Adelaide city centre

Adelaide city centre Adelaide, South Australia
Adelaide city centre and, beyond the Parklands, the southern suburbs, in 2014
Population	15,115 (2016 census)[1] 12,962 (2011 census)[2]
• Density	1,440/km2 (3,728/sq mi)
Established	1837
Postcode(s)	5000
Area	10.5 km2 (4.1 sq mi)
Location	5 km (3 mi) E of Adelaide Airport 12 km (7 mi) SE of Port Adelaide 9 km (6 mi) NE of Glenelg
Region	Eastern Adelaide[3]
State electorate(s)	Adelaide
Federal Division(s)	Adelaide
Suburbs around Adelaide city centre: Hindmarsh North Adelaide Gilberton Hackney Thebarton Mile End Adelaide city centre Kent Town Rose Park Dulwich Keswick Wayville Unley Parkside Eastwood Glenside

Adelaide city centre is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "The City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Adelaide local government area (which also includes North Adelaide and the Park Lands around the whole city centre). The population is 15,115 (2016 census).

Adelaide was planned based on a grid layout featuring streets that run at right angles to each other, surrounded by gardens and parks. Within the city centre, there are other designations used to describe various areas, the broadest being:

• The city "square mile", bordered by North, East, South and West Terraces, which is also referred to as the CBD, although it contains a mixture of high-rise apartments and various commercial and entertainment premises scattered throughout, and the smaller cottage residences (mostly in the southern half).
  • Within the "square mile", there are also defined precincts such as the West End and the East End with distinctive characters.
• The section of the parklands between North Terrace up to the River Torrens, which includes the string of medical, educational, cultural and entertainment institutions on the northern side of North Terrace, notably the Adelaide Festival Centre as well as the Parliament of South Australia and Adelaide Railway Station. Part of this area is sometimes referred to as the North Terrace cultural precinct.

Other well-known institutions within the city centre are the Adelaide Central Market, Victoria Square and Rundle Mall shopping area.

History[]

Currie Street looking east, circa 1925

Before the British colonisation of South Australia, the Adelaide Plains, on which Adelaide was built, were home to the Kaurna group of Aboriginal Australians. The colony of South Australia was established in 1836 at Glenelg, and the city itself established in 1837. The location and characteristic grid layout of the city and North Adelaide, as well as the surrounding parklands, were the result of the work of Colonel William Light (1786–1839), who was the first Surveyor General of South Australia. The area where the Adelaide city centre now exists was once known as "Tarndanya",^[4] the Kaurna word for as "male red kangaroo rock", which was the name used for an area along the south bank of what is now known as the River Torrens (Karrawiri Pari), which flows through Adelaide.

This view shows about 60 per cent of the city centre, and the south-eastern suburbs and Adelaide Hills, in 1935

Adelaide was not as badly affected by the 1860s economic depression in Australia as other gold rush cities like Sydney and Melbourne, allowing it to prosper. Historian F.W. Crowley noted that the city was full of elite upper-class citizens which provided a stark contrast to the grinding poverty of the labour areas and slums outside the inner city ring. Due to its historic wealth during the 20th century, the city retains a notable portion of Victorian architecture.^{[citation needed]}

Town planning[]

Adelaide city centre, North Adelaide and the Park Lands

Adelaide is separated from its greater metropolitan area by a ring of public parklands on all sides. The so-called "square mile" within the park lands is defined by a small area of high rise office and apartment buildings in the centre north, around King William Street, which runs north-to-south through the centre. Surrounding this central business district are a large number of medium to low density apartments, townhouses and detached houses which make up the residential portion of the city centre.

