South Australian Maritime Museum

~ Welcome to a world of explorers, uncharted waters, seafarers trading across heaving oceans, new migrants in search of a new life, and bold adventurers from many lands.

Step aboard some of the ships that carried them and explore a life-sized ketch that draws you back to the days of sail.

Admire the extensive collection of intricate model sailing ships, steamships and passenger liners.

Immerse yourself in the voyages that brought people to Australian shores as you experience life onboard an 1840s sailing ship. Then step into a third class cabin to feel what life onboard must have been like for thousands of migrants travelling to Australia from Europe and beyond.

You could even discover your own slice of history as you search through a database of migrants to find your own ancestors.

All this and more awaits you at the South Australian Maritime Museum in Port Adelaide.

The Museum is renowned for its innovative approach to maritime history and education. Its three floors of exhibits houses Australia’s oldest nautical collection started in Port Adelaide in 1872. Among the huge collection of iconic treasures is the anchor of the Investigator that carried the explorer Matthew Flinders to Australia. You will also find the largest collection of carved ships’ figureheads in the southern hemisphere.

In addition to all this, the Maritime Museum’s new and ever changing exhibitions cover every aspect of Australia’s maritime history. From stories of those who lived at sea and on shore, to the dolphins and marine ecosystems that contribute to Australia’s natural heritage.

The exhibitions also provide visitors with a hands-on experience, giving them opportunities to learn through discovery and adventure. The themes and displays cater for all age groups, and provide a unique experience for all the family.

Port Adelaide is home to the most urbanised dolphin pod in the world. The Maritime Museum runs Dolphin Spotting Cruises which provide a fantastic opportunity to see the Port River in the Museum’s heritage vessels.

South Australian Maritime Museum
Location:
126, Lipson Street
Port Adelaide
PH: (08) 8207 6255

Open daily (except Christmas Day)
10am to 5pm

Getting There:
Bus: from city routes 151 or 153
Train: to Port Adelaide station (then sort walk)

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House Swaps: The Practical Way to Holiday

~ My thanks to Nick at the Aussie House Swap website for giving me permission to reprint this article here.

In some ways, this is the easiest article on this site to write.

That's because there are just so many advantages to house swapping as a practical and inexpensive way to enjoy your regular holiday break — or even the vacation of a lifetime, in that exotic locale you've always wanted to visit.

What makes house swapping a very practical way to holiday for most people is the enormous saving all parties make on accommodation costs. Remember, house swapping means just what it says — two homeowners literally exchange houses for an agreed period, at no cost to either party.

For most vacations of a couple of weeks or longer, accommodation is the single most expensive item on the budget. And even if it's not number one, it'll almost certainly be number two.

Just imagine having that cost deducted from your holiday expenses!

Through a vacation house swap, you'll also enjoy the tremendous convenience of a fully equipped kitchen. You won't need to go out for meals day and night, and can eat out purely when you want to. Besides the convenience, you will of course save a great deal more money this way. In fact, you probably won't spend much more on meals than you would if you'd stayed at home!

Some further benefits that house swapping offers are more space, privacy and comfort than almost any hotel, motel or resort can give you. And with Aussie House Swap, you can check out available swaps online, well in advance of your trip. This way, you are able to look at exactly what's on offer. No more arriving at places which don't live up to their glossy brochures. (And haven't we all done that more than once!)

Your house swapping partner/s will also be able to fill you in on what's hot and what's not in their neck of the woods, with up-to-date local knowledge, and their own recommended spots to visit. Places that won't necessarily be in the tourist guides. Possibly even places of great natural beauty, or fine cuisine, that are free from hordes of tourists. Or great eateries where you need to make an advance booking to get the best tables. Remember, local knowledge and personal recommendation always beat paid ads in a tourist guide or a weekly "What's On" magazine.

Lots of people even swap cars when they exchange houses during their holidays. If your swap involves a flight, you'll save on car hire — or avoid the inconvenience of always having to rely on public transport — that comes with a traditional hotel, motel or resort vacation to a distant destination. Once more, a significant cost saving accompanies the choice to house swap.

