Multicultural
Walking Trail
Adelaide | South Australia
Shoppers at the ‘Continental Food Products’ stall, Central Market, 1965
Government
of South Australia
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Historical
Walking Trail
South West Corner
Sturt Street School and its pupils, 1907
Multicultural Adelaide
Adelaide | South Australia
This walk offers a glimpse of the multi-cultural
history of Adelaide through our built heritage.
Begin the walk at Victoria Square.
Allow one hour at a medium pace to
do this walk
Indigenous people have lived in South Australia for at least
40,000 years. The Kaurna people lived on the land where
Adelaide now stands and they are its traditional owners
and custodians. The Kaurna people bore the brunt of
land dispossession when non-Indigenous people came to
South Australia.
South Australia was established as a British colony in 1836.
Many migrants have therefore come from Britain and they
have influenced the social, political, economic, religious and
cultural life of the State.
By 1900, German settlers and their descendants made up
about ten percent of South Australia's population. Most
went to farming districts, but those settling in Adelaide
opened businesses, hotels and clubs and became involved
in the political, musical and cultural life of the city.
At the same time the Commonwealth Immigration
Restriction Act (1901), also known as the White Australia
Policy, consolidated restrictions previously in force in the
Australian colonies, to severely limit non-white immigrants.
As a consequence Chinese and ‘Afghan’ residents declined
in numbers. Prior to World War One Lebanese settlers, many
of whom had been hawkers in rural areas, moved into the
western parts of the city. In the 1920s and 30s they were
joined by Italian, Greek and Maltese new arrivals.
From the late 1940s to the early 1970s, in order to expand
industries and ensure its security, Australia accepted three
million immigrants from all parts of Europe including
wartime refugees known as 'Displaced Persons'. The arrival
of these immigrants changed the cultural life of Adelaide.
They introduced the mainly British-based population to a rich
array of cultural traditions including new foods, languages,
festivals and religious practices, influenced Adelaide's
architecture, and contributed to the city's economic activity.
In 1973 Australia discarded the White Australia Policy. Since
then, immigrants from India, China, South-East Asia, the
Pacific and Africa have migrated here. Nonetheless, in 2002
Britain and Ireland still supplied the greatest number of
Australian migrants.
In the 1970s, following the Vietnam War, many Vietnamese
refugees settled in the west of Adelaide. At the Central Market
in the city, new Asian grocery stores enticed many Adelaide
residents to try Asian foods. In the 1990s, as the generation
of Greek, Italian and Bulgarian market gardeners retired,
Vietnamese and Cambodian growers began supplying fresh
produce to Adelaide and national markets.
Adelaide's beginnings as a British city can still be seen in its
public buildings and street names. But now the people of
Adelaide acknowledge their Indigenous heritage, and the
cultural traditions brought to South Australia from many
different countries around the world.
This Western Adelaide walk is the first of several planned to explore
Adelaide's immigration history and diverse cultural heritage. The focus of
this walk is mainly on Adelaide's non-Indigenous history. The Kaurna
Walking Trail produced by the Graham F Smith Peace Trust in
collaboration with Aboriginal Education, DECS, presents the history
of Adelaide from a Kaurna perspective. This booklet is available
from Tandanya, 253 Grenfell Street, Adelaide, tel: 8224 3200,
fax: 82243250.
Victoria Square, c. 1930s
1. Victoria Square/Tarndanyangga
Located in the area known to Kaurna people as
Tarndanyangga. This site was designed by Colonel Light
as a central feature of the new city of Adelaide. You can see
monuments erected by later British settlers to mark their
colonial history and heritage. On the north side, there is the
state survey mark in the form of a commemorative plaque
established for South Australia’s 150th Jubilee. This is a
reference point for all distances and co-ordinates in
South Australia.
The 'Square' was separated into two halves to allow for
a thoroughfare and it was used for recreational purposes.
The two halves were fenced in separately and landscaped
with hundreds of trees and pathways as formal public gardens
from 1854. Since then the Square has been repeatedly altered
to accommodate a growing city. In 1966, it was changed into
'an elliptical diamond shape' to cope with the increasing
number of cars.
2. Adelaide Central Market, between
Grote and Gouger streets
Opened in 1869, this is a favourite place for both locals and
tourists. Immigrants from many countries have long been part
of the market community and the variety of produce reflects
this diversity and the patterns of migration.
Angelakis Brothers, east side, one of Adelaide's well-known
fish retailers, continue a business first established by Greek
immigrant Michael Angelakis who came out from Symi, in the
Dodecanese group of Islands in 1924.
Lucia's Pizza Bar, west side, one of Adelaide's most loved
Italian eating places was opened by Pasquale Rosella in 1958.
He first came to Australia as an Italian Prisoner of War
during World War Two. After repatriation he migrated
here from the province of Benevento with his wife Lucia in
1952. Their children and grandchildren will still serve you a
fine cappuccino.
Stalls, shops and restaurants owned by members of the
Vietnamese and Chinese communities date from the early
1980s. They now form the nucleus of China Town, west side.
Asian food items have become an integral part of the
Australian diet. A new Australian cuisine known as 'fusion'
combines European and Asian styles of cooking.
Stalls specialising in smallgoods and cakes from northern
Europe are interspersed throughout the market. Waldemar
Wajtas who came from Nowysacz, near Krakow, Poland in
1983, sells homemade poppyseed cake at his Sevenhill Fine
Foods stall.
