St Peter's College grounds

Not only does St Peter's have beautiful buildings, it has extensive grounds; a 32 hectare site which includes ovals, tennis courts and swimming pools.

St Peter's College Memorial Hall

This is the Memorial Hall at St Peter's College. The Gothic styled building was rebuilt after a disastrous fire in 1985. The hall houses a Wurlitzer organ that once had pride of place in the Regent Theatre in Rundle Street (Adelaide)

St Peter's College

St Peter's College was established by the Church of England in 1847, making it one of the oldest private schools in South Australia. The building was designed by architect Henry Stuckey, along the lines of the colleges in England.

ABC Wednesdays - S for seagulls

Seagulls at sunrise on the seashore. I took this photo early one morning last summer at Glenelg beach.

I had one of those days today; I had been planning another S post, intending to use a slide I had taken a few years back. After spending some time locating it, I found out the transparency function on my scanner was not working. I tried other methods but could not get a copy I was happy with - maybe next round of ABC Wednesdays!

To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see links to other participants' sites go to mrs nesbitts place

Maylands Hotel

This is another historic building I saw on my "bicycle history tour" on Sunday. It was built in 1883, soon after the tramway was opened. It has recently been tastefully renovated and extended and is a popular venue for functions and meals.

Corner store

In its heyday this corner store at Maylands would probably have had people standing out the front chatting with local friends after purchasing goods. Today this shop is being used as a private residence, and the people in front are listening to stories of the past.

There were corner stores like this one, built in 1884, all around Adelaide's suburbs. With the advent of supermarkets most of these have since closed.

Maylands Tram Barn

Today I went on a "history bicycle ride" in the Norwood-St Peters area; one of the many activities on offer as part of History Week.

In the early days of South Australia an Adelaide and suburban network of horse drawn trams was built. This tram shed, built in 1882, is on Magill Road and was part of the depot at Maylands. On the site there was also a foreman's office and stables.

In the 1980's the site was redeveloped to incorporate residential town houses. The original facade and main structure has been retained.

Ride of Silence

Today I participated in the 2008 Ride of Silence. The ride is held all over the world to raise awareness for safer roads - particularly for bicycle users. It is also a time to remember cyclists killed or injured on our roads.

This morning's ride was from the centre of Adelaide and along Anzac Highway to Glenelg. We were blessed with a beautiful warm and dry autumn day. The police provided a controlled light escort, meaning we had green lights all the way.

Record highs

The record high fuel prices is affecting all goods and services in Australia. Qantas, one of Australia's airline carriers, announced today that it is raising its fares by 4%. This follows a 3% rise last month.

Reversible lane road

As well as a reversible freeway, we also have this road where the centre lane is reversible. This is Flagstaff Road.

ABC Wednesdays - R for reversible road

Adelaide's Southern Expressway is 21 km long, and according to Wikipedia is the World's longest reversible freeway. It was built to relieve the peak hour traffic congestion on the main South Road. On weekdays traffic flow is towards Adelaide in the mornings and away from Adelaide in the afternoons. On weekends traffic flow is in the opposite direction.

Recently there has been much lobbying for the duplication of the freeway, to enable better access to the southern suburbs in both directions at all times.

A veloway runs alongside the freeway, and unlike driving on the freeway you can ride in both directions at all times!

To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see links to other participants' sites go to mrs nesbitts place

Ayers House

It is History Week in South Australia; and throughout Adelaide, the suburbs and many country towns there are special displays and activities. Today I went on a guided tour of this lovely old 40 roomed Victorian styled mansion.

In the latter part of the 19th century it was the residence of one of South Australia's prominent citizens. The building is now a museum, operated by the national Trust. It is also a function centre.

There are lots of very interesting and valuable (predominately) 19th century items on display. Rooms are set up as they would have been when the residence was the home of Sir Henry Ayer and his family.

Click here to read more about Ayers House.

Bus Interchange

This is the Tea Tree Plaza bus interchange. It is from here that buses leave the O-Bahn and continue along streets in the suburbs.

A wet "Dry Creek"

Today I went for bike ride in the north western suburbs. Our recent rain has certainly been a blessing; our creeks and rivers are flowing again - a wonderful sight. Part of the ride today was along the Dry Creek Trail, a shared cycling/walking path through the river valley.

King William Street

This street runs North/South through the centre of Adelaide. I took this photo on Wednesday before the wet weather set in. It has been raining steadily for the past two days; great for the country but not so enticing to get out and about.

North Adelaide Railway Station

This railway station was opened in 1857, and is now heritage listed. It is the third oldest surviving station in South Australia. Like most other suburban stations it is unmanned; tickets can be bought on trains and at many retail shops.

The building consisted of two sections; a business area and a four roomed residence.

