Adelaide
Adelaide is the
capital and most populous city of the
Australian
state of
South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia, with a population of over 1.1 million.
It is a coastal city beside the
Southern Ocean, and is situated on the
Adelaide Plains, north of the
Fleurieu Peninsula, between the
Gulf St. Vincent and the low-lying
Mount Lofty Ranges. It is a roughly
linear city: it is 20 km from the coast to the foothills, but it stretches 90 km from
Gawler at its northern extent to
Sellicks Beach in the south.
Named in honour of
Queen Adelaide, the
consort of
King William IV, the city was founded in 1836 as the
planned capital for the only freely-settled British
province in Australia.
Colonel William Light, one of Adelaide's founding fathers, designed the city and chose its location close to the
River Torrens. Inspired by
William Penn and the
garden city movement, Light's design set out Adelaide in a grid layout, interspaced by wide boulevards and large public squares, and entirely surrounded by
parkland. Early Adelaide was shaped by religious freedom and a commitment to political
progressivism and civil liberties, which led to world-first reforms. Adelaidean society remained largely
puritan up until the 1970s, when a set of social reforms under the
premiership of
Don Dunstan resulted in a cultural revival. Today Adelaide is known for its many
festivals as well as for its wine, arts and sports.
As South Australia's seat of government and commercial centre, Adelaide is the site of many governmental and financial institutions. Most of these are concentrated in the city centre along the cultural boulevard of
North Terrace and in various districts of the metropolitan area.
Prior to European settlement, the Adelaide area was inhabited by the
Kaurna Aboriginal tribe. Acknowledged Kaurna country comprised the Adelaide Plains and surrounding regions - from
Cape Jervis in the south, and to
Port Wakefield in the north. Among their unique customs were burn-offs (controlled
bushfires) in the Adelaide Hills which the early Europeans spotted before the Kaurna people were pushed out by settlement. By 1852, the total population (by census count) of the Kaurna was 650 in the Adelaide region and steadily decreasing. During the winter months, they moved into the
Adelaide hills for better shelter and firewood.
[Adelaide Council Naming Practices, courtesy Catholic University [1]] [South Australian Place Names. courtesy Government of South Australia [2]] South Australia was officially settled as a new
British province on
December 28,
1836. This day is now commemorated as a
public holiday,
Proclamation Day, in South Australia. The site of the colony's capital city was surveyed and laid out by Colonel
William Light, the first Surveyor-General of South Australia. Light chose, not without opposition, a site on rising ground close to the River Torrens, which became the chief early water supply for the fledgling colony. "
Light's Vision", as it has been termed, has meant that the initial design of Adelaide required little modification as the city grew and prospered. Usually in an older city it would be necessary to accommodate larger roads and add parks, whereas Adelaide had them from the start. Adelaide was established as the centre of a
planned colony of free immigrants, promising civil liberties and freedom from religious persecution, and does not share the
convict settlement history of other Australian cities like
Sydney and
Hobart.
Adelaide's early history was wrought by economic uncertainty and incompetent leadership. The first governor of South Australia,
Hindmarsh, clashed frequently with Col. Light. The rural area surrounding Adelaide city was surveyed by Light in preparation to sell a total of over 405 km² of land. Adelaide's early economy started to get on its feet in 1838 with the arrival of livestock from
New South Wales and
Tasmania. The wool industry served as an early basis for the South Australian economy. Light's survey was completed in this period, and land was promptly offered to sale to early colonists. Wheat farms ranged from
Encounter Bay in the south to
Clare in the north by 1860.
Governor Gawler took over from Hindmarsh in late 1838 and promptly oversaw construction of a governor's house,
gaol, police barracks, hospital, and customs house and a wharf at
Port Adelaide. In addition houses for public officials and missionaries, and outstations for police and surveyors were also constructed during Gawler's governorship. Adelaide had also become economically self-sufficient during this period but at heavy cost: the colony was heavily in
debt and relied on bail-outs from London to stay afloat. Gawler was recalled and replaced by
Governor Grey in 1841. Grey slashed public expenditure against heavy opposition, yet its impact was negligible at this point: Silver was discovered in
Glen Osmond that year, agricultural industries were well underway and other mines sprung up all over the state, aiding Adelaide's commercial development. The city exported meat, wool, wine, fruit and wheat by the time Grey left in 1845, contrasting with a low point in 1842 when one-third of Adelaide houses were abandoned.
