Historic Elements in the Public Realm
Adelaide is a city of substantial heritage value to the State, evidenced by the high number of heritage listed places.
The National Heritage Listed City Layout and Park Lands provide the setting and physical context for our heritage places and include important historic elements such as bluestone kerb and water tables, early street lighting, cast iron street name plates, Victorian street furniture, jarrah hitching posts, and other objects of interest in the public realm. These elements play an important part in influencing the ‘look and feel’ and ‘sense of place’ of an area.
While it is recognised that infrastructure requires repair or replacement over time, the retention and conservation of significant historic elements in the public realm is the primary goal of the Built Heritage Management (Public Realm) Operating Guidelines.
The following sample of historic elements were once quite common throughout the city during the 19th century, however, are rare today. Whether crudely engineered to provide a quick fix to a common problem, or carefully crafted by skilled hands to provide both decoration and function, these remaining historic elements in the public realm are something we want to protect into the future.
Boot Scraper
Boot scrapers originated as a response to the dirty streets filled with mud, horse excrement, and other waste. Their popularity grew in residences and public buildings to keep the inside clean before the widespread use of paved roads and footpaths, and the introduction of motorised vehicles. They came in two main forms, freestanding installed in the footpath, or built into the buildings via a little recess next to the entrance.
The freestanding cast iron boot scraper pictured can be seen in an archival photograph of St John’s Church in Halifax Street, built in 1887.
Benchmark
In 1872 the Engineering and Water Supply (EWS) Department, previously known as the Waterworks & Drainage Commission, installed a series of 30 cast-iron benchmarks to ensure that water and sewer pipes were installed at the correct depth. The benchmarks measured around 1.2m deep by 20cm square, placed with their heads (30cm) above the natural surface. Several benchmarks can still be found scattered around the city and North Adelaide.
Early Tennis Court
Tennis became popular in Adelaide at the close of the 1870s, with the wealthier class adopting the game, and their gracious homes the venue.
In 1927 August Wilhelm Pelzer, the City of Adelaide's City Gardener (1899-1932), erected a public tennis court along Mills Terrace. The court still exists, partially cut into the contours, with jarrah posts and top beams and chicken wire fencing the court, and red bricks edging the lawn tennis court surface.
Willow Bench
In the 1903 Annual Report of the City of Adelaide's City Gardener, August Wilhelm Pelzer, stated that 100 rustic style seats had been procured for installation in the parks and squares of Adelaide. The Sun Foundry Catalogue of 1897 shows a design for the ‘Willow’ Bench matching those benches seen scattered through the Park Lands and squares today. The Sun Foundry was established by Colin Stewart and Allan Cameron Harley in Hindley Street, Adelaide in 1867.
Hawker's Stand Marker
These cast iron markers were installed into kerbs around the city in 1915 to enforce the allowable size and exact location of sites licensed to street traders. A hawker is a vendor of easily transported merchandise. The Frome Street site (#12), outside the Zoo, was created to sell ‘ice creams and cool drinks’. Other Hawker Stand categories were ‘fruit and flowers’ and ‘newspapers and magazines’.
Kerb Strap
In the early 20th Century in the narrow streets of the more industrial areas of the city (such as Tatham and Elizabeth Streets) metal kerb straps were installed by landowners or business owners to prevent damage to the kerbs by the heavy-duty cart wheels. Hence their high efficiency but slightly crude appearance and application.
Wrought Iron Picket Fence
In the southern Park Lands, the former Glenelg Reservoir, constructed in 1881, was enclosed by a wrought iron open picket fence to keep out the cattle which grazed in the Park Lands at the time. On the southern side of the reservoir, now forming the northern enclosure of the South Terrace Croquet Club, you can still find remnants of this original fencing.
Wrought Iron Pedestrian Gate
The main perimeter fence that encloses the horse paddocks in Lefevre Park/Nantu Wama (Park 6) correlates with the paddock lines identified by John Ednie Brown in his Report in 1880. Featured in this area are five original 1880s period wrought iron pedestrian gates located in the north-north-west, central, central-east, south and south-west areas of the paddocks.
Hitching Post
Hitching posts were common in the main streets of Adelaide and North Adelaide during the 19th and early 20th century. They provided places for private and commercial drivers to secure horses while conducting business etc.
This decorative Victorian cast iron hitching post is located on East Terrace. It was cast at the Forwood Down & Co foundry, established in 1873 in Hindley Street, Adelaide.
Cast Iron Street Name Plate
In the early years the standard practice was to fix street name plates to the facade of the closest corner building or to the arms of lamp pillars at the corner of streets.
Examples of early cast iron street name plates still exist in North Adelaide, some display the manufacturers stamp “A C BELCHER, ADELAIDE”. Alfred Cooper Belcher operated the Victoria Foundry in Hindley Street in 1873-1880.
Bluestone Kerb & Watertable
Adelaide was the first Australian capital city to start building a deep drainage system. With the first pipes laid in the city in 1867, it took until 1885 to be completed.
