GLENELG, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

'Glenelg' is a popular beach-side suburb of the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Located on the shore of Holdfast Bay in Gulf Saint Vincent, it has become a popular tourist destination due to its beach and many attractions, home to several hotels and dozens of restaurants.
Established in 1836, it is the oldest European settlement on mainland South Australia (the oldest being Kingscote on Kangaroo Island), with the proclamation of the colony of South Australia. It was named after Lord Glenelg, a member of British Cabinet and Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
The name ''Glenelg'' derives from the Gaelic ''Gleann Eilg''. It is noteworthy for being a palindrome.

Contents

History

Settlement

The Jetty

Amusement Parks

High-rise Development

Demographics

Transport

Events and Attractions

Politics

Notes and References

External links

History

:''See Also: History of Adelaide''
In Australian prehistory, the Adelaide Plains on which Glenelg is situated were the land of the Kaurna group of Indigenous Australians. A smallpox epidemic from New South Wales had wiped out the majority of the population prior to European settlement.

Settlement

:''See Also: European settlement of South Australia''
The first British settlers set sail for South Australia in 1836. Several locations for the settlement were considered, such as, Kangaroo Island, Port Lincoln and Encounter Bay. The Adelaide plains were chosen by Colonel William Light, and Governor John Hindmarsh proclaimed the province of South Australia at the site of The Old Gum Tree in Glenelg North on December 28, 1836.^[3]
The first post office in Glenelg opened in 1859 as a telegraph station. Mail services were not introduced until 1868. The present post office building on Moseley Square was built in 1912.^[4]
Construction of the Glenelg Institute, which is now the Glenelg Town Hall (pictured top right) started in 1875. The instutute opened in 1877, with lecture rooms, a concert hall and a library. The classical structure was designed by Edmund Wright, whose works include the Adelaide Town Hall and Adelaide General Post Office on King William Street. The hall sits on Moseley Square, just off the beach. The city council acquired the hall in 1887. Today it houses restaurants and two museums, the Bay Discovery Centre and the Rodney Fox Shark Experience.

The Jetty

In August 1857, Construction of Glenelg's first jetty commenced, and was opened on April 25, 1859. Costing over 31,000 Pound sterling to build, the structure was 381 metres (1250 feet) long. The jetty was used not only by fishermen but also to accept cargo from ships, including a mail service operated by P&O, until Port Adelaide replaced it as Adelaide's main port.
There were several additions to the jetty. A lighthouse was built in 1872 at the jetty's end, but a year later it caught fire and was cast into the sea to save the rest of the structure. A replacement lighthouse was built in 1874, and was 12.1 metres (40 feet) tall. Other additions include public baths, an aquarium, a police shed and a three story kiosk with tea rooms. The kiosk structure also housed a family.
The kiosk was wrecked in a storm in 1943, and the entire jetty was destroyed by a freak hurricane in 1948, most of the structure washed away and the rest unsafe. Just two weeks later, local council began drafting plans for a new jetty and construction was completed in 1969. The new structure was just 215 metres (705 feet) long, less than two thirds of the original jetty. The second jetty continues to stand today, at the end of Jetty Road.

Amusement Parks

Glenelg has been a popular spot for recreation and leisure for much of its history. Following the success of Luna Park Melbourne, a similar amusement park was constructed on Glenelg's foreshore in 1930.^[5] Luna Park Glenelg was placed in voluntary liquidation in 1934, and all the rides (excluding a single carousel) were dissassembled, purchased by the directors, and transported to Sydney, where they were used to create Luna Park Milsons Point. The park's managers claimed that the reasons for the closure were the inability to make money from the park as it was, and opposition to changes from Council and residents, who were afraid that "undesirables" would be attracted to the area.
Built near the former Luna Park site was Magic Mountain, which first opened in 1982. It featured water slides, mini-golf, bumper boats, dodgem cars and many other amusements and was popular with many Adelaide residents. It was also extensively criticised, called an eyesore and likened to a "giant dog turd" in the media, despite this it was heavily popular with young children and teenagers.^[6]
As part of the Holdfast Shores development, Magic Mountain was finally demolished in 2004 and replaced with The Beachouse, a modern centre with a more conservative design which still incorporates the historic carousel, it opened in mid 2006. A 25 metre single-arm ferris wheel was planned to be constructed as part of the park in December 2006, operating by January 2007,^[7] but is not yet complete. The owners now plan to have it operational by October 2007.^[8]