Layout[]

The city centre from Victoria Square

The layout of Adelaide, sometimes referred to as "Light's Vision", features a cardinal direction grid pattern of wide streets and terraces and five large public squares: Victoria Square in the centre of the city, and Hindmarsh, Light, Hurtle and Whitmore Squares in the centres of each of the four quadrants of the Adelaide city centre. These squares occupy 32 of the 700 numbered "town acre" allotments on Light's plan.^{[citation needed]}

All east–west roads change their names as they cross King William Street, except for North and South terraces.^[5] They also alternate between being wide and narrow, 99 and 66 feet (30 and 20 m), except for the central Grote and Wakefield which are extra-wide, 132 feet (40 m),^[6] along with the surrounding four terraces.^[7] In the south half of the city, in several places the Adelaide City Council has constructed wide footpaths and road markings to restrict traffic to a lesser number of lanes than the full width of the road could support.^{[citation needed]}

The street pairs, design widths, and town acres in Light's Vision are illustrated in this diagram:

Street and square names[]

Architectural detail of the former Adelaide General Post Office on King William Street

The streets and squares were named by a committee of a number of prominent settlers after themselves, after early directors of the South Australian Company, after (appointed by the British government to oversee implementation of the acts that established the colony), and after various notables involved in the establishment of the colony.

The Street Naming Committee comprised:^[8]

All members of the committee (except Stephens) had one or more of the streets and squares in the Adelaide city centre and North Adelaide named after themselves. Brown Street, named for John Brown, was subsequently subsumed as a continuation of Morphett Street in 1967. In the same year, Hanson Street, named for Richard Hanson, was subsumed as a continuation of Pulteney Street.

The squares were named after:

• Victoria - the regent, Princess Victoria, later Queen Victoria
• Hindmarsh - Rear Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh, first Governor of South Australia
• Hurtle - Sir James Hurtle Fisher, first Resident Commissioner
• Light - Colonel William Light, Surveor General
• Whitmore - William Wolryche-Whitmore MP, a Colonial Commissioner in London

The east–west streets named on 22 December 1836 were:^[11]

• Rundle – John Rundle MP, Director of the South Australian Company
• Hindley – Charles Hindley MP, Director of South Australian Company
• Grenfell – Pascoe St Leger Grenfell MP, presented town acre for Holy Trinity Church and other country lands
• Currie – Raikes Currie MP, Director of South Australian Company
• Pirie – Sir John Pirie, alderman and later Lord Mayor of London, Director of South Australian Company
• Waymouth – Henry Waymouth, Director South Australian Company
• Flinders – Matthew Flinders, explorer
• Franklin – Rear Admiral Sir John Franklin, midshipman under Flinders
• Wakefield – Daniel Bell Wakefield, barrister who drafted the South Australia Act^[12]
• Grote – George Grote MP, treasurer of the South Australia Association
• Angas – George Fife Angas, a Colonial Commissioner and founding Chairman of Directors of the South Australian Company
• Gouger – Robert Gouger, first Colonial Secretary

Most of these people did not reside in or visit South Australia.

The naming of the streets was completed on 23 May 1837^[8] and gazetted on 3 June.^[13]

East–west streets:

• Carrington - John Abel Smith (Lord Carrington)
• Wright - John Wright, Colonial Commissioner and financier^[14]
• Halifax - Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax, Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Sturt - Charles Sturt, explorer
• Gilles - Osmond Gilles, early treasurer of the colony
• Gilbert - Thomas Gilbert, storekeeper and postmaster^[14]

North–south streets:

• Morphett - John Morphett, member of the South Australian parliament
• Pulteney - Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm, British naval officer
• Hutt - William Hutt MP, a Colonial Commissioner

Dual naming of squares and parklands[]

The Adelaide City Council began the process of dual naming all of the city squares, each of the parks making up the parklands which surround the city centre and North Adelaide, and other sites of significance to the Kaurna people in 1997.^[15] The naming process, which assigned an extra name in the Kaurna language to each place, was mostly completed in 2003,^[16] and the renaming of 39 sites finalised and endorsed by the council in 2012.^[17]

• Victoria Square - Tarntanyangga ('red kangaroo dreaming')
• Hindmarsh Square - Mukata
• Hurtle Square - Tangkaira
• Light Square - Wauwi
• Whitmore Square - Iparrityi

20th-21st century precincts[]

The Lion Arts Centre, an iconic live music and performance venue in Adelaide's West End.