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Adelaide General Post Office in 1950 |
Trade links with the rest of the Australian states were established with the
Murray River being successfully navigated in 1853 by Francis Cadell, an Adelaide resident. Adelaide saw South Australia become a
self-governing colony in 1856 with the
ratification of a new
constitution by the British parliament.
Secret ballots were introduced, and a
bicameral parliament was elected on 9 March 1857, by which time 109,917 people lived in the province.
In 1860 the Thorndon Park reservoir was opened, finally providing an alternative water source to the
turbid River Torrens. In 1867 gas
street lighting was implemented, the
University of Adelaide was founded in 1874, the
South Australian Art Gallery opened in 1881 and the
Happy Valley Reservoir opened in 1896. In the 1890s Australia was affected by a severe
economic depression, ending a hectic era of land booms and tumultuous expansionism. Financial institutions in
Melbourne and banks in
Sydney closed. The national
fertility rate fell and immigration was reduced to a trickle. The value of South Australia's exports nearly halved.
Drought and poor harvests from 1884 compounded the problems with some families leaving for
Western Australia. Adelaide was not as badly hit as the larger gold-rush cities of Sydney and Melbourne, and silver and
lead discoveries at
Broken Hill provided some relief.Only one year of
deficit was recorded but the price paid was retrenchments and lean public spending.
Wine and copper were the only industries not to suffer a downturn.
Electric street lighting was introduced in 1900 and electric
trams were transporting passengers in 1909. 28,000 men were sent to fight in
World War I. Adelaide enjoyed a post-war boom but, with the return of droughts, entered the
depression of the 1930s, later returning to prosperity under strong government leadership.
Secondary industries helped reduce the state's dependence on
primary industries. The 1933 census recorded the state population at 580,949, less of an increase than other states due to the state's economic limitations.
World War II brought industrial stimulus and diversification to Adelaide under the
Playford Government, which advocated Adelaide as a safe place for manufacturing due to its less vulnerable location. 70,000 men and women enlisted and shipbuilding was expanded at the nearby port of
Whyalla.
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Rundle Mall circa 1988 with the famous Spheres sculpture clearly visible. |
The South Australian Government in this period built on former wartime manufacturing industries. International manufacturers like General Motors
Holden and Chrysler make use of these factories around Adelaide completing its transformation from an agricultural service centre to a twentieth-century city. A pipeline from
Mannum brought
River Murray water to Adelaide in 1954 and an international
airport opened at
West Beach in 1955. An assisted migration scheme brought 215,000 immigrants of all nationalities to South Australia between 1947 and 1973. The Dunstan Government in the 1970s saw something of an Adelaide 'cultural revival' - establishing a wide array of social reforms and overseeing the city becoming a centre of the arts. Adelaide hosted the
Australian Grand Prix between 1985 and 1996 on a street circuit in the city's east parklands, before losing it in a controversial move to Melbourne. The 1992
State Bank collapse plunged both Adelaide and South Australia into economic recession, and its effects can still be felt today. Recent years have seen the
Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar race make use of sections of the former Formula One circuit and renewed economic confidence under the
Rann Government.
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Satellite image of Adelaide |
Adelaide is located north of the Fleurieu Peninsula, on the Adelaide plains between the Gulf St Vincent and the low-lying Mount Lofty Ranges. The city stretches from the town of Gawler at its northernmost point to
Aldinga in the south. According to the
Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Adelaide Metropolitan Region has a total land area of 870 km², and is at an average elevation of 50 metres above sea level.
Mount Lofty is located east of the Adelaide metropolitan region in the
Adelaide Hills at an elevation of 727 metres. It is the tallest point in the state south of
Burra.
