. l,lax Colwell and Alan Na ylor 7^-

, Adelaide - An ll_lustrated
History , l,lelbourne f974 , P. o¿.
 289.

CO}JCI,USÏO}íS - AI\TD A LOOK AHE.,{D

Fortunatelyr Adelaicie r',¡as endov¡ed v¡ith a unique two

thousand. three hundred acre parkland-s belt around the inner
city, by Colonel Light, the first Surveyor-General. When
Governor Gav¡1er purchased the Parkl-ands for one pound an acre,
innediately three hundred and, eighty acres v/ere set aside for
Government reserves. Over the years an adclitional tv¡o hundred
and nine acres of parklands have been alienated for Goverrunent
reserves, through ad hoc and piece-meal decisions, brought
about by politicar pressure fron private entrepreneurs, vrell-
intentioned officials of instituiions and sporting organisationsr -

and aublic servants. The maj-n offenders v¡ere the railrnra¡rs rn¡hich
were not in Lightts original plan; also the proliferation of
pu.blic lnstitutions along líorth rerrace r,¡ere not enwisagec. rn
the early da1's, alienation v¡a.s at the Govei.norrs whim, for
exarnole, the Adelaide Hospital, Lunatic As¡l1un, Destitute Asylurn,
Agricultural- and. Horticu-ltural Society, and. Police Barracks r,.¡ere
built on unsurvelzs¿ land. Errentualllr Gorrernnents began to take
an i-nterest in the use of their resen¡es, and parliarnentar.y
debates time and again raised the issue of why the parklands
!,¡ere origi-nallir set aside. Often the land descriptions were
nroclaimed b1r Executive Council and appeared in the Government
Gazette, t"'ithout debate b]t Parliament. Also, unofficial trold.
boy" agreements were scrnetimes mad.e, for exarnple rvhen the site
for the rnstitute of rechnology rvas selected by sir Langdon
Bonython without even the Prernierts knowledge.l Although it can

1. See Chapter Four, P.IOJ.

 290.

be demonstrated that self interest was predominant in

Gor¡ernnent reserve policy mairing; nevertheless during the
nlneteenth century, there were occasions r.¡hen the Got¡ernment
of the day made honest attempts to keep options open on the
use oi the reserves. This was done b¡r being vague about the
dedication of areas for specific uses. Today there are signs
that the Government v¡ill consider handing back sections of the
Government reserr¡,es for open space and recreation purposes .
In 1979 the I'feteorological Bureau building was demolished and
the land i-s now Parklands open up""";Z also the Kent To,.v::l
Engineering and I'/ater Supp1y Depot may soon become an historic
2
Þark.'
After the Adelaide City Council r¡¡as re-constituted, for a
second. time in l-852, all the Parklands nct designated Governroent
reserves l'¡ere placed under the care, control and management of
-,he Council. In hindsigirt, this 1.,'as probably an inspired
decision, Ìrecause t]:e Council have generally fulfil-led a
resnonsÍble trustee role, being suspicious of any Gover"nment
or othe:'plans to alienate the ParklanCs for purposes other than
tnose laid dolrn in the 1849 t'iunicipal Corporations Act. llovrever,
it v¡as clear ihat ultimate authority and ovrnershÍp remaj-ned with
tne Governneni and this has alwa-r,rs rankled successive Council
adninistrations. Early Councils were in no financial condítion
to develop the Parklands and in fact earned much needed revenues
fron the sale of depasiuring permits, f5-rewood, gravel, and
sand frcrn v¡hat were virtually paddocks. Eventually strong civic

2. See Chapter Six, P.181.

3. See Chapter Sj-x, P.2Ol-.
 29r.

l-eadership by various l'iayors and Town Clerks set examples

for the future development of the Parklands. l'{ayor Edr,¡in
Snlth in the 18BOfs took initiatives that developed particularly
Tomens Lalce and the Pa.rklands along the r1,r.r.4 He was also
rnainly responsible for the successful Jubilee Exhibition and
-uhe erection of substantial exhibition buil-dings along North