High-rise Development

Atlantic Tower, was built in Glenelg in the late 1970s and was Adelaide's tallest residential building at the time. The fourteen story tower featured a revolving restaurant on its top floor, and was part of a larger development plan that never eventuated.^[9] Many other high rise buildings exist in Glenelg, including the fifteen story Stamford Grand hotel on Moseley Square, built in 1990,^[10] and the twelve story Liberty Towers, built in 2004.^[11]
The recent Holdfast Shores development, starting in the late 1990s, included the construction of the Marina Pier apartment building with its own private marina in Glenelg North and the Pier Hotel. The development was met with strong opposition, from both local residents and the City of Holdfast Bay, fearing over-development would ruin the area.^[12] Parts of the plan were scaled back, with the Platinum Apartment building scaled down from fifteen stories to nine, and the cinema complex cancelled.
Glenelg was the site of the Beaumont children disappearance in 1966.

Demographics

The 2001 Census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics counted 2,865 persons in Glenelg on the census night, of which 48.7% were female and 51.3% were males.^[13] The majority of residents are of Northern European decent, and almost two thirds of residents are at least second generation Australian. Glenelg is a predominantly Christian community, with common affiliations, in descending order, Catholic, Anglican, no religion and Uniting.
The age distribution of Glenelg residents is skewed upwards more so than that of the Australian population. 26.4% of persons were 65 years or older in 2001, compared to the Australian average of 12.6%. 20.4% of persons were younger than 25 years, compared to the Australian average of 34.5%.^[14]

Transport

Traffic on Jetty Road, with a H-Class and a Flexity Classic tram

The suburb is bordered by Anzac Highway, the road link to the Adelaide CBD, to the north, Brighton Road to the west and Pier Street to the south. Jetty Road is the main shopping strip in the suburb, and runs down the middle. The Adelaide Metro operates several bus services from Glenelg to various destinations including the City of Adelaide and Adelaide Airport. The local council operates a free loop bus service in the area.
The only tram line still operating in Adelaide is the Glenelg Tram, which runs from Moseley Square, along Jetty Road though Glenelg, to Victoria Square in the city. The route dates back to 1873, and is still operated on weekends and holidays by the historic H-Class trams, circa 1929.^[15] Weekday service was taken over by modern Bombardier Flexity Classic trams in 2006.
Recreational boating is popular in Glenelg. To the north is the mouth of the Patawalonga River, which has been dammed to create an artificial boat harbour with a lock down to the sea.

Events and Attractions

★ Jetty Road is a long ribbon of shops, entertainment facilities and other commercial activities - it is the main shopping precinct in Glenelg.

★ A shark museum owned and operated by conservationist and shark attack survivor Rodney Fox.

★ Glenelg is the finishing point of the annual City-Bay fun run held in September. The run is 12km long.

★ Glenelg is home to a team in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), the Glenelg Tigers.

★ Glenelg is the home of the Bay Discovery Centre, a free museum about Glenelg's history.

★ The annual Bay Sheffield race is held at Glenelg in December.

★ The annual celebration of the Epiphany for the Orthodox faithful of Adelaide, accompanied with the Greek festival of the Theophany.

Politics

Since 1985 Glenelg is located in the Electoral district of Morphett for the South Australian House of Assembly, but was previously in a seat also named Glenelg. The current sitting member is Duncan McFetridge of the Liberal Party of Australia, who has held the seat since 2002.^[19] In the 2006 state election, the seat was second least anti-Liberal swing, with only 5.0% of the two-party preferred votes lost to the Australian Labor Party. Federally, Glenelg is in the Division of Hindmarsh and is held by Steve Georganas of the Australian Labor Party, who won it from the Liberals in the 2004 election by a margin of just 0.1%. Key issues for the area included urban development and the maintenance of heritage, aged care and health.

Notes and References

1. SA House prices, Balance out Real Estate Institute of South Australia
2. Universal Press (2002), UBD on Disk Adelaide
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5. Luna Park - Just for fun, , Sam, Marshall, Luna Park Sydney Pty Ltd, 2005,
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7. Glenelg ferris wheel gets ready to roll
8. Ferris wheel for Bay
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16. Results are for the Glenelg Central booth and may not reflect the actual votes from Glenelg residents.
17. Results are for the Glenelg Central booth and may not reflect the actual votes from Glenelg residents.
18. Results are for the entire ward and may not reflect the actual votes from Glenelg residents.
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External links

★ City of Holdfast Bay