North–South Motorway
The North–South Motorway is an incomplete planned motorway traversing the inner western suburbs of Adelaide from Wingfield in the north to Bedford Park in the south. It is planned to be a non-stop north–south route overlaying the same motor traffic corridor as South Road by grade separation; the motorway is to be the central section of Adelaide's North–South Corridor, being flanked north and south by the Northern Expressway and Southern Expressway, respectively. In 2010 the Australian Government, through the Nation Building Program project, committed $500 million and the South Australian Government committed $432 million to the North–South Corridor over five years; this funding allocation recognised that South Road is the only continuous link between the northern and southern suburbs as well as the spine connecting Adelaide's major inter-modal transport hubs – Adelaide Airport, Islington Rail Terminal, Port Adelaide and Outer Harbor. In May 2015 a government strategy paper indicated the entire non-stop north–south road corridor would be completed by 2025, including "an upgraded South Road".
It stated the planned "non-stop motorway" would "cater for the unimpeded flow of longer distance northbound and southbound trips" and would not include "at-grade traffic signals, junctions or property accesses which cause vehicles to slow down or stop". The planned motorway is divided into several sections for the purposes of construction; as of October 2018, two sections are complete and one is under construction. From north to south the sections are labelled: The South Road Superway is an elevated motorway in the northern suburbs of the South Australian capital city of Adelaide; the 2.8 km elevated roadway rises just north of Taminga Street, Regency Park and goes over Days Road, before access ramps at Grand Junction Road continues over Cormack Road and the Dry Creek railway line to join the intersection of the Port River Expressway, Salisbury Highway and in the future, the Northern Connector. In 2009, an announcement was made to build an $812-million elevated roadway above South Road from just north of Regency Road to the end of South Road where it joins to the Port River Expressway and Salisbury Highway.
It was constructed over a 4 km section of South Road at a cost of A$812 million and opened 13 March 2014. The Superway was the biggest single investment in a road project in South Australia's history; the Superway was the second stage of the North–South Corridor upgrade and delivered a 4.8 kilometre section of freeway grade road, including a 2.8 kilometre elevated roadway, from the Port River Expressway to Regency Road. Along the way, it passes over the Dry Creek-Port Adelaide railway line, Cormack Road, Grand Junction Road and Days Road, with exits at Grand Junction Road and Days Road; the Superway will continue northwards through the Dry Creek salt pans once the Northern Connector is completed at its northern end. South Australian civil engineering and construction company, was awarded the early works local roads contract for the South Road Superway, with the design and construction contract awarded to Urban Superway Joint Venture, comprising the John Holland Group, Macmahon Contractors and Leed Engineering & Construction.
Construction of the local connector roads was completed in early 2011, with the completion of construction of Gallipoli Drive. This road replaced South Road as the main distributor road in the area during construction. Construction of the superway proper commenced in early 2011. Construction was completed March 2014; the southbound lanes opened early February 2014, with the left turn entry from Port River Expressway opening on 31 January 2014. The northbound lanes opened on 13 March 2014. Connecting the South Road Superway to the Torrens Road to River Torrens lowered motorway, this short section of road has two traffic light intersections, a controlled pedestrian crossing, access to local side streets, it was reported in May 2017 that completion of this section would cost $400 million, with construction beginning at the start of 2019 and completed by the middle of 2022. This would complete 47 km of freeway from Gawler to the River Torrens; the state government said it was seeking 85% of the cost to be funded by the federal government, which had not committed to the spend.
Completion of this section was committed by the state and federal governments on 1 May 2018. The announcement did not state an expected completion date, it will include an overpass of Regency Road and a pedestrian and cycling connection over the freeway near Pym Street. There will be three lanes each way on the non-stop road and another two lanes each way on the surface road to provide access to community and businesses. Around 2007, there were plans to construct a tunnel under Grange Road, Port Road and the Outer Harbor railway line, construction was to start after the underpass had finished, but these plans were scrapped. In 2013 the State Labor government in partnership with the Federal Labor government announced the Torrens Road to River Torrens Project to upgrade 4 km of road between Torrens Road and the River Torrens; the upgrade would feature a new, lowered road under Grange and Port Roads to provide a non-stop route through the area for north–south traffic and reduce delays to east-west travel, a parallel surface road along the length of the lowered road to connect the majority of local roads and arterial roads to South Road and a rail overpass of South Road for the Outer Harbor line.