Terrace in 1887. tr'/¡C.D. Veale the long serving Tovm Clerk, saw
the potential of the Parklan<Ìs after an extensive overseas visit
ín 1957. He ir'as able to implement many changes to incl-ude an
excellent riverside restaurant, a par three golf course, another
restaurant in the South Parklands and, extenslve improvements
to Bonlrthon Park.5
There l.,¡ere occasions rvhen conrnercial interests gained the
uÐper hand, for exanrple Council supported the introduction of
an aausement park to be knorn¡: as rtl,'Ihite Ci-tyrt; fortr.rnatel-y this
project v¡as defeated 1n a ratepayers pol1.5 Strong soortin8
organisations have exe:'ted pressure on Council rnembers,
particularly in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
These pressures have been hard to resist beca,":.se of the high
public interest in particularly the major sports such as crici<et,
racing and tennis. Excl-usive use of extensive Parkland areas by
these sports v,'as inevitable, r¡¡hile other smaltrer but growing
sports vrere also able to alienate areas for facilities, such
as change sheds and club rooms. Bor.sling and croquet clubs l,/ere
able to fence off additional areas for iheir specialised rvell-
kept lar'rn P1a5r1-* surfaces.

4 See Chapter Five, P.149, and Chapter Seven, P,2l.B.

, See Chapter Seven, P.223.
6a See Chapter ltlíne, P.27l-.
 292,

Throughout the history of the Ade]aide Parklands there

have been concerned individuals, city'counc-i-llors and politicians
who have fought attenpts to alienate the Parklands, and protect
rvhat they considered was the public interest. often t,rey r^¡ere
lonely voices without a great deal- of support. The parklands
Preservation Soclety r,ias specifically established ín tire early
]¡ears of the century to a,d.d muscle to these disjointed individual
protests, and to be the v¡atchdog of the Parklands. Again in the
irnnediate post second ''rorl-d war, the Parklands Preservation
League t'¡as re-esiablished particularly to block the erection of
a rubbish destructor in tire \'test Parklands. This organisation
vias considered by nany as a group of d.o-gooder zealois, but
theSr 1¡/ere able to organise a public response to any schene to
aliene'te the Parklands. l4aybe their bark tvas worse than their
bite, but th.ey fulfilled a valuable role v¡hen needed. ltro d.oubt
r.l'hen the occasion arises sinilar groups r,.¡i11 mobilise again in

the interests of protecting the Parklands.

l'lhile Aflsfside people have always been entl:usiastic about
their sports, and the need to provid.e sorÌìe playíng spaces in
the Parlclands for these purposes; recreation as a conceÐt has
been rnore difficult to reconcj.le v¡ith public use, because of the
changing attitudes tor.¡ard leísure, and the intrinsic values
i-nherent in recreation. rt rn¡as not until 191-6 that a R.oya1
commission on the I'lorth reruace Reserves and Rai},.ray centres
actually defined. that ttthe ParkLands r,.¿hich surround. the city
of Adelaide r,vere originally dedicated for the use of the people
for purposes of recreation and pleasurert. A balance betrreen
 293.

sport and recreation, ¡r¡hich i.ncludes active and. passive

recreation, and an appreciation of the natural envi-ronment has
grad.ually evolved. over the years. There is no v¡ay any
significant expansion of the Parkland"s is possibre in the
futu¡'e, therefore the main issue will be to reconcj-le the
confricts and divergent interests as pressure for greater
public recreation use inevitably increases.
ïn order to look ahead and anticipate change, sorne ner¡¡
planning structures may be required to guard against future
alienation attennpts that v¡ill certaÍnly arise und.er d.ifferent
guises. First; there i-s a requirement on both the state
Government v¡ho ultir¡ately or.,n the Parlcl-ands, and the Adelaide
city council u'ho have a managerial responsibility, to r./ork
closely together in converting nherever possible existing
Go'¡ernment reserves to parklands. perhaps the co-operation
could fina-Lly extend to specific legislation, separate from the
present Local Government Act, and ihe City of Adelaide Development
Control Act. This proposed nerr' legislation could identify the
Parkland.s trnd,er its or,¡n Act as a protected area, witir all
existing legislation nertaining to various land uses v¡ithin
the Pari<lands consolida*ted under thÍs one Act. Second.; although
the City of Adelaide Plan adopied in 1976, and. recently updated
for another fÍve years, has nany commendable features related
to the Parklands; it is still a prod"uct of the professional
planners v¡ith some token public involvernent without any citizen
responsibilitl' for decisions made. The parklands in their
own right require a specific policy document ',,,'hich is abre to
 294.