3. Market Street
Emporium India at the northern end of this street is a focus
for Adelaide's Indian community. The business was opened in
1992 by the Odhavji family who migrated here from Nadi, Fiji
in 1974. Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi and Malayalam videos can be
hired here and you can also buy Indian garments, costume
jewellery and handicrafts. Across the road Maya's Indian
restaurant specialises in a range of Indian foods such as
dhosas, idlis and Bengali sweets.
4. Hellenic Club 311 – 315 Morphett
Street, west side
These three properties have been part of the Greek
community since 1953 when a deli and club opened at
No 311 for migrants from the Peloponnisos region.
By 1971 the precinct included an Hellenic Club managed
by barber, H Paraskevas. These clubrooms continue to
be well patronised. Members enjoy meeting for coffee,
a game of cards and Tavlin, a dice game.
5. 181 Sturt Street
Afghani, Hajj Mohammed Alam Khan born in Kandahar in
the late 1850s once lived here. In the 1880s he migrated to
Western Australia and worked there for the next 40 years
as a camel driver, miner and trader. In the later half of the
nineteenth century several hundred Northern Indian men,
known collectively as 'Afghans', worked in the Australian
outback transporting supplies and produce. On moving to
Adelaide, Mohammed Alam worked as a herbalist and healer.
He was known as 'a generous philanthropist, devout Muslim
and stylish dresser'. He died in 1964 and was believed to be
about 106 years of age.
Nanyeta’s Gypsy Taverne was opened here by Romani, Marni
Moroshovesti, on New Year's Eve of 1992 and closed in
2002. For a while it was the South Australian headquarters
of Romani International Australia and the Australian Romani
School of Gypsy Culture and Language that represented the
20,000 strong Romani community in Australia.
6. Mosque – Little Gilbert Street
Its minarets make this one of the most distinctive buildings
in this part of the city. The Mosque dates from 1889 with the
distinctive minarets added in 1903. It was initially financed by
a group of about 100 'Afghan' camel drivers working in the
remote parts of South Australia so that they could attend
religious services at least once a year. The building is South
Australia's first permanent mosque and it is still used by
Australian Muslims from many different backgrounds.
Adelaide Mosque, late 20C
7. Sturt Street School, 221 – 239
Sturt Street
From 1883 this school educated the large numbers of children
living in the south-western corner of the city. Following
World War Two there was a large influx of migrants from
non-English speaking European countries and many of their
children attended this school. As a consequence the school
became a focus for programs for children from non-English
speaking backgrounds. This special curriculum continued
until the school was closed in 1996. The school is reopening
in 2004.
8. Prince Albert Hotel, 254 – 256
Wright Street
This hotel was established by Ludwig Dreyer, a German
settler, in 1851 and named after Queen Victoria's Germanborn husband Prince Albert. As a result of her marriage to
him many German-born South Australians felt an affinity
with the English monarchy. The hotel was associated with
the Dreyer family until the mid-1970s.
9. 'Dunmoochin' – 1 Maud Street
Irish immigrants John and Honora Griffin built this cottage
in the mid 1850s and it was owned by their family until 1913.
John was a labourer and his son was a saddler and collar
maker. Their tiny dwelling, along with row cottages, was
typical of the housing that Adelaide working class migrant
families lived in.
10. Archbishop's House, corner of Grote
Street and West Terrace
This house was built in 1845 for the Catholic Church from
plans drawn up by G.S. Kingston, designer of Government
House and the Adelaide Gaol. At this time South Australian
Catholics were mainly from Irish backgrounds. The present
Archbishop of Adelaide resides here.
11. St Patrick's Catholic Church, 254
Grote Street
The original church was consecrated in 1845 by the first
Catholic Bishop of Adelaide, Dr. Francis Murphy. Masses
held at this Church were a spiritual focal point for the many
Irish Catholics who were then living in the western part of
Adelaide. The foundation stone for the present building on
this site was laid in November 1912. This church now serves
the Croatian and Indonesian Catholic communities.
12. Gray Street
Little remains of the many tiny row homes that were once to
be found along Gray Street. The original subdivision in this
part of the city built by early speculator WH Gray in the
1840s created homes for those of limited means. Over the
decades it became a neighbourhood filled with new migrants
from places such as Italy, Greece and Lebanon.
14. St Mary's Dominican Convent,
253 Franklin Street
The basis of the present building was opened in 1867. Father
Tenison Woods and the Blessed Mary MacKillop, founders
of the Sisters of St. Joseph, established a convent and school
for poor children at this site. In 1871 Mary MacKillop was
temporarily excommunicated from the Church. During this
time the premises were transferred to the Irish order of the
Dominican sisters who enlarged the convent buildings and
further developed the school.
13. Church of Archangels Michael and
Gabriel, 282 – 288 Franklin Street
This Greek Orthodox Church and its locality are associated
with the Kastellorizian (Castellorian) Greek community who
come from the tiny island of Kastelloria located to the east
of Rhodes. Following the Greco-Turkish War of 1921 – 1922
most of the Islanders lost their homes and many migrated to
Australia. The first Orthodox building on this site was
inaugurated in 1937. In 1957 a Greek Community Centre was
opened and used for numerous educational, cultural and social
activities. Gradually the original church became too small and
the present structure, influenced by Byzantine architecture,
was erected in 1966.
For more information about
other walks contact:
Adelaide City Council
Customer Centre
Telephone: 8203 7203
or www.adelaidecitycouncil.com
Photos courtesy of
Adelaide City Council Archives
Photographic Collection
and History Trust of South Australia
Glass Negatives Collection
Produced by Adelaide City Council,
Department for Environment and Heritage
and the History Trust of South Australia.
Initial research, Pat Sumerling.
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