Much of Adelaide was bushland before European settlement, with some variation - swamps and marshlands were prevalent around the coast. However, much of the original vegetation has been cleared with what is left to be found in reserves such as the Adelaide Parklands,
Cleland Conservation Park and
Belair National Park. A number of creeks and rivers flow through the Adelaide region. The largest are the Torrens and
Onkaparinga catchments. Adelaide relies on its many reservoirs for water supply, with
Mount Bold Reservoir and Happy Valley Reservoir together supplying around 50% of Adelaide's requirements.
Climate
Adelaide has a
Mediterranean climate, where most of the rain falls in the winter months. Of the Australian capital cities, Adelaide is the driest. Rainfall is unreliable, light and infrequent throughout summer. In contrast, the winter has fairly reliable rainfall with June being the wettest month of the year, averaging around 80 mm.
Frosts are rare, with the most notable occurrences having occurred in July 1908 and July 1982. There is usually no appreciable
snowfall, except at Mount Lofty and some places in the Adelaide Hills.
Climate Table | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|
| Mean daily maximum temperature (°C) | 28.8 | 29.4 | 26.1 | 22.4 | 18.9 | 16.1 | 15.3 | 16.5 | 18.8 | 21.5 | 24.8 | 26.8 | 22.1 |
|---|
| Mean daily minimum temperature (°C) | 16.8 | 17.2 | 15.0 | 12.2 | 10.1 | 8.2 | 7.4 | 8.2 | 9.6 | 11.3 | 13.8 | 15.5 | 12.1 |
|---|
| Mean total rainfall (mm) | 19.2 | 13.7 | 26.2 | 38.7 | 62.6 | 83.1 | 77.8 | 68.1 | 63.6 | 48.5 | 29.6 | 26.8 | 558.1 |
|---|
| Mean number of rain days | 4.3 | 3.4 | 5.7 | 7.9 | 12.3 | 15.4 | 16.2 | 16.4 | 13.2 | 10.8 | 8.1 | 6.7 | 120.5 |
|---|
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology |
Urban layout
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1888 Map of Adelaide, showing the gradual development of its urban layout |
Adelaide is a planned city, designed by the first surveyor-general of South Australia, Colonel
William Light. His plan, now known as
Light's Vision, arranged Adelaide in a grid, with five squares in the inner City of Adelaide and a ring of parks known as the Adelaide Parklands surrounding it. Light's design was initially unpopular with the early settlers, as well as South Australia's first Governor, John Hindmarsh. Light persisted with his design against this initial opposition. The benefits of Light's design are numerous; Adelaide has had wide multi-lane roads from its beginning, an easily-navigable grid layout and a beautiful green ring around the city centre. There are two sets of 'ring roads' in Adelaide that have resulted from the original design. The inner ring route borders the parklands and the outer route completely bypasses the inner city through (in clockwise order)
Grand Junction Road, Hampstead Road, Ascot Avenue,
Portrush Road, Cross Road and
South Road.
[Adelaide's Inner and Outer Ring Routes, courtesy South Australian Department of Transport [3]]The inevitable urban expansion has to some extent outgrown Light's original plan. Numerous satellite cities were built in the latter half of the 20th century, notably
Salisbury and
Elizabeth on the city's northern fringes, which have now been enveloped by its
urban sprawl. New developments in the Adelaide Hills region facilitated the construction of the
South Eastern Freeway to cope with growth. Similarly, the booming development in Adelaide's
South made the construction of the
Southern Expressway a necessity. New roads are not the only transport infrastrure developed to cope with the urban growth, however. The
O-Bahn Busway is an example of a unique solution to
Tea Tree Gully's transport woes in the 1980s.
The development of the nearby suburb of
Golden Grove in the late 1980s is possibly an example of well-thought-out urban planning. The newer urban areas as a whole, however, are not as integrated into the urban layout as much as older areas, and therefore place more stress on Adelaide's transportation system - although not on a level comparable with Melbourne or
Sydney.