clearly define recreati-on futures for the Parklands. Ii is

recogni-sed that a start r,r'as made with the production of the
Policy For the Future Use and Conservation Of The Parklands
in Ig73, but this document was not specific enough, and in any
case it is now out of date. Third; because the Adelaide
ParklanCs are so impoi'tant, there is a need to establish another
adrninistrative structure v¡hich brings together both State and
Adelaide City Council parks and recreation professionalsr so
that thls important state asset can be effectively preserved,
managed, reneÌ¡ed and d.eveloped in accordance v¡j-th specific
guidelines. Along v¡ithr the present CouncÍl adninistraticn;
the Department for the Arts, Division of Recreation and Sport,
and the Departnent for the Environnent, have staff rvho could
make u-sefu.l contributions to the future of the Adelaide ?arklands.
Finall_rr, tire conplacency of Adelaiders citj-zens musi be overcome;
any consÍderation of the future nust contain opportunities for
oublic discussion of issues tnat concern the Parklandsr this
r,.¡oul-d involve a conscious effort to educate the nublic in order

to prctect their priceless heritage.

ltrineteenth century pl-anners used the exanple of the Adelaide
Parkland-s when they laid out over two huncì-red and fifty country
tovms in South Ausiralia. It is strange that uhen large
metropolitan regional centres have been developed over the past
tr'rentyfive years at l.'!arion, ltroarlu.nga, Tea Tree Gu11y, and to
e l-esser extent at Elizabeth; very little open space has been
set aside around threse centres. Perhaps the expediency of the
real '¡¡orld takes precedence over the concer:ts of the planners;
 295.

to the long run detrinent of the community.

ït cannot be claimed that the plan for the Parklands
developed by Col-onel Light was original, but it is equally
certain tha-u the concept has not been surpassed anywhere j-n
the world.
 296.

APPENDICES

14aps

to provlde a progressi-ve
Twenty-seven maps are attacl:ed
representation of horv both public institutions and sporting
organisations have alienated the Adelaide Parklands and
Government Resen/es since 1836.
fdentification of the areas and preparation of the maps
r/as completed who11y by the writer using many different sourees
includ.ing goverrnnent records, contemporary rneps, South AustraLian
State LibrarS' archives material, and publications identified in
the bibliography.
The final maps vrere produced by the Land.s Department.
f v¡isir to acknov¡ledge the co-operation of Bryan Bridges, Surveyor
General and the officers of the Mapping Branch.
It is ho'ped that the preparation of these maps will
contribute to the understandíng of horv decj-sion maki-ng based
on special lnterests can, over time, lnfluence the total
environment of a ci-ty.

Other Appendices

Appendix A.A. Incorne and Expenditure - Parklands for 1B5O

Appendix B.B. Sports Permit Users of the Adelaide Parklands

Appendix C.C. A Balance of Parkland Recreation Use
 297 APPENOIX MAP A

4:"
T'Orv0t oa 4\ÐELA[@E

$"r*h 3uøtr¡Itn
.Èe¿¿.æ¿ fu & ¿hiri.f .PÍa.
Itlu.frzqe tltnal
' vãllcmtsQ:
,/,95/

:1

..:

tN.

,ed t þ& t|au. b @ ù kbü t1ø.. ¿E t.b.U ¡e M.ùiøÙty.

t -.H I øA tu d ra d wtu& tu ü4bt üb ù tuÌ å bù)t tulã.-
tu æbd&bb*taùAtt*Por.-
tuþul^tù@r.þù.w tu.-

ñffits H PARKTAND
I. BOTANIC GARDENS 7. HOSPÍÍAL
2. STORE HOUSE 8. CEMEIERY
3. SCH00L 9. IMMIGRATION SOUARE
4. GOVERNMENT DOMAIN
5. GUARD HOUSE
6. BARRACIG
 298 APPENDIX MAP B

GOVERNMEITT RESERVE

HACKNEY

Park Lands L-

shiocÈ

to
ú

v
 r \
Pr* bndl

--
-À
P¿* L¡nds dÍiX"8f*i
tI'
P¡r* Lrnd¡
o
e ¡0! Þ
z,
Park lands ct
ilt iltctPÀt Gou couflst
a ã C¡':' ì.)
Þ\o
e
590
Zodolhrj Grd.ñr
:rr \o
E'
=
i h* l¡nds
80{not ¡¡¡x
574
8ol.¡¡c p¿*
l.T
z,
h.å U'
=j u,
m nflI6 mùnß
rn
[.É
E
Il I Ll¡.
57t
¡¡POl

