Boring Adelaide? Not according to Dave Walsh!

Dave Walsh is a local guy.  He’s travelled throughout Australia and much of Europe.  Now home, Dave spends some of his time exploring Adelaide – both its present and its past.  He’s a principal writer for the Weekend Notes website, and provides readers with ideas of what’s on and coming up in Adelaide and South Australia.  He also embarks on interesting trips back to Adelaide’s past.

One of Dave’s stories is the tale of a young colonial settler, his wife, and the harmonious relationship they maintained with the local Indigenous people as they forged a new life in a new and harsh land.

Proving there’s no reason to be bored in Adelaide, Dave has compiled a list of free things you can do around the place.  There’s plenty of fun for kids and adults alike.

The ‘Jade Monkey’ was an Adelaide music venue, until the developers moved in and subsequently won a demolition order against it.  The building was steeped in history, starting its days as the City Steam Biscuit Factory, with future links to South Australia’s iconic Balfours baking business.  Partly a music store from the late 1960s and through the 1970s, the building in Twin Street even holds memories for Jim Keays – lead man for the band ‘Masters Apprentices’.

We all know the Barossa Valley and the Clare Valley, but what about the one in between?  Comprising country towns such as Tarlee, Riverton, Saddleworth and Manooka, the Gilbert Valley is a beautiful part of the state, and hosts some not-so-well-known gems to cater for all sorts of tourist tastes.

Those unfortunate enough to have been incarcerated in Glenside’s Ward Z had difficult lives.  Dave describes the living environment and hard times of these Adelaide cast-offs.

Adelaide’s past public transport system was arguably better serviced than it is today.  In this piece, Dave takes a look back at local travel and highlights just how extensive the metropolitan tram network was back in the day.

Derek Jolly’s ‘Futuro house’ (formerly in North Adelaide’s Melbourne Street) must count as one of Adelaide’s most unusual, but it’s not alone.  From hidden hillside havens to environmentally-friendly housing in the city, Adelaide has some unusual homes.  A further check on the Futuro while preparing for the podcast led me to this page, seemingly nodding to the current location of Jolly’s futuristic abode.

Follow Dave on Twitter @Dave__Walsh and subscribe to his personal blog Adelaide Unearthed.