Construction started in 2015, with the project expected to be completed by the end of 2018. The project scope was extended in December 2015 to include an underpass of Torrens Road, at no additional project cost or time; the lowered
Mount Barker Road
Mount Barker Road was once the main road from Adelaide through the Adelaide Hills to Mount Barker on the eastern slopes of the Mount Lofty Ranges. The main route has now been replaced by part of the South Eastern Freeway, but most of it remains in some form; the remaining sections of Mount Barker Road are still classified as state roads. Mount Barker Road starts from the "Old Toll Gate" at Glen Osmond, it has been replaced by the South Eastern Freeway as far as the Devil's Elbow. Mount Barker Road turns a sharp hairpin and has a winding uphill through Eagle On The Hill and rejoins the South Eastern Freeway near Measday's Hill. Mount Barker Road resumes from the south side of the Stirling exit from the freeway, it passes through the main shopping strips of Stirling and Aldgate as State Route B33. From Aldgate, Route B33 continues on Strathalbyn Road, while Mount Barker Road follows the railway line as Tourist Route 57 to Bridgewater and under the freeway at Verdun where it joins State Route B34 for a little over 3 kilometres through Hahndorf.
At the south end of Hahndorf Route B34 turns under the freeway towards Echunga and Mount Barker Road continues on the north side to end at the Mount Barker Interchange. The last part of the South Eastern Freeway to be built reconstructed the Adelaide end of Mount Barker Road including a grade-separated intersection at Mount Osmond Road, it replaced the infamous Devil's Elbow hairpin with a partial interchange. The new freeway passes through the Heysen Tunnels and rejoins the former alignment the other side of a steep ridge. Mount Barker Road itself climbs around the ridge. Since the four-lane dual carriageway is no longer required, part of the uphill side has been replaced with a bike path used as part of a popular cycling route to Mount Lofty and all motor traffic uses the former downhill carriageway; the section between the Measdays interchange and Crafers was completely replaced by the freeway being built on the same alignment at a lower level in a deep cutting. Mount Barker Road between Crafers and Stirling was replaced by the first stage of the Freeway to be built, in the late 1960s.
Mount Barker Road remains as the main street of Stirling, continuing to Aldgate, under the freeway at Verdun through Hahndorf to end near the Mount Barker interchange of the freeway. The road on the other end of the bridge over the interchange is "Adelaide Road", reflecting the reverse journey. In 1841 a special Act "... for the making, maintaining the Great Eastern Road" was passed, construction of the first section from Glen Osmond to Crafers begun at public expense. It was soon realised that this undertaking would be hugely expensive, so a novel plan was hatched to relieve the Government of all expense by vesting the management of the road in a private company; the successful tenderer would have the responsibility of completing and maintaining the road, have the right to levy tolls on users of the road. As this was the only route to and from the burgeoning agricultural districts around Mount Barker, not to mention all road traffic to the eastern colonies, this had all the hallmarks of a great money-maker.
The author of The History and Topology of Glen Osmond, Under-Treasurer Tom Gill, no stranger to public finances, described this a'curiosity in road legislation'. A toll gate and accommodation for the gate-keeper were erected and one Samuel Selby appointed keeper of the toll-bar, to be staffed 24 hours, seven days a week; the tolls levied were: — For every coach, chaise, hearse, caravan, or other carriage, every cart, dray, or other vehicle, if drawn by one horse or two bullocks, 1/.'For'such carriage or vehicle' drawn by two horses or four bullocks, 1/6. Only one full toll in any one day might be demanded for any animal or vehicle, except stage coaches or carriages plying for hire. Exempt from payment were: the Governor and police agricultural produce not bought or sold, but going to be sold or disposed of persons travelling to and from Divine Service on Sundays; the tolls were vexatious and led to a great deal of ill-feeling and were abolished in 1847 by the Legislative Council on the motion of Samuel Davenport.