651
6!ó tanl 0ov!mmrnl
0omri¡

510

P.*
r
t
.rl.îl....nñl,-"îl=-
iloÂtH IEÂRACE

n
lûil,l"¡td,t

a,

Þ
'g
Fo u rth
T
First Second Third rn
Site Site Site z,
Site, ct
x
=
Þ
!
c':l
 300 APPENDIX M¡AP D

ACCTIMATIZATION SOCIETY ORIGINAL ATTOCATION 1878

HACKNEY

Park Lands L
=c=

-
e)
7
BRIDGE
z
m

TION SOCIETY

u
o
ú
EXHIBITION
GROUNOS

I.AIDE

r----------f
-r
 30t APPENDX MAP E

DISTRIBUTION OF LAND 1937

HACKNEY

Park lands

CAL GAROENS

6RUtrt NS
t
o
ú

ANIC GARDENS':: v

-?l--t--------f

PRESENT RECOMMENDEO

ADELAIOE HOSPITAT l3 Acres 17 Acres

BOÏANIC GARDEÍ{S 40 Acres 46 Acres
ADEI.AIOE BOYS HIGH SCHOOT 10 Acres
 302 APPENDIX MAP F

CORPORANON RESERUE I95I AND SCHOOL BESERVE

1952
SCHOOT OF MINES ANO INDUSTRIES
1957

HATKNEY

Park Lands

Res.

GICAL NS

fll

GRUt{
a
o
o

YS TRUST

OYAT
Hos fue

----r--------ì
 303 APPENDIX MAP G

CORP()RATION RESERVE 1951 AND SCHOOL RESERVE 1952

SCHOOL ()F MINES AND INDUSTRIES 1957

HACKNEY

Park tands

Res.

GARDENS
Í

BOTANIC PARK

6RUf{
to
o

ROYAL ADETA¡DT
Be

BOT
---T--
 304 APPENI}X MAP H

INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL AND VETERNARY SCIENCE 1965

PUBL¡C BUITDINGS DEPARTMENT 1965
HOSPITAL RESERVE 1968
HIGHWAYS RESERVE 1969

HACKTI¡EY

Park lands

Res.

ANIC PARK

DE
Hosp¡tal Reserve

-...'.n---
 30s APPENDIX MAP I

NORTH TERRACE 1837

Park Lands:

RNER

Park Lands

OVERNM

UABO.
RITfl
fl.99.s!:

NORTH TERRACE
t--
LU
LU
É.
J t-.-
U)
-J

=
(, E z[![!
1 t-
Y. )(L
J
 306 APPENDIX MAP J
USEAGE ()N GOVERNMENT RESERVE 1840.1860

BERT BRIDGE

Park [ands
2
6)

AOETAIDE BRIOGE

STONE
OUARRY
PoWDER MAGAZII'IE

fl
o
U

MAIN

NORTH TERRACE
 307 APPENDIX MAP K

INSTITUTIONAL USE I86()-1890

BRIOGE

Park Lands
2
6)

ADEIAIOE SRIDGE

Reserve

1
o
U

DOMAIN

z
ffi
NORTH TERRACE
--l r---l
 APPENDIX MAP L

rNSTrïuTroNAr AcoîTmoNS By AcT oR

G()VERNMENT GAZETTE 1890-1930

ALB€RT BRIt}GE

Park Lands
õ
z6,
BRIOGE

É
F
r

7o
Ð COLLEGE

o
0
GOVERNMENT

m
z
cm

NORTH TERRACE
---1 [-Tr-----t r--------t

MA^JOR ACTS AND GOVERNMENT GAZETTE PROCLAMATIONS

Traíníng College - Gaz.1 920 Public Library Museum

Central Apprentice School - Ga2.1925 and Art Gallery - Act 1BB3/84
Schoolof Mines - Act 1929 - Gaz. 1901
- Gaz. 1 935 - Gaz. 1921
Rese rve - Act 1869-80 - Gaz. 1 948
Government Domaín - Act 1927 University - Act 1876 (l)

War Memoríal - Act1927 - 1920 Ql

Gaz.
Parade Ground - Act 1917 - Gaz. 1927 G)
Exhíbition Grounds - Act 1885 - Act 192s Él
Pro.Juce Depot - Gaz. 1 803
 309 APPENDIX MAP M
GOVERNMENT RESERVE 1979-80

:¡U

ATBERT BRIDGE

:,:.:.:. UNIVERSITY OF AOETAIDE SPORTS TIELDS:.