The
City of Adelaide is responsible only for the "Square Mile", which is the
central business district (CBD), North Adelaide and the surrounding Adelaide Parklands. It is the oldest
municipal authority in Australia and was established in 1840, when Adelaide and Australia's first mayor,
James Hurtle Fisher, was elected. From 1919 onwards, the City has had a
Lord Mayor, the current being Lord Mayor
Michael Harbison. The City of Adelaide has a population of approximately 18,000 people in an area of 15.57 km². The population of the
inner city has dwindled from its peak of about 250,000 as the metropolitan area has expanded. The entire metropolitan region, including the city proper, has a population of 1,080,990 people (2001 census) in an area of 870 km², and is divided into 18 autonomous
local government areas.
Adelaide has more recently had the appointment of the Minister for the City of Adelaide, The Hon
Jane Lomax-Smith MP, by the Mike Rann Labour Government. The role of the Minister is to work with the Adelaide City Council and the Lord Mayor to better improve Adelaide's image.
As Adelaide is South Australia's capital and most populous city, the State Government co-operates extensively with the City of Adelaide - a relationship manifest in the Capital City Committee
[Capital City Committee [4]], which is primarily concerned with the planning of Adelaide's urban development and growth.
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Rundle Mall- Adelaide's main shopping street |
As of June 2004, Adelaide had a metropolitan population of more than 1,124,315, making it Australia's fifth largest city. In the 2002-2003 period the population grew by 0.6%, while the national average was 1.2%. Some 70.3% of the population of South Australia are residents of the Adelaide metropolitan area, making South Australia one of the most centralised states. Major areas of population growth in recent years were in outer suburbs such as
Mawson Lakes and Golden Grove. Adelaide's inhabitants occupy 325,000 houses, 57,000 detached, row terrace or town houses and 49,000 flats, apartments and caravans.
Overseas-born Adelaideans composed 24.6% (242,092) of the total population. The North-Eastern Suburbs (such as Golden Grove and Salisbury) and suburbs close to the CBD had a higher ratio of overseas-born residents. Wealthier and more well-educated Adelaideans are concentrated on the coastal suburbs (such as
Brighton and
Hallett Cove) and South-Eastern suburbs (such as
Burnside and
Waterfall Gully). Almost a fifth (17.9%) of the population had university qualifications. The number of Adelaideans with vocational qualifications (such as tradespersons) fell from 62.1% of the labour force in the 1991 census to 52.4% in the 2001 census.
Overall, Adelaide is ageing much more rapidly than other Australian capital cities. Just under a quarter (24.1%) of Adelaide's population is aged 55 years or older, in comparison to the national average of 19.9%. To further compound the situation, Adelaide has the lowest number of children (under-15 year olds), which composed 18.7% of the population, compared to the national average of 20.4%. In regards to three highest ancestries, 38% of the population identified themselves as
English, 34% as Australian (most likely primarily of
Anglo-Celtic background) and 8.4% as
Irish. The three most-spoken languages other than
English were: 3.5%
Italian, 2.3%
Greek and 1.2%
Vietnamese.
[Adelaide (Statistical Division), courtesy Australian Bureau of Statistics [5]]Adelaide's economy is primarily based around manufacturing, defence technology and research, commodity export and corresponding service industries. It has large
manufacturing,
defence and
research zones. They contain car manufacturing plants for General Motors Holden and
Mitsubishi, and plants for medical equipment and
electronic component production. Almost half of all cars produced in Australia are made in Adelaide.
[South Australia Fact Sheet: Automotive, courtesy Business South Australia [6] (.pdf)] The global media conglomerate
News Corporation was founded in and until 2004 incorporated in Adelaide and is still considered its 'spiritual' home by
Rupert Murdoch. Australia's largest oil company,
Santos (South Australia Northern Territory Oil Search) and the prominent South Australian brewery,
Coopers, call Adelaide their home. The collapse of the
State Bank in 1992 resulted in large levels of state
debt (as much as A$4 billion). The collapse had meant that successive governments had enacted lean budgets, cutting
spending, which had been a setback to the further
development of the city and state. The debt has recently been reduced with the State Government once again receiving a AAA+ Credit Rating.
[South Australia's Credit Rating the Highest, courtesy Business South Australia [7]] The South Australian economy, very closely tied to Adelaide's, still enjoys a trade surplus and has higher per capita growth than Australia as a whole.