And talking of car swaps, even if you're going to a city to which you could have driven, by flying you'll be there much more quickly. You may well have a full extra day, or even more, in which to enjoy your holiday, by not having to drive there and back. And the cost of a flight (especially one booked early at cheaper rates) will be more than affordable due to the absence of accommodation costs.

Furthermore, partly because of the big cost savings, you may find yourself considering holiday spots you wouldn't otherwise have thought of. Perhaps even out-of-the-way places, far from the normal tourist beat, with no hotels, motels or resorts within miles. For example, a pristine beach, a trout stream or an outback cattle station may grab your attention as you scan the available swaps.

And there's no need to settle for the "same old same old" every year. This year, why not cross the Tasman and visit our friendly neighbours? Then next year, check out some of the islands. Followed by a visit to the mountains the year after that. There really is no end to the wonderful opportunities and possibilities that house swapping vacations can present. You can literally make each holiday a new and exciting adventure, with the extensive and growing Aussie House Swap database to choose from.

There's also, of course, the security you gain by exchanging houses with another swapper. Instead of leaving it empty, with mail, junk mail and newspapers piling up (in between being collected by the neighbours) — a virtual invitation to vandals and thieves — your house will continue to be occupied while you're away.

Not to mention that your swapper will be able to take care of your pets, saving them the trauma of going to an unfamiliar kennel or cattery, and you the trauma of paying the bill when you get back home!

In fact, there are really only two problems with taking a house swap holiday: firstly, choosing between the many delectable alternatives which are available, and secondly, deciding what to do with all the money you'll save!

Image for illustration purposes only

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Drive Across Australia for Next to Nothing!

~ I’ve heard about this sort of thing before, and thought it was an urban myth - but to my amazement it is true. What am I talking about? A scheme that lets you drive a car, motorhome or campervan right across the country – for next to nothing. In fact, some of the companies involved will even give you up to $500 in free fuel – and pay you an allowance as well!

It sounds crazy, but it’s true. Let me explain.

Car rental companies often hire their vehicles out to clients who are travelling in one direction only – say from Adelaide to Brisbane. Once the car has been dropped of at its destination, the rental company then has to get the vehicle back to its home location in Adelaide.

They could of course, wait, and hope that eventually someone in Brisbane will rehire the vehicle and drive it back to Adelaide, but they could end up waiting days or weeks for this to happen. And while they are waiting, they could be losing clients because they don’t have enough hire vehicles left in the yard back in Adelaide to rent out to other clients.

Sometimes their only option is to offer amazing inducements to drivers to return the vehicles, and this means that if you are flexible about when you want to travel, you could literally be paid to drive a car or motorhome across the country.

How do you find out which companies are involved and what vehicles are on offer?

Go online, dear reader, go online.

For instance Apollo (the campervan and motorhome rental company) have a page on their website where they list the vehicles that need to be relocated back to home base. As I write this, there are 23 such vehicles including a Euro Tourer 2 Berth campervan that needs to be returned to Alice Springs from Adelaide. As an inducement they are also offering (and I quote from the site): “$1 per day rental, all fuel free (dockets required), $100 travel allowance (no dockets required)”.

Yes you read it right. Not only could you be driving this campervan from Adelaide to Alice Springs for a dollar a day, but all fuel is free and they are also offering to pay you a $100 travel allowance!

Or you could drive a Euro Deluxe 6 Berth motorhome from Cairns to Sydney for just a dollar a day, and they will throw in up to $500 worth of free fuel!

Yes, it sounds crazy – but it’s true.

Head over to the Apollo website now and take a look at what is on offer.

By the way, this is why you have to pay a premium if you are hiring a vehicle and only going in one direction. The hire car company often has to offer inducements, like those on the Apollo website, for someone else to return the car to base.

What’s The Catch?
Well, for a start, you can’t spend two weeks returning the vehicle to home base! As you will see on the Apollo site, vehicles have to be returned within a specified period of time. However, if you do want to spend a bit more time on the road, you could of course hire the vehicle for an extra day or two and enjoy the trip rather than simply drive between point A and point B in the fastest possible time.

Another ‘catch’ is that you have to be ready to hit the road with very little notice. Again, take a look at the Apollo web site. Some listings want a vehicle returned “Today”, while others have return dates that are several days off.