2
o
AOEl..AIDE ERIOGE

r
r
=

GROUND

^z
-{
o
7)
m

College
to
T ßeserve 7ó
o
U
Government Do

z
ctï

NORTH TERRACE
 310 APPENDIX MAP N
G0VERNMEI,¡T RESERVE 1837-1843

-o9-'
R ,JEL-_--
t-
i
I

t--

tNsïïurË

ï.!.alttlt:
.PoilcE sTATtoN :..:
0tFtcE

NORTH TERRACE

út ¡- =t-
Jul
*ut
É,= ;Ët-
o'Ø oØ
z
=
 3ll APPENDIX MAP O

GOVERNMENT RESERVE 1843.186I

ADEIAIDE
BRIOGE

a
o
*d,, É,

sT0riE
BRIDGE --_¡lvEE-
J
FORO J

=
(,
z
I
:;;::;;l:Sgyg¡nment ReSe
. ..
:
..
:
. .
:
. . .. . . . . .. . . . . . .
:: : : : : : :: : : : : : : : : : :

GOOOS SHED

EE
tEGrstATrvE cour¡crr
CHAMBERS 1843
cF0sslr{6
¡¡ç¡s¡gilS l"1l
.:q$rllv{ Y STATt0 '.'... 1855 .::..::..:'-

NORTH TERRACE
2

=
LÉ
CE¿
irr
+ l1¡

6'q,
n ;Ël J

0Ø
¡¡JI

z
E
 312 APPENDIX MAP P
GOVERNMENT RESERVE 186111909

BRIDGE

o
o
"tÑ CE

s" :-.::ELDER PARK.::..::

..' Adela¡dç Ç!ty. Co.u.ncf l..

BRIDGE
RIVER
t
J
t- J
u¡ '
l¡J "Adelaide City
CE Council Reserve.
t--
C"
=
(9
z
v

l¡l
6-
E
o

ill r
NORTH TERRACE

n--tr-fttt-
,t_
 3t3 APPENDIX MAP O
GOVERNMEIüT RESERVE 19Og-I979

BRIDGE

o
o
É

"s" :EtDER PARK

RIVER
BRIOGE

J
l-- ¿
ul ..Adelaide City
tu
fE Iouncil Reservs =
F
U) o
tand) z
(Cheer-up lHr¡t and lnstitrfe l¡nd

t-
Lrl ELAIDE

L
o

NORTH TERRACE

r-tt-
 3t4 APPENDIX MAP R

THE ADELAIDE CEMETERY

1836 - t849

l
ã l
II
m
{
U)

:JEWISH
CEMETERY

GENERAL CEM
Im
v
rÞ
c,
m
I
I
CHURCH OF ENGI.AND

SOUTH TCE.

0
€
o
o
(,
 3ts APPENOX MAP S

THE ADEI.AIDE CEMffERY

1849 -
1980

E cREMATORIUM RESUMED 1904 - ctOsEB 1969

M

I
EXGHANGE OF LANDS 1904
ffi A.I.F. CEMETERY 1944

ã I
II
m
a
+

Park lands

MIIE END GOODS

RAIwIIAY STAIt0t'¡

m
{
¡v h

CEM
l)
m

IL
I
SOUTH TCE.

c,
o
o

Park Lands
a
o
g
 3r6 APPENDD( MAP T

MARKETPLACE _ SIGNAT STATION TELEGRAPH OEPOT

EMIGRATION SOUARE - OBSERVATORY - WEATHER BUREAU
1836 - 1900

G¿

4
CURRIE ST

ETNIGRATION SOUARE 1836 - 1853

0

É
m
Ø
-.t WAYMOUTH ST-

::-.::..::..:MARKET PIACE Is3o

SIGNAL STATION 1841 -
1883 FRANKLIN ST
TELEqRAPH PEPA].. .. 19qþ .: l.eQo. -l
m
a
Ð
c)
m

