Port Adelaide () is a suburb of
Adelaide lying about 14 kilometres northwest of the
Adelaide city centre. It lies within the
City of Port Adelaide Enfield and, as the name suggests, it is the main
port for the
city of Adelaide. Today, some twenty operational
wharves handle much of
South Australia's export produce: wines, motor vehicles, grains, ores and concentrates. It was often the first place migrants lived upon arrival in Adelaide.
History
Port Adelaide is a very old suburb of Adelaide. It was officially proclaimed as a harbour in 1837. Its original name, Port Misery, is said to have been adopted because it was a mosquito-infested swamp when the first settlers landed at Port Adelaide. It has also been suggested the name described the unsatisfactory handling of goods at the site. In 1839, the name was changed to Port Adelaide. Today, it still maintains the port
working-class feel but it is slowly becoming gentrified, especially along the
Port River.
In 1853, Port Adelaide was the destination of the maiden voyage of the famous
Dutch clipper California, carrying some hundred English immigrants who arrived in what was considered record time for the period.
To service the numerous stores and warehouses established in the area, many railway lines were built around the wharf areas and along streets, connecting to the main lines from Adelaide, which reached Port Adelaide in 1856.
The suburb has many old colonial buildings, such as the
Port Adelaide Uniting Church, primarily near the wharves (St Vincent Street, Lipson Street and Divett Street), that have been placed under State heritage listing.
Geography
Map of Adelaide with Port Adelaide indicated
Port Adelaide is bounded by the Port River and Inner Harbour to the north and west, and by Webb Street and Grand Junction Road to the south. The main town is along St Vincent Street, with a residential area to the south of the train station along Commercial Road and Webb Street.
Sport
Port Adelaide is home to the
Australian rules football team that shares its namesake, having competed in the
South Australian National Football League (SANFL) from 1870 until 1996, and has competed in the AFL since 1997. The
Port Adelaide Football Club was awarded the second AFL licence by the SANFL. (The Adelaide Crows were created in 1990 to get the first South Australian AFL licence, to the detriment of the Port Adelaide Football Club's 1990 bid to enter the AFL.) Port won 34 SANFL Premierships since the league's inception in 1870, before moving leagues to the
Australian Football League in 1997. They were nicknamed "the Power" and adopted new colours, because longtime AFL team Collingwood Football Club uses the same colours and similar gurnsey design to the Port Adelaide Football Club's SANFL colours and gurnsey. The Power won the AFL Premiership in 2004, and made a VFL/AFL record in 2007, losing the AFL Grand Final to Geelong by 119 points. A side bearing the club's original nickname, the
Port Adelaide Magpies Football Club, was subsequesntly established in the SANFL and has since won two Premierships.
Developments
Port Adelaide suffered economic decline in the 1970s and 1980s primarily due to changes in maritime activity and the trends towards the
containerisation of imported and exported goods.
The Port is currently enjoying a resurgence prompted by the Port Waterfront Redevelopment project — the largest waterfront urban development project being undertaken in South Australia over the next decade. It involves the preparation of over 50 hectares of former industrial harbour land by the South Australian Government's
Land Management Corporation (LMC) and transformation by the Newport Quays Consortium (comprising
Urban Construct and
Multiplex) into a residential and commercial development that will eventually accommodate 4,000–4,500 people and 2,000 new dwellings. The redevelopment also involves the construction of up to 560 new marina berths in Port Adelaide's Inner Harbour. When finished, this $1.5 billion project will also include six kilometres of promenades, pedestrian and cycling networks, parklands and marina berths
The Port Centre Coordination Group (PCCG) has been established jointly by LMC, the
City of Port Adelaide Enfield and the Newport Quays Consortium to ensure that the social and economic benefits of the redevelopment project are shared by Port Adelaide and the surrounding areas. The PCCG, using a 'place management' approach, is working with stakeholders to develop and implement strategies for the social and economic rejuvenation within the Port Adelaide.
Additional development activity within Port Adelaide includes the
Port River Expressway connecting
Salisbury Highway to Victoria Road on
Le Fevre Peninsula via a road and rail bridge across the
Port River. The road section of the project has been completed. It is anticipated this project will divert heavy road transport away from the Port Adelaide Town Centre, creating an environment for
urban renewal.
See also