By the early 1880s, corresponding with the laying of the deep drainage system, bluestone kerbing and stormwater tables were being installed in the streets of the city. Several examples still remain in North Adelaide.
Victorian Cast Iron Fountain
Two cast iron Victorian fountains, created by Handyside & Co, of Derby, England, were originally erected in 1887 in front of the Jubilee Exhibition building on North Terrace (demolished in 1962).
In 1908 the City of Adelaide took possession of the fountains. The larger of the two fountains is now located in Creswell Gardens and the smaller in Rundle Mall.
Boot Scraper
Boot scrapers originated as a response to the dirty streets filled with mud, horse excrement, and other waste. Their popularity grew in residences and public buildings to keep the inside clean before the widespread use of paved roads and footpaths, and the introduction of motorised vehicles. They came in two main forms, freestanding installed in the footpath, or built into the buildings via a little recess next to the entrance.
The freestanding cast iron boot scraper pictured can be seen in an archival photograph of St John’s Church in Halifax Street, built in 1887.
Benchmark
In 1872 the Engineering and Water Supply (EWS) Department, previously known as the Waterworks & Drainage Commission, installed a series of 30 cast-iron benchmarks to ensure that water and sewer pipes were installed at the correct depth. The benchmarks measured around 1.2m deep by 20cm square, placed with their heads (30cm) above the natural surface. Several benchmarks can still be found scattered around the city and North Adelaide.
Early Tennis Court
Tennis became popular in Adelaide at the close of the 1870s, with the wealthier class adopting the game, and their gracious homes the venue.
In 1927 August Wilhelm Pelzer, the City of Adelaide's City Gardener (1899-1932), erected a public tennis court along Mills Terrace. The court still exists, partially cut into the contours, with jarrah posts and top beams and chicken wire fencing the court, and red bricks edging the lawn tennis court surface.
Willow Bench
In the 1903 Annual Report of the City of Adelaide's City Gardener, August Wilhelm Pelzer, stated that 100 rustic style seats had been procured for installation in the parks and squares of Adelaide. The Sun Foundry Catalogue of 1897 shows a design for the ‘Willow’ Bench matching those benches seen scattered through the Park Lands and squares today. The Sun Foundry was established by Colin Stewart and Allan Cameron Harley in Hindley Street, Adelaide in 1867.
Hawker's Stand Marker
These cast iron markers were installed into kerbs around the city in 1915 to enforce the allowable size and exact location of sites licensed to street traders. A hawker is a vendor of easily transported merchandise. The Frome Street site (#12), outside the Zoo, was created to sell ‘ice creams and cool drinks’. Other Hawker Stand categories were ‘fruit and flowers’ and ‘newspapers and magazines’.
Kerb Strap
In the early 20th Century in the narrow streets of the more industrial areas of the city (such as Tatham and Elizabeth Streets) metal kerb straps were installed by landowners or business owners to prevent damage to the kerbs by the heavy-duty cart wheels. Hence their high efficiency but slightly crude appearance and application.
Wrought Iron Picket Fence
In the southern Park Lands, the former Glenelg Reservoir, constructed in 1881, was enclosed by a wrought iron open picket fence to keep out the cattle which grazed in the Park Lands at the time. On the southern side of the reservoir, now forming the northern enclosure of the South Terrace Croquet Club, you can still find remnants of this original fencing.
Wrought Iron Pedestrian Gate
The main perimeter fence that encloses the horse paddocks in Lefevre Park/Nantu Wama (Park 6) correlates with the paddock lines identified by John Ednie Brown in his Report in 1880. Featured in this area are five original 1880s period wrought iron pedestrian gates located in the north-north-west, central, central-east, south and south-west areas of the paddocks.
Hitching Post
Hitching posts were common in the main streets of Adelaide and North Adelaide during the 19th and early 20th century. They provided places for private and commercial drivers to secure horses while conducting business etc.
This decorative Victorian cast iron hitching post is located on East Terrace. It was cast at the Forwood Down & Co foundry, established in 1873 in Hindley Street, Adelaide.
Cast Iron Street Name Plate
In the early years the standard practice was to fix street name plates to the facade of the closest corner building or to the arms of lamp pillars at the corner of streets.
Examples of early cast iron street name plates still exist in North Adelaide, some display the manufacturers stamp “A C BELCHER, ADELAIDE”. Alfred Cooper Belcher operated the Victoria Foundry in Hindley Street in 1873-1880.
Bluestone Kerb & Watertable
Adelaide was the first Australian capital city to start building a deep drainage system. With the first pipes laid in the city in 1867, it took until 1885 to be completed.
By the early 1880s, corresponding with the laying of the deep drainage system, bluestone kerbing and stormwater tables were being installed in the streets of the city. Several examples still remain in North Adelaide.
Victorian Cast Iron Fountain
Two cast iron Victorian fountains, created by Handyside & Co, of Derby, England, were originally erected in 1887 in front of the Jubilee Exhibition building on North Terrace (demolished in 1962).
In 1908 the City of Adelaide took possession of the fountains. The larger of the two fountains is now located in Creswell Gardens and the smaller in Rundle Mall.