The company failed to reap the rewards anticipated on account of the increased cost of labour as a result of the exodus of able-bodied men to the Victorian goldfields. The octagonal toll-house, much restored, still stands at Glen Osmond, between the up and down tracks at the start of the Mount Barker Road, now the South-Eastern Freeway
West Terrace, Adelaide
West Terrace is a street in Adelaide, South Australia. It is the western-most street of the Adelaide city centre, it ends at North Terrace and South Terrace, connects to Port Road and Anzac Highway. The southern end of West Terrace, where it connects to Goodwood Road and Anzac Highway, is home to a Rydges Hotel and the West Terrace Cemetery; the northern reaches are occupied by several car dealerships, hq, Adelaide's largest nightclub. The remainder of West Terrace is occupied by smaller shops; the Royal Adelaide Hospital is located near West Terrace, having moved from premises at the eastern end of North Terrace in 2018. West Terrace is the location of Adelaide High School, South Australia's oldest government high school. Traffic on West Terrace can be heavy, as it is a major route in and out of the city, some areas are designated traffic black spots. There is a tram stop at the junction of North Terraces near the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Australian roads portal
Main North Road
Main North Road is the major north-south arterial route through the suburbs north of the Adelaide City Centre in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. It continues north through the settled areas of South Australia and is a total of 307 kilometres long, from North Adelaide to 21 kilometres out of Port Augusta, it follows the route established in the early years of the colony by explorer John Horrocks and was a major route for farmers and graziers to reach the capital, passing through rich farmland and the Clare Valley wine region. In 2011, the section of road between Gawler to Wilmington was renamed Horrocks Highway. Main North Road from Gawler to Wilmington was renamed to Horrocks Highway in 2011 to honour John Horrocks, an early explorer and pioneer in the region; however while Main North Road turns west in Wilmington through Horrocks Pass to join the Augusta Highway as route B56, route B82 carries the name Horrocks Highway north to Quorn. Main North Road branches from the northern end of O'Connell Street and passes through the Adelaide Parklands and the suburbs of Thorngate, Medindie Gardens, Prospect, Sefton Park, Blair Athol and Enfield before reaching the major intersection at Gepps Cross.
Here the road forks, with the Port Wakefield Road continuing to the north, the Main North Road turning northeast and continuing as route A20. It continues through the outer northern suburbs, passing Mawson Lakes and Salisbury, crossing the Little Para River and passing Elizabeth and Smithfield before entering Gawler. In Gawler, it crosses the South Para and North Para Rivers, the Barossa Valley Way branches to the east between them. Just north of Gawler, it passes under the Sturt Highway which heads east to the Barossa Valley, northern Victoria and New South Wales; this is. The environment changes from the urban environment to undulating land cleared for grain cropping. Several of the towns have grain storage silos, it crosses the Light River crosses and follows the Gilbert River to where the Barrier Highway branches northeast towards Riverton and Burra. Over the next ridge, it enters the southern end of the Clare Valley; the dominant scenery changes from grain crops to grapevines from Auburn to Clare returns to grain fields again north of the Hutt River as it passes through the Southern Flinders Ranges.