The City of Adelaide Council has defined a number of neighbourhood precincts in the city centre, each with a character of their own:

• The East End, centering on Rundle Street - known for its restaurants, bars, high-end fashion shops, the Palace Nova Cinema;^[18]
• The West End, from the western end of North Terrace and encompassing several blocks southward, which includes UniSA "CityWest" campus, the Samstag Museum of Art, JamFactory, Lion Arts Centre, Mercury Cinema, numerous bars, clubs and restaurants, and "BioMed City";^[19]
• The South East of the city, largely residential, but including many cafés, restaurants, pubs, etc.;^[20] and
• The South West is very diverse; largely residential and including the Adelaide Central Market^[20]

In addition to these, the north-eastern side of North Terrace is often referred to as the "North Terrace cultural precinct" or "cultural boulevard", and includes the Art Gallery of South Australia, the State Library of South Australia, the South Australian Museum, the Migration Museum, the Adelaide Botanic Garden, the University of Adelaide and the "CityEast" campus of the UniSA^[21]

Demographics[]

The population is 15,115 (2016 census) in the Adelaide city centre, 38.8 percent born in Australia.^[1] The next most common countries of birth were China 17.5%, Malaysia 4.4%, England 3.4%, Hong Kong 2.8% and India 1.9%. 44.6% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 19.6%, Cantonese 4.9%, Arabic 1.9%, Korean 1.9% and Vietnamese 1.1%. The most common response for religion in Adelaide was 'No Religion' at 47.7% of the population.^[1]

Politics[]

At federal level, Adelaide is within the Division of Adelaide, a marginal seat which historically has alternated between the Liberal and Labor parties. It has been held since 2019 by Steve Georganas of the Labor party.^[22]

In the South Australian House of Assembly, Adelaide is within the Electoral district of Adelaide. Since the March 2010 state election, the seat has been held by Rachel Sanderson of the Liberal party.

Culture[]

The interior of the Mortlock Chamber at the State Library of South Australia

Adelaide's cultural and entertainment precincts/venues are generally concentrated in the city centre. They include the Convention Centre, Entertainment Centre and the redeveloped Adelaide Oval. Additionally, most of the events relating to the Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Fringe are held within Adelaide's city centre during February and March. This time is known as "Mad March", due to the large number of other cultural festivities at the same time, including the Adelaide 500 and WOMADelaide. North Terrace is considered Adelaide's "cultural boulevard" because of its tight concentration of galleries and museums.

Gallery[]

• 

  Aerial view of the Adelaide city centre looking south-east, 2005.

• 

  A statue of Queen Victoria has stood in the geometric centre of both Victoria Square and "the square mile" since 1894.

• 

  Part of North Terrace, 2009.

• 

  Adelaide CBD from above, 2010.

• 

  High rise buildings on Hindmarsh Square, 2012.

• 

  Night aerial of the CBD, 2014

• 

  Statue of King Edward VII on North Terrace.

• 

  St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Victoria Square.

See also[]

• Adelaide (Greater Adelaide metropolis)
• City of Adelaide (local government area)
• North Adelaide
• Street art in Adelaide
• Grid layout

Notes[]

References[]

1. Spence, Catherine Helen; Beams, Maryan (2006). Susan Magarey; Barbara Wall; Maryan Beams; Mary Lyons (eds.). Ever yours, C.H. Spence: Catherine Helen Spence's An autobiography (1825-1910), Diary (1894) and Some correspondence (1894-1910). Wakefield Press. ISBN 978-1-86254-656-1.

Further reading[]

• "Nomenclature of the Streets of Adelaide and North Adelaide" (PDF). State Library of South Australia. taken from The City of Adelaide Year Book, 1939-1940 Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Nicholas, Jeff; Grenvell, Julian, Lord, Baron of Kilvey, (writer of foreword.) (2016), Behind the streets of Adelaide : the unrevealed history of the roads and pavements of a modern city (Limited edition hardback set ed.), Torrens Press, ISBN 978-0-9945330-0-5CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Coordinates: 34°55′44″S 138°36′04″E / 34.929°S 138.601°E / -34.929; 138.601