One more ‘catch’ to consider – once you have delivered the vehicle as arranged – what do you do when you reach your destination, where do you stay, and how do you get back home again?

And finally, you may not find a vehicle which needs returning to your preferred destination. For example, checking the Apollo website again, today if you wanted to drive from Darwin to Brisbane, you would be out of luck, because no vehicles need to be returned to Brisbane from Darwin. However, that situation could literally change overnight, so it is worth keeping an eye on the site.

Of course, there are the usual Terms & Conditions that apply to vehicle hire, and you will need to meet those before anyone is going to let you hire in the first place.

However, adventurous readers may well want to give this method of transport a go. You never know where you might end up!

Image: ‘Euro Deluxe 6 Berth Apollo Motorhome’, courtesy of Apollo website

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National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide

~ The National Railway Museum provides affordable family entertainment two sites: at Lipson Street, Port Adelaide, and on the foreshore at Semaphore.

The Museum is a self-supporting, non-profit enterprise which occasionally receives government grants for special projects. Apart from the duties of two paid staff members, all of its activities are conducted by volunteers.

The Museum is Australia's largest railway museum with over 100 exhibits representing state, Commonwealth and private railway operators on the three major rail gauges used in Australia.

At the Railway Museum you can climb into the cabs of giant steam engines, walk through elegant carriages, and enjoy a free train ride. New displays include the Man In Blue and the Adelaide Railway Station Indicator Board. There is also a new interactive interpretive tour of the famous Tea and Sugar Train.

Learn about the role of women in railways; trace railway development on the interactive map, and read about the famous Overland sleeping car train that operated for many years between Adelaide and Melbourne.

The National Railway Museum provides more than exhibits. Function and reception facilities cater for corporate events and dinners seating up to 600. The Museum is also a popular location for weddings, social club events, and trade shows, where as an added bonus, guests are able to wander through the exhibits and displays. In fact, trains can even be arranged to transport groups from Adelaide right into the Museum for major functions. More intimate celebrations are catered for in the historic Ghan dining and lounge cars.

Finally, children’s parties are a special treat in the Cafeteria Car. Children of course, will love the huge working model railway system at the Museum too.

Location:
Lipson Street, Port Adelaide.
Open daily: 10am to 5pm (except Christmas Day)
PH: (08) 8341 1690

Getting There:
Bus: from city routes 151 or 153 (stops Commercial Road, Port Adelaide)
Train: to Port Adelaide Station (then short walk)

Semaphore/Fort Glanville Tourist Railway
The Semaphore and Fort Glanville Tourist Railway operates daily from 11am during school holidays, and every weekend and public holiday from September to May. The mini steam train follows a two kilometre ride along the dunes from Semaphore Jetty to Point Malcolm and return.

Getting There:
From the Museum: Bus 333 from Commercial Road, Port Adelaide (stops corner Military Road/Semaphore Road).

IMAGE: Semaphore/Fort Glanville Tourist Railway
Photographer: Jim Lesses

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National Motor Museum, Birdwood

~ The Australian National Motor Museum is located in the Adelaide hills town of Birdwood.

You don’t have to be a petrol head or car enthusiast to appreciate Australia’s biggest motoring collection of 300 vintage, veteran, post war, classic and modern cars. Oh, and let’s not forget the commercial vehicles and the 100+ motorcycles.

As you walk through the contemporary pavilions and the ever changing exhibition spaces, you encounter the stories, people and vehicles that have shaped Australia’s motoring history through the decades. From the early imports of the 1920s and ‘30s, and the rise of Australian manufacturing in the ‘40s and ‘50s, through to the sleek designs of the ‘60s and ‘70s, and finally on to the latest in modern engineering and high performance racing of today. You can even test yourself in the state-of-the-art virtual driving simulator.

Among the famous and little know vehicles in the Museum are the 1899 steam-powered Shearer, the oldest Australian built vehicle still running. You will also find the legendary Leyland Brothers Land Rover; a 1922 electric powered car designed for female drivers, and the famous Birdsville Track mail delivery truck operated by Tom Kruse, to name just a few.