Westpac House

This is Adelaide's tallest building; a 135m high, 31 storey office tower. It was opened in 1988 as the State Bank Building, but was sold off in the early 1990s after the financial collapse of the State Bank.

ABC Wednesdays - Q for Queen

Queen Adelaide was married to King William IV who was on the throne in England when South Australia was settled; Adelaide was named after her.

A full size statue of Queen Adelaide takes pride of place in the foyer of the Adelaide Town Hall.

Woodley Wines of Nuriootpa (established in 1858) have a range of wines using the Queen Adelaide label. They are quite reasonably priced; the tawny port pictured is very pallatable. I know because I just sampled it. Oh what a burden it is to be a CDP blogger!


To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see links to other participants' sites go to mrs nesbitts place

Bushfire?

Late this afternoon I looked towards the Adelaide Hills and saw smoke. It was not a bushfire, but a controlled burnoff in the Cleland National Park. The conditions today were ideal; mild temperatures and almost no wind.

The Department of Environment and Heritage, who manage the state's national parks, do burnoffs at this time of year to reduce the amount of undergrowth which could become a hazard during the fire season.

Brucei hibiscus

This flower is from a special plant in my neighbour's yard. It is 47 years old; was given as part of a wedding gift to Ron from his best friend who died in 1976 and has been kept as a memorium to him. With much tender loving care the plant is still healthy and blooms every summer.

Mothers Day Classic

Today on the banks of the River Torrens many hundreds of people took part in the tenth Mothers Day Classic; an annual fun run/walk which is held to raise money for breast cancer research. Participants could choose between a 4km or 7.2 km run or walk.


All proceeds from the event are donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, a not for profit organisation that promotes and supports research into breast cancer prevention and treatment.

150 years of AFL

Today a special celebration football match was played. The teams, made up from the elite of the current Australian Rules Football competition, competed at the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground).

It was here on August 7th, 1858 that the first game of Australian football was played. Thomas Wills, the person credited for inventing the game, was co-umpire.

This plaque is at Moyston in Victoria; Thomas Wills grew up in the district and played Marn Grook with local aboriginal lads. Elements of this game are evident in the modern football game.

Spheres

Another sculpture by Bert Flugelman; these highly polished spheres in Rundle Mall reflect daily life in the city centre. They were installed in 1977, a year after Rundle Street was closed to traffic and opened as a pedestrian mall.

Tetrahedra

This display of public art is located near the Adelaide Festival Theatre, just off King William Road. The polished stainless steel sculpture was created by Bert Flugelman in 1974.

Behind the sculpture you can see the rear of Parliament House.

ABC Wednesdays - P for Pelican

Late this afternoon I changed my mind on my P post. I headed to North Glenelg to the Patawalonga where I was certain to get some photos of pelicans; they are always there.

Perched on the weir; waiting and watching.

Feed time! Even though the water didn't look overly clean, these birds certainly seemed to be finding plenty to eat.

To find out more about ABC Wednesdays and see links to other participants' sites go to mrs nesbitts place

Eagle on the Hill

On Sunday I rode up to Stirling with my cycling group. There is dedicated bikeway alongside of the South Eastern Freeway. Just before the Heysen Tunnels, the bikeway then uses the old main road to Crafers. About halfway up is the Eagle on the Hill.

The Eagle on the Hill Hotel was first built in 1859, and remained open until sometime after the tunnels were opened in 2000. It is now a private home with a view!

Map the miner

I am going to end the visit to Kapunda with a photo of Map Kernow (son of Cornwall), an 8 metre statue that you see on your right as you head out of town on the way back to Adelaide. It is a symbol of the workers that put this place on the map a century and a half ago.

Students of the 1920s era

This sculpture in the Kapunda High School grounds was created by Chris Radford in 1994 as part of Kapunda's Copper 150 Celebrations.

Kapunda Primary School

This heritage listed building was opened in 1878. As with the high school posted yesterday, the original building is still very much in use, but there are many other buildings being used as well.

There is a direct link between the two schools. In 1907 the Kapunda High School commenced and was located here on the primary school site, until 1922 when it relocated to the site donated by Kidman.

Kapunda High School

This grand old building was once the home of Sir Sidney Kidman, a former Kapunda resident who created the world's biggest pastoral empire. Known as the "cattle king" he bought up land throughout Australia so that he could always find water for his stock; he ended up owning 3% of Australia. That's over 200,000 square kilometres; almost the size of the United Kingdom!

In 1922 Kidman donated his residence “Eringa” to the Education Department. Kapunda High School still uses the building today; the library and administration centre are housed in it.

Kapunda mine chimney

This 14 metre (45 foot) chimney was built by Cornish miners in about 1848 as an air shaft. It stands tall on a hill overlooking the old mine site at Kapunda.