GROTE ST
ROAD
ON
 317 APPINDX MAP U

COMM()NWEALTH TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT POSTAL INST]TUTE

OBSERVATORY _
ADEI.AIDE HIGH SCHOOT
CÍ)MMONWEALTH WEATHER BUREAU
1900 1980 -

CURRIE ST
::. cq M.r{r 0lfrrE4LItt

OBSERVATO RY 1861 -1954:

AI¡EIA|DE Hrç.H.. $ctt.00l.J9.a0 .:

€
m
U)
+ WAYMOUTH ST

OMMONWEALTH TELEGRAPH DEPOT 19()()_1956

AUSTRALIAN POSTAL INSTITUTE 1956_ 1974 FRANKLIN ST
AUSTRALIAN POST_TEL INSTITUTE _ 1975
+
m
1)
Ð
c)
m

GROTE ST
ROAD
HILTON
 318 APPENOIX MAP V
ADELAIDE GAOL I84I-I9Í¡O

Powder Magazine 1882-1954

'HdusË
SrAiJriHTËh

a
o
a
-{

to
I

: 0live Plantatis¡.."1i'

Enlargement

Powder Magazine
Reserve

South Ma

Powder Magazine Reserve

-tr llllllllll state Powder Magazine 1882
c@ :i:;:i¡;: 1s Commonwealth lg04
t-
c) '%, Lcased to Commonweahh 1950

7 tll Grantto Commorwealú 1954

o ''%. nigntoiway to Commonweahh 1950
g N State Powder Magazine
 3t9 APPENDIX MAP W
THEBARTON POUCE BARRAGKS
1913 - 1917

l9t7

RAILWAY ENCROACHMENT ON WEST PARK IANDS

WEIR

RIVER TORRENS

POLICE

25 Acres

NORTH TERRACE
á.
m
{
Ø
4
l-t r-l
ñ
a
t
ô
m
 320 APPEND¡X MAP X

RAILWAY ENCROAGHMEIüXS
WEST PARKTANDS 1866.1926

Enlargement

Adelaide to Port Adelaide 0pr¡ed 1856

Adelaide to Gavrder 0p¡ed t857
Adelaide to Nairne 0pened 1878

Adelaide bopline Opened 1908

RIVER

To Nor$ Adehide
Railway Station

WEIR

Gouncil l9ll

Gaol Reserve

RIVER TORRENS

THEBAfiOil
BANßAg(s

CAïïIE AÌ'¡D
SHEEP

NORTH TERRACE

nr-l
 321 APPENDIX MAP Y

SEWERS YARD WEST PARKLANDS 1879

{
o
A
ao
o
Police Barracks

Sewers Yard 1879

VATVE HOUSE - EAST PARKLANDS 1857 - 1879 - 1980

úfn
aC
Valve House
Í1
-{
-{
ffl
8.8 W .s. Ke Town

?f'
NORTH TERRACE fn
LU
(J -{
Í1
É
É.
uu
LU
F- oÍ1
F
Ø
lJ.l

RUNDLE ROAD
RUNDLE STREET
 322 APPENDIX MAP Z
ADELAIDE PARKLANDS 1980

PUBLIC PARKTANDS
ffi RESTRICTEII PUBLIC ACCESS

ffi STATE ANI¡ COMMONWEALÏH

GOVERNMENT RESERVES

lEAAacE

g
J

14
Ê
).l
rÐ
a

F
ú
o
Ê-z
ts'

t
t
t
I
t
I

l-

'5.
\i1

ÍTIIMTilT'JgffiT
?^Fllllll-iil fifmi1l]fll
 '323 APPENDIX MAP Z
(cùt¡nNuED¡
ADELAIDE PARKLANDS 1980

JII]IIJNJH! E]b ulllx ul_]ltxr ru[L]J Ullf, []lul []lL r_

.'---'Þ_-----

-
=
a
l_
-_ E
l E
..1 =
Ê
.t-
- .1' g
.-.t t-
F
j=
¡ .l ' -C
E
t
rq -
E
I

t
â ..s LI
L
L
L
;a:E
=
-
L
t
*l -
ril t---
F
i=l I a S
\'l
It-\-
I

l;--i
l-E
L
f-
E
É
L
Ê
ffi É=
el-
E
t-
-LÉ
Ê
F
-F
H
f-
I

WÊST t
t
F-
f-'
t-
L
t-
L

e F-
t E

:l[{Tlf]-
 APPEND]X A.A.

