Exploring Adelaide...Starting at the Rundle Mall

 

In all the time we've been here, we'd yet to actually visit the city of Adelaide. It was Australia Day and we had an evening agenda of attending some of the festivities, but since we were going to town, we wanted to make the most of it. According to several articles I read about Adelaide, the best way to see the city is on “shank's pony”. What? I had to look that up, but “on foot” was what it meant. We took the iron horse (i.e. train) into the city, but shank's pony was the chosen method of locomotion from there on.

Adelaide is a wonderful city, founded in 1836 and meticulously planned by surveyor, Colonel William Light. Adelaide's streets are laid out in a grid pattern and surrounded by parklands which are still preserved. A central square (Victoria Square) and four smaller squares encompass the CBD (central business district) and are ringed by parklands. Light's Vision, a huge bronze statue, sits on Montefiore Hill and shows Light pointing at his beautiful city.

We took the early morning train on Sunday … cheapest then, it's off peak all day Sunday. We wanted to walk the less-crowded streets, explore a bit and perhaps take in one of the city's many museums, among other things. First things first though, I wanted to walk through the Rundle Mall, Australia's first pedestrian street mall with shops and restaurants, and many Adelaidean icons to behold. We're not into shopping much, which is a good thing because all the shops were closed. We met friends at Beehive Corner, which has been a convenient meeting place in the city for over a century. The Gothic building which stands on the corner, built in 1896, boasts a beehive turret with a golden bee sitting atop it and the name Beehive Corner embossed in gold. It's now home to Haigh's Chocolates, another South Australia icon.

As we walked along the Mall, I was on the look-out for the four famous Rundle Pigs. Actually, the comical bronze statues of pigs raiding a trash bin is entitled “A Day Out” by Marguerite Derricourt. Further investigation indicated their names are Horatio,Truffles, Augusta and at the bin, Oliver.

And as many have done before me, I wanted to ride one of the Rundle Pigs, so I did.

Then, of course, there are the Mall's Balls (The Spheres by Bert Flugelman), two huge stainless steel balls balanced on top of each other which are attention-getters and obviously great fun for young and old.

A 19th century fountain, restored in vivid Victorian colors, gurgled and spouted, providing a pleasant backdrop to a few folks having a coffee on the Mall and enjoying the day.

As an extra treat as we were walking along the Mall, we encountered the world's largest cockroach. Ah yes, the Dublin Cockroach was erected originally to prevent construction of a new landfill dump in Dublin, SA. The landfill was built anyway and the poor old cockroach was left to rust until it was rescued and refurbed. It's only in Adelaide for short time before returning to its well-loved home, but as luck would have it … we got a chance to see it. Sometimes we just can't believe our luck.

David noted a sculpture on the side of a wall and pointed it out to me. It turns out that it's a neo-cubist welded copper wall sculpture created in 1959 representing the spirit of progress and entitled Progress by Lyndon Dadswell. David has a knack for picking out the unusual from the ordinary.

We concluded the Rundle Mall Adventure with lunch at The Austral on the East End of Rundle … after the mall runs out. It's been around for 131 years and claims to be an icon itself, so we thought we'd give it a go. Good food, good service, pub-bish atmosphere, outdoor sidewalk tables, specials and cold local beer.

Evidently there's even more to discover about the area and I've downloaded a guide for our next trip to seek out what escaped us. Hate to miss anything. By the way, shank's ponies were pretty tired at the end of the day.

Stay tuned as we explore Adelaide's historic Botanic Garden, the South Australian Museum, the Art Galley of South Australia and so much more. Let me catch my breath!

Part 2 will have to wait till next weekend when we plan to return to lovely Adelaide to pick up where we left off. We still have several museums to see and we haven't visited the iconic Central Market (closed on Sundays).

Uniquely South Australia - Pt. 2

 

Continuing with our Uniquely South Australia listing, here are some more South Aussie uniquities to enjoy.

Compass Cup – A cow race … yes, a cow race … held annually for the past 40 years in Mt. Compass, South Australia. They boast that it's the ONLY cow race in Australia, but I'm thinking it's probably one of the few cow races in the world. You can't count the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona … totally different.