A visit to the National Motor Museum will give you an appreciation of how motor vehicles opened up Australia, linking some of the most isolated communities and cities in the world. Make sure you look for the Talbot, the first car to cross the continent in 1908. What an incredible journey that must have been!

The Museum also hosts various special events, including the finish of the world-renowned Bay to Birdwood vintage car run which takes place each year in September.

With extensive grounds for picnics, free BBQs, an playground, café, souvenir shop and free activities for children, the National Motor Museum has something for everyone.

Getting There
Affordable Coachlines of Lobethal have a bus service to Birdwood. The service is available seven days a week. Take any O'Bahn bus from Grenfell Street in the city to Modbury Interchange, Tea Tree Plaza (trip time approximately 30 mins). Then you can catch a 800 or 801 bus from Modbury to Birdwood and back again. Cost (each way): $5.50 for adults, $2.75 for concession. For more information contact Affordable Coachlines on (08) 8389 5566.

The Hills Explorer bus will take you to Birdwood for a round trip price of $40 per person. This includes pick up from an arranged place in Adelaide CBD, drop off at Birdwood, and return to Adelaide CBD. For bookings and enquiries phone 0411 725 603.

National Motor Museum
Birdwood, South Australia
Open Daily: 10am-5pm (closed Christmas Day)
Phone: (08) 8568 4000

Entry: Adult $9.00; Conc $7.00; Child $4.00 (children under 5 free); Family $24.00 (2 adults, up to 6 children) School Groups: $3.50 per student Groups of more than 20: $7.00 per adult $6.50 concession, bookings essential

IMAGE: Courtesy Bay to Birdwood website…

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Save Money at Maps.Com During April

Are you planning to hit the road soon on your journey of a lifetime?

Do you need Road Maps, Travel Guides, Travel Maps, Mapping Guides or a host of other travel related products before you go?

Then head on over to Maps.Com, and browse through their online catalogue of over 25,000 products before you do. Because during April they are offering 5% off all orders under $100, and 10% off all orders of $100 or more.

Use Special Codes to Save
However, you must enter the following codes to take advantage of these discounts.

• To save 5% off all orders, enter the code: APRIL09 at the checkout stage of the ordering process
• To save 10% off orders, enter the code: APRIL2009 at the checkout stage of the ordering process

Just click on either of the following links to go straight to Maps.Com and start browsing through their extensive catalogue.

10% OFF all orders of $100 or more! Use promotion code APRIL2009 upon checkout to receive your discount. Expires April 30.

5% off all orders! Use code APRIL09 at checkout. Expires April 30.

Happy travelling.

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Adelaide Gaol

~ Adelaide Gaol is one of South Australia’s oldest and most intriguing public buildings. It operated from 1841 to 1988, housing approximately 300,000 prisoners over its 147 year working life.

A visit to the Gaol offers a unique glimpse of prison life, with original cellblocks, 19th century architecture, the hanging tower and gallows, exercise yards, and prisoner graves. You can explore the site in your own time, join a tour, or see the Gaol in a more eerie light on a night tour.

Night Tours
Night tours are conducted for groups of up to 25 people on the first and third Thursday of each month. The tours allow you to see the Gaol by lamp light, while you will experience the atmosphere of the Gaol at night as knowledgeable guides entertain you with tales of prison life. Private group bookings (minimum 15 people) can be arranged on request. Tours run from sunset for approximately 2 hours. Bookings are essential.

History
Built by the banks of the River Torrens in 1841, the construction put such a strain on the new Colony’s finances that Governor George Gawler was called back to England to explain his “extravagant” building programs. Of the four castle-like towers originally specified, only two were completed, and only one with ornate turrets.

Along with Government House, the Gaol is one of the oldest surviving buildings designed by the colony's first architect, George Strickland Kingston. The plans he drew up were based on similar designs used on some Gaols in Ireland and England’s Pentonville prison.

Free Settlement
There was so much optimism for Australia’s first free settled colony that no Gaol was included in Colonel Light’s 1837 plan. It was quickly apparent that not everyone in the new colony intended to be a law-abiding citizen, and so tenders were sought for a temporary Gaol.

Capital Punishment
The first public hanging at Adelaide Gaol occurred in November 1840 while the site was still under construction. Early hangings outside the Gaol attracted crowds of up to 2000 people who gathered to witness this most radical form of ‘justice.’

