Port Adelaide

Port Adelaide ( 34°50′S, 138°30′E) is a suburb of Adelaide lying about 14 kilometres northwest of the City of Adelaide. 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.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Sport
4 Developments
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] 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.

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.

[edit] Geography

Map of Adelaide with Port Adelaide indicated

Port Adelaide is bounded by the Port Adelaide 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.

[edit] Sport

Port Adelaide is also home to the most successful Australian rules football team in the SANFL, the Port Adelaide Football Club. The Port Adelaide Magpies play in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) and since the league's inception in 1870, the club has won 36 SANFL premierships. In 1997, the Port Adelaide Power were admitted to play in the Australian Football League. The Power won the premiership in 2004.

[edit] 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.[1] 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 4000–4,500 people and 2000 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.[2]

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. [3] It is anticipated this project will divert heavy road transport away from the Port Adelaide Town Centre, creating an environment for urban renewal.