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)

Back to Jim's website...

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

Back to Jim's website...

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…

Back to Jim's website...

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

Back to Jim's website...

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

Back to Jim's website...

Art Gallery of South Australia: Turning Japanese

~ Located on North Terrace, Adelaide’s ‘cultural boulevard’, the Art Gallery of South Australia is a veritable treasure house holding one of the country’s greatest art collections in one of the state’s most beautiful buildings.

Visit the Gallery daily to explore the best of Australian art. From colonial and indigenous, through to modern and cutting-edge contemporary, you can wander through the Art Gallery’s extensive displays of European, decorative arts, Middle Eastern and Asian works.

The Golden Journey
Currently, the Art Gallery of South Australia is featuring a major exhibition called, The Golden Journey: Japanese Art from Australian Collections.

Billed as “a stunning display of almost three hundred diverse objects”, the exhibition reveals the rich heritage of Japanese art held in Australia's major public and private collections. The exhibition, the first of its kind in Australia, tells the story of Japanese art from prehistoric times until Japan opened its doors to the West at the start of the Meiji era (1868-1912).

The exhibition features serene Buddhist sculptures, spectacular painted screens, miniature netsuke talismans, colourful Ukiyo-e images of the ‘floating world’, costumes, masks, armour and flamboyant export art created for Australia’s late nineteenth-century international exhibitions. This is in celebration of the profound lyricism and sophisticated eloquence of Japanese aesthetics.

Guided Tours

Try to arrange your visit to coincide with the free guided tours that take place…
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 12 noon, or
Saturday, Sunday and public holidays at 12 noon and 2.30pm

Exhibition runs 6 March to 31 May, 2009
Entry: Adult, $12; Concession, $10; Members & Students 16 and over, $8; Child under 12, Free.
Open daily from 10am to 5pm.
Location: North Terrace, Adelaide

Visit the Art Gallery of South Australia website here…

IMAGE: Courtesy Art Gallery of South Australia

Back to Jim's website...