Michael Magee, becoming the first person to be hanged in South Australia. His execution was on 2 May 1838. The last of 66 executions took place on 24 November 1964. The victim, Glen Valance, was found guilty of killing his employer, Richard Strang, at his home near Bordertown.

Capital punishment was abolished in 1976.

Women and the Gaol
Adelaide Gaol has many stories to tell about women in South Australian prison life. One of the most dramatic events concerns Elizabeth Woolcock – the only woman to be executed in South Australia. She was found guilty of poisoning her violent husband, Thomas Woolcock, and despite a mercy plea from the jury, she was hanged on the portable gallows in the Gaol yards in 1873, aged 25. To this day flowers adorn the place where Elizabeth Woolcock is buried within the Gaol, while the debate as to whether Elizabeth Woolcock was guilty or innocent has continued for 131 years.

A New Role
The Adelaide Gaol operated for almost 150 years and has the longest history of continuous use of any Australian prison facility. Today Adelaide Gaol is an important heritage site and tourist destination, serving as a stark reminder of our not so distant past.

Since its closure in 1988, the site has been managed by the South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage. Thanks largely to the continued efforts of the Adelaide Gaol Preservation Society, the Gaol has developed a new identity as a museum and place of community interest, attracting visitors from all over the world.

Adelaide Gaol continues to fascinate those with interests in South Australian history, architecture, law and the many remarkable stories about the characters intrinsically linked with this intriguing site.

Information
Open Sunday to Friday, 11.00am to 5pm
(Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day)

Adult $8.50; Concession $7.50; Child $5.50;
Family $21.00; Night Tour $20.00
Ph: (08) 8231 4062

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The Donald Bradman Collection

~ The Bradman Collection Museum at Adelaide Oval...

SIR DONALD BRADMAN

Australia’s greatest cricketer and the world’s greatest batsman begins when Donald George Bradman is born in Cootamundra, New South Wales in 1908. It follows with him growing up in Bowral and moving to Sydney at the age of 18 where he represented his state the following year and then Australia at the age of 20. He moved again to South Australia in 1934 to further his business and cricket opportunities and remained here until his death in 2001. The Bradman Collection Museum follows his progress from club cricketer on to the interstate and international stage. It notes his rise to hero status in the 1930s and how that status has been maintained. It explores his major role in cricket administration and provides glimpses of the family man and all-round sportsman.

THE HISTORY OF BRADMAN COLLECTION

In the late 1960s Sir Donald Bradman was persuaded to place much of his personal material in the State Library of South Australia. Fifty-two scrapbooks documenting his playing career were organised by library staff over several years as photographs, menus, newspaper cuttings and telegrams were copied and mounted in chronological order. In return Sir Donald donated a significant number of personal items of memorabilia to the library including various bats, balls, trophies, clothing and other pieces which became known as the Bradman Collection.

Some were originally displayed at the Mortlock Library of South Australiana from 1986 before a larger selection of pieces was moved to a permanent exhibition site in the library’s Institute Building in 1998. It was originally Sir Donald’s wish that a home for the collection might one day be found at Adelaide Oval and this took place in August, 2008 to coincide with the centenary of his birth.

The South Australian Cricket Association is now the custodian of the collection in conjunction with the Premier’s Department, State Library and the Bradman Family. The State Library retains the archival materials and management of the Bradman Collection website.

THE BRADMAN COLLECTION MUSEUM

The museum, now housed at Adelaide Oval, is built around various periods of Bradman's life and career, including his career as a cricketer at Club, State and International level.
In the Theatrette visitors can watch key film footage of Bradman’s career including a lesson from the master on playing different strokes. Other artefacts include books by and about Bradman, some of the thousands of letters from fans from all over the world; an interactive display, and a reconstructed lounge room depicting how listeners in Australia would have sat around their radios listening to Bradman playing thousands of miles away in the 1930s.

The Bradman Collection Museum at Adelaide Oval...
Download a copy of the Bradman Collection Museum brochure...

OPENING TIMES

Monday to Friday 9.30am–4.30pm

Closed Saturday & Sunday

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