Adelaide Park Lands

Aerial view of South Park Lands showing Parks 20, 21, 22 & Whitmore Square in the lower right.
Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka (Park 14), a popular part of the Park Lands
Flower bed in Pinky Flat / Tarntanya Wama (Park 26)
Gum trees and a creek in Park 20

The Adelaide Park Lands comprise the figure-eight configuration of land, spanning both banks of the River Torrens between Hackney and Thebarton, which encloses and separates the City of Adelaide area (including both the Adelaide city centre and North Adelaide) from the surrounding suburbia of greater metropolitan Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. They were laid out by Colonel William Light in his design for the city, and originally consisted of 2,300 acres (930 ha) "exclusive of 32 acres (13 ha) for a public cemetery".[1] One copy of Light's plan shows areas for a cemetery and a Post and Telegraph Store[2] on West Terrace, a small Government Domain and Barracks on the central part of North Terrace, a hospital on East Terrace, a Botanical Garden on the River Torrens west of North Adelaide, and a school and a storehouse south-west of North Adelaide.[3]

Over the years there has been constant encroachment on the Park Lands by the state government and others. Soon after their declaration in 1837, 370 acres (150 ha) "were lost to 'Government Reserves'".[4] In 1902, The Herald noted that a total area of 489 acres (198 ha) had been taken from park lands.[1][5] In 2018, the loss is about 568 acres (230 ha).[4]

The part of the Park Lands not in the "Government Reserves" have been managed and maintained by the Adelaide City Council since 1852,[6] and since February 2007, the Adelaide Park Lands Authority has advised council and government.[7][8]

On 7 November 2008 the Federal Minister for Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Peter Garrett, announced that the Adelaide Park Lands had been entered in the Australian National Heritage List as "an enduring treasure for the people of South Australia and the nation as a whole".[9] In fact, large areas of the Adelaide Park Lands along the north side of the complete length of North Tce, and along the north side of Port Road from West Terrace to the Thebarton Police Barracks, (in Parks 11, 12, 26 and 27), and also the rail reserves, (in Parks 25, 26 and 27), were excluded from the "Adelaide Park Lands and City Layout National Heritage Place" listing.[10]

34°54′S 138°36′E / 34.9°S 138.6°E / -34.9; 138.6

  1. ^ a b "The Park Lands". The Herald. 6 September 1902. p. 7. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018 – via Trove.
  2. ^ CLMP for Tambawodli (Park 24), p. 6
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference plan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Fiction and Facts about the Adelaide Park Lands Archived 13 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Adelaide Park Lands Preservation Association.
  5. ^ In 1902, The Herald noted that a total area of 489 acres (198 ha) had been taken from park lands, made up of a Government reserve of 312 acres (126 ha) (the area from the Botanic Gardens in the east to the Railway Station and yards in the west), the cemetery (60 acres (24 ha)), the goal (19 acres (7.7 ha)), water & sewage support facilities (21 acres (8.5 ha)), and railway land (71 acres (29 ha)). The Herald, 6 September 1902, p. 7
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference sheet23 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Jim Daly (March 2007). "New Authority meets" (PDF). Parklands News (26). Adelaide Park Lands Preservation Association: 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  8. ^ "Charter" (PDF). Adelaide Park Lands Authority. Adelaide City Council. December 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  9. ^ Hon. Peter Garrett, Media Release 7 November 2008.
  10. ^ The Adelaide Park Lands and City Layout National Heritage Place Archived 19 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, www.environment.gov.au. Map of City of Adelaide showing the Park Lands and the areas excluded (white) from the listing.

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