The “North Terrace Precinct,” “Cultural Precinct” or ‘Cultural Boulevarde” as it has variously been termed seems to have shrunk in concept these days to little more than the Art Gallery, Museum, Library, Adelaide University and the gardens and statues of North Terrace itself, obscuring a bigger view of what Adelaide offers and which would be quite unequalled by any other city in the world.

Tourists don’t want to walk up and down. They want to walk around. What I believe we should be thinking of is not a limited stroll along a section of North Terrace, but a walk around what I call the “Adelaide Circuit.”

It is in fact not a circular but a roughly triangular route. Starting at the Convention Centre, it takes you along North Terrace, either down Frome Road (short version) or else along the longer alternative route along to the Wine Centre, through the Botanic Garden to Adelaide Zoo, then back along the Torrens to the Convention Centre again. Of course, you could take the reverse route.

You might walk it comfortably in an hour, but why would you want to? You could spend a week in its various attractions and still have more to do. It would take in not just the commonly mentioned features of the Library, Museum and Art Gallery, but also the Migration Museum, Botanic Garden, Conservatory, Rose Garden, Wine Centre, the Zoo, the Linear Walk and potentially much more.

Those are the permanent fixtures of the Circuit. From time to time there would also be occasional exhibitions and performances in Adelaide University, The University of SA and Scott’s Church (including the free lunchtime concerts offered there now) and the Plant Biodiversity Centre. There would also be the periodic events in Botanic Park (eg WomAdelaide, the Rose Festival) and the various theatre attractions at the Festival Centre complex, all embraced within the Circuit.

It would also throw into new focus attractions such as Popeye, the boating activities on the Torrens and the walking tracks along the Linear Park, and it could lead to a revival of attractions such as Speakers’ Corner in Botanic Park. The seats and podium of Speakers’ Corner are still there, but they are no longer used because this part of Adelaide, despite being so close to North Terrace, is now eclipsed by it

The promotion of this Circuit would also assist ventures pertinent to the interests of the BioCity and already offered but hardly known. Zoology staff at Adelaide University, for example, offer guided birdwatching walks along the Torrens Banks, but the public does not know of them because there is no context in which they can readily be promoted. They would add a significant attraction.

The idea of the Circuit would also encourage the development or promotion of other ventures which are struggling. The Tropical Conservatory deserves far more visitation than it receives, and it would be greatly assisted through promotion as part of the Circuit. The National Wine Centre is a starker example. Part of that burden could be lifted ifit were to be included in this concept of a Circuit, as it would lie at one of its three corners and automatically be promoted as part of it. The Torrens Parade Ground and buildings have been earmarked for some kind of museum development. How much easier to promote it as part of the Adelaide Circuit on which it lies. narrower concept of the North Terrace Precinct.

Significantly, the promotion of the Circuit would also assist in developing areas that badly need an overhaul for Adelaide to capitalise fully on what it can offer. Frome Rd is a major entrance to the city and it should appear and be treated as such, but the route along Frome Road from North Adelaide becomes close to derelict at the Albert Bridge. That Bridge and the  Zoo Gates beside it are heritage listed, beautiful and interesting, but they are lost in a mass of bad paving, pedestrian traffic lights, tin sheds, bus stops, the derelict zoo wall and so on.

Within the concept of the Circuit, this corner could be transformed into a landmark. It would capitalise on the heritage and scenic attractions there, and offer a significant point of entry to the city for motorists or pedestrians who would then proceed up Frome Rd past Botanic Park, Speakers’ Corner, the Botanic Gardens, the plane trees, the Universities etc to North Terrace itself. It ought to be one of our proudest streets. As it is, it appears utilitarian and unkempt, and its several attractions are hidden.

The Circuit requires little or no development. Unlike some of our more recent spectacular and expensive failures designed to attract tourists to Adelaide, it would take almost no funding at all to establish this Circuit as a major tourism attraction in its own right. The ingredients are all there; they are just not presented as parts of a coherent whole.

Some could be enhanced, it is true, but even with no additions at all, the Circuit already exists. Signage and a map are about all that we would need. My crude version of the map shows the Circuit, the permanent attractions along and within it, and those that are occasional or planned. Imagine a professional version of this map in every hotel, every cab, and on websites that tell potential visitors of what Adelaide can offer.

The map could bear on its reverse the details of opening times, prices and contact numbers, tell you how to obtain a Circuit pass that offers, say, a 10% reduction on all admission prices or family specials, advise you of distances to more distant attractions, airports etc, explain how long it takes to get there, include details of how to find the appropriate transport to them, and include information about facilities and venues within easy walking distance such as the restaurants and cinemas of the East End.

How easy it would then be to promote collectively the various offering along the Circuit during the Festival, Come Out, Encounter 2002, National Science Week, WomAdelaide, The Film Festival  and so on.

The City Messenger published a front page article on this circuit on 15 April 2003. Since then, I have received considerable support for the idea from a number of sources, suggesting that the circuit would prove popular. Of course, the proposal (and map) are a first step, and there would, I am sure, be other attractions that could be added to it and increase its diversity and appeal. They would be a welcome way of extending its scope rather than restricting our preoccupations to too small a focus on North Tce alone.

Rob Morrison
PRESIDENT
Royal Zoological Society of SA