Page 4 - P2P June/July 2013
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100 YEARS AGO
Looking into our past…
Old Memories by A T Saunders
Port Adelaide was a curious place in 1848.
It was built on a swamp from which the
sea had been excluded to some extent by
embankments, but was subject to wind…
and ... inundations as late as 1865.
It was connected to the dry land by a
causeway built by the South Australian
Company by digging deep holes in the swamp
on each side of the causeway and heaping up
the spoil on it. To do this a deviation from Col.
Light’s original Port road was made from the
site of the present Alberton Baptist Chapel to
the present Commercial Road.
Corrugated galvanised roofing iron was
unknown in Port Adelaide in 1848, so most
of the roofs were made of shingles. Water
was scarce, for of course there were no wells
in Port Adelaide. Portonians depended on
rainwater stored in barrels (there were no iron
tanks then), or on water boated from Lefevre’s
Peninsula or brought from the Alberton sand
hills. In the early sixties I can remember
the general scarcity of water, and the sickly
sweet tasting water pumped from wells in the
Alberton sand hills near the present Alberton
Railway Station. Often I have seen lime put
into the water to clarify it. No shower baths in
those days - a wash all over once a week with
plenty of soda in the water was the
usual programme.
For a few years my grandfather lived in Port
Adelaide, building various places therein, his
own house being in St.Vincent Street, where
Rawlings’s store is now.
Queenstown and Albert Town were named
after Queen Victoria and her husband, and
were laid out in the forties. My grand father
bought land in Queenstown and built a two-
storey house thereon. As timber was scarce
and dear, he put a flat concrete roof on the
house, but it was not watertight, so a tiled
gable roof had to be put over the flat roof.
There were only three houses roofed with
tiles - Glanville Hall, then owned by Capt.
Hart, the house inhabited by the Rev. Peter
Mercer, later by Capt. H. D. Dale, and Mr.
William Gibb, and my grandfather’s.
12 July 1913, The Mail
The way to confident parenting
As a parent, do you struggle with your kid’s behaviour? Do
you sometimes feel you’ve tried everything? This sensitive and
informative session with psychologist Jodie Benveniste will give
you some practical ideas for helping your children to thrive.
Founder of Parent Wellbeing, Jodie is an author and mother of
two who understands how complex it is to be a parent. The
session will be held at the Greenacres Library from 2.30-4pm
on Sunday 2 June. Bookings are essential on 8405 6540 or
online
Tasty holiday break
School holidays are fast approaching and during the break
from school Council’s four libraries will offer a full program
of activities on the theme of Fun with Food.
A highlight will be the interactive performance based on the
OPAL theme ‘Peel. Pour. Pop.’ which will help demonstrate
to children why breakfast is so important.
There will be plenty of food-inspired craft activities and
a session based on the classic children’s book ‘The Very
Hungry Caterpillar’. The complete program will be available
online in plenty of time for the holidays, and all sessions will
require bookings.
What a peach of a show
The engaging Aunty Peach show based on the wacky and
humorous rhymes of Roald Dahl was a runaway success at
the Port Adelaide Library in April.
The visual spectacle and animated storytelling and humour of
the Aunty Peach Show were loved by families, with many in the
audience participating in the show by taking on the roles of the
‘Big Bad Wolf’ and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’.
Performer Alison Daavid provided entertainment at its best – as
was shown by the numbers who flocked around her afterwards
to have their photographs taken with the sparkling performer.
‘Sun of Africa’
If you love drumming and dance then this is the event for you.
Port Adelaide Library is hosting the colourful and spectacular
‘Sun of Africa’ dance group from 2-3pm on Saturday 22 June.
Jean-Marc Agbogba from the Ivory Coast and his dance
company will share the rich vitality of West African drumming
and dance. Expect to be mesmerised by the mask dances and
in awe of the high-energy rhythms of the djembe and the big
drums. Bookings are essential on 8405 6580 or online