[South Australia's Economic Performance Update, courtesy Business South Australia [8] (.pdf)] |
The Adelaide-built Collins class submarine HMAS Rankin |
Adelaide is home to a large proportion of Australia's defence industries which contribute over AUD$1 billion to South Australia's Gross State Product. 70% of Australian defence companies are located in Adelaide. The principal government military research institution, the
Defence Science and Technology Organisation, and other defence technology organisations such as
Tenix are located in Salisbury near
RAAF Base Edinburgh and others near
Technology Park. The
Australian Submarine Corporation, based in the industrial suburb of
Osborne was charged with constructing Australia's
Collins class submarines and recently won a AUD$6 billion contract to construct the
Royal Australian Navy's new air-warfare destroyers.
[South Australia: The Defence Industry Choice, courtesy Defence SA [9]]There are 466,829 employed people in Adelaide, with 62.3% full-time and 35.1% part-time. In recent years there has been a growing trend towards part-time (which includes casual) employment, increasing from only 11.6% of the workplace in 1991, to over a third today. 15% of workers are employed in manufacturing, 5% in construction, 15% in retail trade, 11% in business services, 7% in education and 12% in health and community services. The median weekly individual income for people aged 15 years and over is $300-$399 per week. The median family income is $800-$999 per week.
[Adelaide (Statistical Division), courtesy Australian Bureau of Statistics [10]] Adelaide's housing and living costs are substantially lower than that of other Australian cities, with housing being notably cheaper. The median Adelaide house price is half that of
Sydney and two-thirds that of Melbourne. The unemployment rate in October 2005 was 4.8%.
[Adelaide Cost of Living, courtesy Business South Australia [11]]Main article: Education in South Australia
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Art Gallery of South Australia |
Adelaide is home to campuses of all three of South Australia's universities. The
University of Adelaide is a member of the
Group of Eight and was founded in 1874, making it the third-oldest university in Australia. It has five campuses in the Adelaide area; one being its primary campus on North Terrace and another being the
National Wine Centre. The
University of South Australia was formed in 1991 from a merger between the South Australian Institute of Technology and the South Australian Colleges of Advanced Education. Four of its five campuses are located in Adelaide, with two in the CBD itself.
Flinders University, located in
Bedford Park is named after British navigator and explorer
Matthew Flinders and was founded in 1966. It is a mid-sized institution with a medical school at the adjacent
Flinders Medical Centre. Leading US private university
Carnegie Mellon is to establish two Adelaide campuses in 2006 offering both Australian and US
degrees. The Heinz School will specialise in
IT and government management and be based in
Victoria Square, while another campus at
Light Square will specialise in new media and entertainment . These institutions attract students from across Australia and around the world, earning Adelaide's international recognition as a
‘City of Education'.
School education in Adelaide is provided by a variety of public and private schools, which are the responsibility of the State Government. These schools operate under the
South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE), with
International Baccalaureates (IB) offered at many as well. The
Tertiary education system in Adelaide is extensive, with five out of eight centres of
TAFE South Australia in the city itself, including the Douglas Mawson institute of Technology. They specialise in non-university higher education offering a viable alternative.
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Adelaide Convention Centre, situated next to the River Torrens. |
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St. Peters Cathedral, Adelaide |
Adelaide is sometimes referred to as the "City of Churches." From its earliest, Adelaide attracted
immigrants from many countries, particularly German migrants escaping religious persecution. They brought with them the
vine cuttings that founded the acclaimed wineries of the
Barossa Valley. After the
Second World War Italians, Greeks, Dutch, Polish, and possibly every other European nationality came to make a new start. An influx of Asian immigrants following the Vietnam War added to the mix. These new arrivals have blended to form a rich and diverse cuisine and vibrant restaurant culture.
Adelaide's
arts scene flourished in the 1970s under the leadership of premier Don Dunstan, removing some of the more puritanical restrictions on cultural activities then prevalent around Australia. Now the city is home to events such as the Barossa Music Festival, the
Adelaide Festival of Arts,
Adelaide Film Festival,
Adelaide Festival of Ideas,
Come Out youth arts festival, and the
Fringe Festival, among others.