Sturts Desert Pea is a sturdy desert plant that has brilliantly showy scarlet blooms when in blossom. It's the floral emblem of South Australia. I didn't have to go to the desert to see it though … they had one for sale at Farmer Joe's.

Haigh's Chocolates – A South Australian-based family-owned confectioner/chocolatier that's been around since 1915. At a dinner party at Pauline and Denys', Kay brought some for us to try. Kay insisted she was a South Australian icon, too.

Fru-chocs are chocolate covered dried fruits previously only available in South Australia for some strange reason. Pauline bought some for us to try. They're quite tasty.

West End Beer, a local brewery since 1859 (now evidently owned by Lion/Mitsubishi).

There are some unique words used here and since we're speaking of beer, here's one for you ... a “butcher”. Believed to be derived from the German becher, meaning a cup or mug, it's the name given to a 200 ml (7 imp fl oz) beer glass. So you can buy your beer in an Imperial Pint (20 oz), a Pint (15 oz), a Schooner (10 oz), a Butcher (7 oz) or a Pintie (4 oz). Australians like to have lots of options when it comes to beer.

A unique South Australian invention is the “stobie pole”. Built of concrete and steel, they're used like the traditional wooden telephone poles to support power and telephone lines and were invented in South Australia by James Stobie in 1924 because hardwood was scarce AND they're resistent to white ants.

And since we're talking uniquely South Australia, here are some of South Australia's notable firsts:

• South Australia is the first and only state to have never had a convict settlement at any time in its history.

• Adelaide was the first Australian capital city to be connected by telegraph with London. (1872)

• South Australia was the first territory of the British Empire, excluding Britain, to legalize trade unions. (1876)

• Cremation was legalized here in 1891, an Australian first.

• South Australia was the first Australian Colony to grant women the vote and allow women to stand for parliament. (1895)

• The first license to drive a motor vehicle in Australia was issued in Adelaide. (1906)

• South Australia was the first Australian State to decriminalize homosexual relations between consenting male adults in private (1975)

I'm sure there are many other firsts, quirky words and uniquely South Australian things. Come on, you South Aussies, contribute if you can. Educate the rest of the world.

Uniquely South Australia - Pt. 1

 

Spending time with native South Australian friends lately has been great for discovering things about South Australia we wouldn't usually find out from our Lonely Planet. Here's a list of some things that are uniquely South Australian ...

Australians have nicknames for Aussies from different states, not unlike the USA. South Australians are known as croweaters, derived from the fact that early colonists ate crows due to poverty and lack of food when the free-settled colony of South Australia was first established in 1836. It's non-derogatory and in fact, one of their football teams is called the Croweaters or simply the Crows.

Bung Fritz – aka Devon sausage in other Australian states, although South Australian bung fritz purists would debate this issue. Typical commercial preparations list the major ingredient as "meat including pork". It is usually composed of several types of pork, basic spices, and a binder. Think a cross between Spam and baloney – Wow! There's even a Bung Fritz Appreciation Society that boasts “no lips and no arseholes.”

The Frog Cake is a sponge cake dessert in the shape of a frog's head originally covered with green fondant icing and two little black dots for eyes. It now comes in a host of colors. It was created by the Balfours bakery in 1922, and became a popular treat in South Australia. The frog cake is considered "uniquely South Australian" and in 2001 it was listed as a South Australian Heritage Icon by the National Trust of South Australia.

The Kitchener Bun is another South Australian sweet dessert which resembles a jelly doughnut, split in half, topped with a chantilly cream and dusted with sugar. Yum! These South Aussies know their sweet treats.

Farmer's Union Iced Coffee outsells Coke in South Australia. Even McDonald's sells it. South Australians consume 36 million litres/year making it the only place in the world where a milk drink outsells cola. The product was traditionally sold in cardboard containers and when they introduced it in a plastic “stubby” bottle, they had fun with their advertising. We tried it … definitely better than Coke.

Pie floaters – A true epicurean delight and available on many menus in South Australia. Take a meat pie, set it afloat in thick, green pea soup and squeeze a mighty squirt of tomato catsup on the top and you've got a pie floater. We're told it's good for a hangover. Makes you want to give up drinking, I'd say. The Enjoy Bakery offers them 24 hours!

Stay tuned for Part 2 and more Uniquely SA tomorrow.