The Kaurna People

Capt'n Jack tells you all you need to know about Adelaide

The site for Adelaide was chosen in December 1836 by the colony’s far-sighted Surveyor-General, Colonel William Light, who created its remarkable design of a square surrounded by parkland. The site was well-drained, had fertile soil and straddled the Torrens River, which guaranteed a ready water supply. It was named after Queen Adelaide, wife of the British King William IV. At the time of European settlement, the area was occupied by the Kaurna people, a peaceful group numbering around 300. Little is known of them except they were skilled at working with skins and fibres, and that even before the arrival of white settlers in South Australia, the Kaurna people had suffered epidemics of smallpox and other diseases that had swept down the Murray from NSW. For the visiting yachtsperson, there is a little bit of everything; supplies, entertainment, fine climate and friendly folk. All it lacks is an easy, free place to park your vessel. Being a river port, the open roadstead in the Gulf of St Vincent can be both unsafe and uncomfortable. But, if you don’t want to pay, there is one option that I’ll get to later. South Australia is blessed to have two magnificent gulfs chocker-block with interesting places to visit and some of the best fishing in the nation. Therefore, there are many boats in South Australia, most centred in Adelaide. Weekend and mid-week racing are regular events, and chandlery items are not too hard to find. Other attractions that we found appealing were the many eateries that provide reasonably priced lunches and dinners, the botanical gardens with guide service, and the museum, both free and located downtown. Also downtown is the Farmers Market, a place of bustling activity and wide range of the freshest fruits and veggies, plus a huge eating hall where every type of food is hawked from stalls round the noisy room. If historical buildings take your fancy then a walk around the centre of town will delight. Nearer where the boats berth, at Port Adelaide, are many other buildings dating back to Adelaide’s earliest days, a walk around will amaze. Also, while there, a visit to the Maritime museum should not be missed for memorabilia and displays from Adelaide’s migrant passages. Nor should you pass up the opportunity of climbing the 75 steps up the Port Adelaide Lighthouse, free with Museum entry, for a grand view over the busy port to the Mount Lofty Ranges. From the wharf just below, for the absurd price of $6, a monster ferry will take you on a two hour Sunday tour of the port, where they promise dolphins will jump in front of their bows. Also important for the visiting yachty is the Torrens Island Sunday Market starting at 6am and running until 1PM. Expect the cheapest prices in the last hour. Adelaide’s downtown is many miles from where you can park your boat. But most of your needs will be found in Port Adelaide: Woolies, Coles, numerous op shops, the Port Anchor Pub with its $10 hot lunches, Birkenhead Pub for excellent evening meals, and the always-needed Whitworths, as well as Mitre Ten. But to reach the city you will need to learn the bus schedules, and fathom which one goes where because there are many with varied destinations. Adelaide and Port Adelaide are also linked by rail. Now, for those looking to save money we can recommend anchoring in the Barker Inlet. An oasis located within earshot of what's called the Connector Road at Wingfield. Up to forty thousand vehicles use that road but it doesn't seem to worry the avocets, which trawl the bottom for a good feed. Up until 1995, this was a cesspool, but now the trash screens have begun a cleaning process - trapping plastic sheeting, cartons…you name it, in runoff from a suburban catchment area that extends all the way to Collinswood and North Adelaide. Surrounded by mangroves, of course there are mosquitoes, so good insect nets are a must. But it is free, and very well protected, with a gooey mud bottom. Unfortunately, there is no nearby transport, so it’s either use your thumb, your bike, or your feet. Just around the corner from this last anchorage, and within sight of the Torrens Island Power Station at the end of the Barker Inlet is The Garden Island Yacht Club. It’s an extremely friendly homegrown yacht club, and if you don’t mind being miles away from facilities, you could give them a ring and see if they can accommodate you for a short stay.

Chip & Bere Tour to New Zealand and Australia – Australia Day 37 ...

August

We flew to Adelaide, arriving early evening in the pouring rain!

More than 40,000 years ago, the Kaurna Aboriginal people settled the Adelaide Plains, calling it Tandanya, ‘place of the red kangaroo’.  Unlike the other Australian states, Adelaides’s citizens were not taken from the many convicts originally sent by Britain to Australia, but were free settlers.  Attracted by the potential to build their wealth in the copper industry, or in wool or wheat, there were also those seeking safety from the religious persecution that was still present in Europe at the time.

Located on the Torrens River and surrounded to the east by the Mt Lofty Ranges and to the west by the Gulf St Vincent, Adelaide today, prides itself on its live music and arts scene, its historic building heritage and its central location to one of Australia’s best known wine growing regions, the Barossa Valley, hence it’s known as Australia’s wine capital.

Visited the famous Adelaide Central Market, with Charlie’s cousin Jill, where we saw a community of people: traders, artisans and shoppers, who share a passion for food.  It buzzes with life and colour all year round.  We wandered around isles of food stalls of every conceivable kind, seafood, meat, cheese, fruit and vegies, cakes, honey, organic, coffee, chocolates and it just goes on.  People love to return again and again for the delicious aromas, the vivid colours and the atmosphere of an international melting pot of cultures.