WOMADelaide, Australia's premier
world music event, is now annually held in the scenic surrounds of
Botanic Park, emphasising Adelaide's dedication to the arts which has prevailed since the days of Don Dunstan.
The annual
Royal Adelaide Show, first held in 1840, began as a simple event for the state's farmers to show off their produce. Over time, it grew into a more general commercial
fair held in early September in the inner suburb of
Wayville, with
carnival rides, food and entertainment surrounding the more traditional agricultural exhibitions and competitions.
The
music of Adelaide has produced various musicians who have achieved both national and worldwide fame. Notably the
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the
Adelaide Youth Orchestra,
The Mark of Cain,
The Superjesus,
Testeagles,
The Angels,
Cold Chisel and
Eric Bogle. American artist
Ben Folds considers Adelaide his second home, epitomised in his song "Adelaide" and resides here with his Adelaide-born wife for a number of months each year. The first
Australian Idol winner,
Guy Sebastian hails from the Adelaide suburb of Golden Grove. Hardcore metal band
I Killed the Prom Queen also emerged from Adelaide and the popular Australian hip-hop outfit
Hilltop Hoods come from
Blackwood.
Media
Newspapers in Adelaide are dominated by
News Corp tabloid publications. The only South Australian daily newspaper is
The Advertiser, published by News six days per week, while the Sunday paper is the
Sunday Mail. There are eleven suburban community newspapers published weekly, known collectively as the
Messenger Newspapers, also published by a subsidiary of News Corp. A recent addition to the print medium in the city is "
The Independent Weekly", providing one alternative view. Two national daily newspapers are circulated in the city -
The Australian (Monday–Friday) and its weekend publication,
The Weekend Australian (Saturday), also published by News Corp., and
The Australian Financial Review published by
Fairfax.
The Adelaide Review is a free paper published fortnightly, and other independent magazine-style papers are published, but are not as widely available.
All of the five Australian national television networks broadcast both
analogue PAL and
widescreen digital services in Adelaide. They share three transmission towers on the ridge near the summit of Mount Lofty. The two government-funded stations are
ABC and
SBS. The
Seven Network and
Network Ten both own their Adelaide stations (
SAS-7 and
ADS-10 respectively). Adelaide's
NWS-9 is affiliated with the
Nine Network but is actually owned by
Southern Cross Broadcasting. Adelaide also has a
community television station,
C31 Adelaide. The
Foxtel pay TV service is available as
cable television in a few areas, and as
satellite television to the entire metropolitan area. It is resold by a number of other brands, mostly telephone companies.
Sport
Adelaide hosted the
Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix from 1985 to 1995 on a
street circuit in the city's eastern parklands. The Grand Prix became a source of pride and losing the Grand Prix to Melbourne in a surprise announcement left a void that has since been filled with the highly successful
Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar race event, held on a modified version of the same street circuit.
Adelaide is the home of two
Australian Football League teams: the
Adelaide Crows and the
Port Adelaide Football Club. A local
Australian rules football league, the
SANFL, is made up of nine teams from around Adelaide. Adelaide's professional
soccer team
Adelaide United play in the
A-League, at
Hindmarsh Stadium, one of the few purpose built stadiums in Australia. The
Adelaide 36ers and the
Adelaide Lightning play in national basketball competitions, with home games at the Distinctive Homes Dome and the
Adelaide Thunderbirds play in the national netball competition, with home games at
ETSA Park. Most large sporting events take place at either
AAMI Stadium (formerly Football Park) or the historic Adelaide Oval, home of the
Southern Redbacks Cricket Team. Adelaide hosts an international cricket test every summer, along with a number of
one day international cricket matches.
Adelaide has hosted the annual
Tour Down Under bicycle race since 1999, an event which has gradually built an international reputation with each successive year it has been held. It is also host to the popular
Bay to Birdwood run, featuring vintage and veteran cars from around the world.