321+.

ïncome and Er<penditure - Parklands fo r 186O

Incone î
PermÍts and Rentals 57
Depasturi-ng Fees 608
Sand Fees r_41

Sale of Dead Trees - 6

Catt1e l'larket Dues 492
Slaughterhouse Dues BO'
Total Parkland Revenue Ð2 rLA7

Total Council Income g]..3,445

Percentage derived from Parklands l.]-]r/6

Exoenditure ¡
I.'iorks, Supplies and l,.iaintenance 4 1725

Cattle l"iarket 7A
Slau-ehterhouse lBg
Total Parkland Expenditure å1 984
'
Total Cou:rcil Expenditure î2O,gA5
Percentage spent on Parklands gg/,
 APPENDIX B.B.

325.

SPORTS PERI-IIT USERS OF TIIE

ADELATDE PARKLANDS

sports Permi-ts catering for the sporting activities

listed beloï¡ were issued. during the 19ZB /Tg year -

Archery l-
Athletics 6
Baseball 2
Cricket 44
Cricket electric light A

Cricket' practice pitches lo

Croo¡ret 3
Dog Training 1
Football 2'7

Hockey 39
Horse Riding 5
Jumping Pits 2
Lacrosse 10
Marching 1
Netball 48
Petanque '1
Rugby 2
Soccer 18
Softball 10
Tennis 172

4l-7
 APF,EIÌDTX C. C.

326.

Á, Balance of Parkland Recreation U se

Active Recreation
l"Iinter Soorts Football, soccer, rugby, lacrosse,
hockey.

Sunmer Snorts Cricket, atLrletics, baseball, sr,ri-nming,

rowing, canoeing, sailing, softbalI.

Non Seasonal Golf , lavm boç'ls, croquet, tennis,

Activities petanque, equestrÍan activities, archery,
jogging, fun runs, cycli.ng, paddleboats,
softball, school sports, srrrimming
carnivals, cyclethons and r.¡al}çathons,

Passive Recreation l.{odel gliders, rnodel boats and planes,

I<ite fly1¡g, pleasure launch rides,
horse racing, consen/atory displays,
5çarden demonstratlons, irorti_cultunal
displays, open air filn shorçs, band
recitalsr FoÞ concerts, jazz bands,
clrcuses, charitable fetes, Carols by
Candle1ight, photographj-c, sculptural
and art displays, art classes, organised
picnic and Christmas parti-es, r",'eddings,
rallies and demonstrations, Concours
derElegance and Vintage car displays,
farnili.' picnic/barbecue groups, child.rents
useage of piay equipment, Festirral of
¡\rts activities including mime, puppetry,
writerrs r¡¡eek, arts and crafts displays,
ethnic groups dancing and- music.
 327.

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l,luseum and Art Ga 1 ôFtt
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British Gotr'ernment" Parllamen Statutes. London
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Õtl rarv. e ,
Parli-ameiltary select connittee. Re¡ort on the r{earth
of Tot.,'ns. Parlj-anentary P apers ,{I. L ondon l_84O.
Royal Commissíon. On Education. P arlj-ar¡entary Pacer ,
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11C
e of Assembly, 191 3
Roya.l Comriri ssion. Itlorth Terrace Reserves and i1r'*a
Cej:trgs. Parl e ry ilers, r ,
into the Stat e ofIllst
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Select Cornmittee. Report on Public 1,1a11<s. Parliamentary

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Cor¡oration of the Cit of Adelaide. Parlçs Gardens and

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Advertiser, Adelaide, from 1854.

Daily llerald, Adelaide, 1910 to L924.
News, Adelaide, from L923.
Observer, Adelaide, 1843 to L93L.
Sou-ih Australian Gazeite and colonial Register', 1856 to 1900.
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Adams, Thomas The Plan and the P-Lanner of Adelaide

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Blackett, Reverend John. The Early History of Soutki

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))1o

a
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De l¡iint, Peter Sicilian Scenerv - Ori ginal Sketches by

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