Adelaide

Judy.  When we decided we wanted to come to Australia again we knew we needed to pick a new city. Both Sydney and Melbourne were absolutely lovely, but it was time to try someplace different. I’m not even sure why we picked Adelaide, but I’m glad we did. 

Our cottage in the "leafy suburbs" in Eden Hills

We’re in the “leafy suburbs” outside the city proper, and, as we often do, found ourselves being busy where we live, not in the city. We did make a couple of trips to the seaside, but mostly hung around Belair Park and the Eden Hills area. Funny thing is that when we realized there was a Fringe Festival in Adelaide, we thought we’d be down there a lot, but somehow we never got around to it, although most of the folks we met told us it was wonderful. 

Last week, though, we headed downtown twice to hit up some of the museums and the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, all of which are free. What a delightful surprise they all were. 

It’s a very walkable city; from the train station it’s about ten minutes to the museums, gathered together in one spot (convenient, eh?), and ten minutes or so past that are the gardens. There are two universities, the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia, so there are lots of young people downtown, with tons of cafes and a pedestrian mall with shops and more cafes. Trams and busses run up and down North Terrace, and a few blocks over are theatres and a market. There’s a park all around the city, and it’s framed not only by North Terrace, but also by East Terrace, South Terrace, and West Terrace. We spent most of our time around North Terrace and East Terrace. 

Collection of shields from different tribes

Doors painted at a tribal school

The Museum of South Australia is noted for its huge collection of Aboriginal artifacts. It was truly overwhelming; who knew there were so many types of boomerangs? But we learned a lot. 

Nearby is the Immigration Museum, celebrating the diversity of the country. It, too, was well planned, but a bit overwhelming. Until fairly recently, Australia had a “whites only” immigration policy, but once that was opened up, the world showed up. It was touching reading the stories, some of which were not so pleasant. I appreciated the honesty of the museum in recognizing that. A man from Iran was quoted as saying, “Iran is like my mother—I will never forget her. Australia is like my wife—I chose her.” 

Fortunately, a small portion was dedicated to the indigenous populations who were treated so disgracefully; a film showing the dedication of the Colebrook Reconciliation Garden was shown. 

Entrance

Touching sculpture

The building is a new one, but located in a detention area where people were held in quarantine both upon arrival, or if they were single moms or young people. The former maternity ward housed stories of children who were abused, or single mothers who had their children taken away. 

Probably our greatest surprise was the South Australian Gallery of Art. One side focused on Australian art, and the other, on European art, and a gallery in the basement held a collection of Asian (think Indonesian, Indian, and Malaysian works). The curator did a fabulous job in the Australian section of installing Aboriginal artists by white artists, china by sculpture, and furniture throughout. So you might be looking at a landscape painting of the bush and a billabong, and next to it might be a painting by an indigenous artist. Below it might be a table with china on it, and across, a sculpture. Much of it was disturbing, as art can and should often be. It’s a place I’d love to visit again.

Two versions of landscapes

Painting of a bush billabong

 

Sculpture by an Aboriginal artist

Right in the middle of the city is a large botanic garden, one of three. (The others are Wittunga, near us, and Mount Lofty.) Unlike Wittunga, which celebrates mostly Australian flora, the Adelaide gardens have a bit of everything—succulents, water gardens, trees from all over the world, a rose “test” garden (which ones are the favorites?), a dahlia garden, Mediterranean area, a memorial of thanks to the Americans for helping the country in World War II, even a memorial to Elvis Presley. I kid you not. Our guide was not particularly good, but we sure enjoyed the park. 

Lily pads

I loved this tree-lined path

The Mediterranean garden had familiar plants

This tree, thought to be extinct, was rediscovered, and is thriving!

At the east end of the park is the National Wine Center. As you must know, Australia is noted for its wines, and this huge, modern building has a small educational section, and 38,000 bottles of Australian wines! There were 120 “on tap” to be tasted, but we chose four. Two were quite special, and two okay. 

A small portion of the 38,000 bottles

Great way to try before you buy!

And finally, a lunch at a Middle Eastern cafe recommended by our friend Terrance. It’s called Munooshi, and served, among other Middle Eastern goodies, a folded pizza called munooshi, filled with all kinds of goodies. Ted chose the one with lamb, and I chose the vegetarian option. Absolutely delicious, and worth the two trips it took to eat there. The owners were a sweet family, too. 

Friendly owners, and great cooks!

I know there’s more to be seen in the city of Adelaide. We just didn’t get to do it all.