Health
Adelaide's first hospital was the
Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH), founded in 1840, it is one of the major hospitals in Adelaide and is a
teaching hospital of the
University of Adelaide. It has a capacity of 705 beds. Two other RAH campuses specialising in specific patient services located in the suburbs of Adelaide - the Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre in
Northfield, and the
Glenside Campus Mental Health Service. The other three largest hospitals in the Adelaide area are
The Women's and Children's Hospital (305 beds), which is located on King William Road in North Adelaide; the
Queen Elizabeth Hospital (340 beds), located in
Woodville and the Flinders Medical Centre (500 beds), which is located in Bedford Park. These hospitals are also associated with medical schools - the Women and Children's and Queen Elizabeth with the
University of Adelaide and the Flinders Medical Centre with Flinders University.
Transport
Being centrally located on the Australian mainland, Adelaide forms something of a strategic transport hub for east-west and north-south routes. The city itself has a limited
public transport system, which is managed by and known as the
Adelaide Metro. The Adelaide Metro consists of a contracted bus system including the O-Bahn Busway, metropolitan railways, and the historic Adelaide-
Glenelg Tram. Road transport in Adelaide has historically been comparatively easier than many of the other Australian cities, with a well-defined city layout and wide multiple-lane roads from the beginning of its development. Historically, Adelaide was known as a "twenty-minute city", with commuters having being able to travel from metropolitan outskirts to the city proper in roughly twenty minutes. However, these roads are now inadequate to cope with Adelaide's growing road traffic.
[ (1.18MB PDF)]Adelaide has one freeway, the
South Eastern Freeway, connecting the city with the Adelaide Hills, and two expressways; the
Port River Expressway connecting Port Adelaide and
Outer Harbour to interstate routes and the
Southern Expressway, an
interchangeable one-way road connecting the southern suburbs with the city proper. A third expressway, the
Northern Expressway (formerly the
Sturt Highway extension), a northern suburbs bypass route, is due to start construction in 2008.
Adelaide International Airport, located at
West Beach, is Australia's newest and most advanced airport terminal and is designed to serve in excess of 5.4 million passengers annually. The new dual international/domestic terminal replaces the old and ageing terminals known locally as the 'tin sheds', and incorporates new state-of-the-art features, such as glass aerobridges and the ability to cater for the new Airbus A380. The airport is designed to handle 27 aircraft simultaneously and it is capable of processing 3,000 passengers per hour. Unusually for a major city it is located only about seven kilometres (four miles) from the CBD.
Utilities
Adelaide's energy requirements are met by a variety of companies who separately provide for the generation, transmission, distribution and retail sales of gas and electricity. Some of the major companies are:
TRUenergy generate electricity; ElectraNET SA transmit electricity from the generators to the distribution network; ETSA Utilities (formerly a government-owned company which was privatised by the
Olsen Government in the 1990s) distribute electricity from transmission companies to end users; and
AGL who retail gas and electricity.
[ ] There has been substantial criticism in recent years of the suburban electricity network due to its inability to cope with high-usage periods.
Adelaide derives most of its electricity from a gas-fired plant operated by TRUenergy at
Torrens Island, and also by power stations at
Port Augusta, Pelican Point, and connections to the national grid. Gas is mainly supplied from the
Moomba Gas Processing Plant in the Cooper Basin, and is piped to Adelaide and other areas within the state.
Adelaide's water supply is gained from its reservoirs: Mount Bold, Happy Valley, Myponga, Millbrook, Hope Valley, Little Para and South Para. Further water demands result in the pumping of water from the River Murray. The provision of water services is by the government-owned
SA Water.
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Adelaide from Greenhill Reserve in the Adelaide Hills. The CBD is located to the left of centre. |
*
People of Adelaide*
List of Adelaide railway stations*
List of Adelaide suburbs*
List of churches in Adelaide*
List of sports clubs in Adelaide*Kathryn Gargett; Susan Marsden,
Adelaide: A Brief History. Adelaide: State History Centre, History Trust of South Australia in association with Adelaide City Council, 1952. ISBN 0730801160
*Derek Whitelock et al,
Adelaide : a sense of difference. Melbourne: Arcadia, 2000. ISBN 0875606571
*
City of Adelaide*
SA Central**
City highlights**
Metropolitan highlights*
Sensational Adelaide