It crosses the Broughton River on to Wilmington at the eastern side of Horrocks Pass. As the Horrocks Highway is in the valley between the southern Flinders Ranges and northern Mount Lofty Ranges, it is in the wetter climate south of Goyder's Line. At Wilmington, Main North Road diverges from the Horrocks Highway. Main North Road turns northwest from Wilmington to pass through Horrocks Pass to Winninowie where it meets the Augusta Highway 21 kilometres south of Port Augusta; the Horrocks Highway continues northwards from Wilmington to Quorn. In the metropolitan area, the road is a major commuter route to the central business district in the Adelaide city centre; the portion of Main North Road between the city centre and Mawson Lakes is a 15-minute public transport'Go Zone', with the maximum wait for a bus being 15 minutes during peak times and 30 minutes on weekends and evenings. Bus routes via Main North Road begin with the prefix "22x"; the bus service is provided by SouthLink for Adelaide Metro.
From North Adelaide, the route numbers used along the road are: A1 to Gepps Cross, where it becomes National Highway A1 and continues as Port Wakefield Road to Perth A20 to north of Gawler, where National Highway A20 follows the Sturt Highway towards Sydney. B82 through the Clare Valley and beyond to Wilmington. B56 to Stirling North, 6 kilometres south-east of Port Augusta. In late 2010 when the Northern Expressway was completed, National Highway A20 was diverted to the new road as National Highway M20. Main North Road and the southern section of the Gawler Bypass Road were designated as State Route A52. In late 2016, the Northern Expressway was designated M2, route 20 returned to Main North Road as state route A20 to Gepps Cross. Highways in Australia List of highways in South Australia Highway 1 Highway 1
Adelaide Showground
The Adelaide Showground holds many of Adelaide's most popular events, including the Royal Adelaide Show. The Showground is located in the inner-southern Adelaide suburb of Wayville, just south of Greenhill Road, they are bordered by Leader Street, the railway line and Rose Terrace. The Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of South Australia has controlled the site since the 1920s, the land having been purchased by the South Australian government prior to the First World War; the Royal Show moved to the present site in 1925. The Showground has one of the largest under-cover exhibition spaces in the Southern Hemisphere, hosts over 140 exhibitions and conferences each year, as well as University of Adelaide and University of South Australia examinations; the RAHS leases the former Investigator Science and Technology Centre to the Edge Church. In 2008 Premier Mike Rann announced that the largest rooftop solar installation in Australia would be installed on the new Goyder Pavilion, the centrepiece of the Adelaide Showground upgrade.
The $8 million investment saw 10,000 square metres of solar panels installed, generating 14,00 mega-watt hours of solar electricity, the equivalent to powering 200 South Australian homes and saving 1,400 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. The size of the project meant; the main arena of the Showground, which at its peak in the 1920s and 1930s held 35,000 people, but now can hold 14,000, was known as the Speedway Royal during its heyday from 1926 until 1934, is sometimes referred to as "The birthplace of Australian Speedway" though dirt track speedway in Australia started in Maitland, New South Wales, in 1923. The Speedway was held on an egg-shaped track, the main arena since 1926; the track itself is 510 metres in length. When used it was one of the fastest speedways in Australia with wide open corners and both the front and back straights being over 90 metres in length. In 1928, Wayville was promoted as "The World's Fastest Dirt Track Speedway". Wayville stopped hosting speedway meetings after 1934.
Reasons for this remain unclear, though one theory is that as the arena was used year-round as Adelaide's harness racing track it was felt that the speedway meetings chopped the track up too much. Another theory was that due to the Great Depression, the promoters could no longer afford to run meetings at the venue. Other than various demonstration runs at the Royal Adelaide Show, speedway would not return to Wayville until 1986, a gap of 52 years; this event was the first West End Speedway International in February 1986 featuring some of the worlds best motorcycle speedway riders. Wayville has hosted the Australian Solo Championship in 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932 and again in 2002, it was the Adelaide venue for the short lived Series 500 between 1995 and 2000, which featured world championship riders. Since the mid-1980s, World Champion riders to compete at Wayville have included six time World Champion Ivan Mauger of New Zealand, 1987 West End International winner Hans Nielsen and Tommy Knudsen from Denmark, six time World Champion Tony Rickardsson and 1990 World Champion Per Jonsson from Sweden, Simon Wigg, Michael Lee, Gary Havelock and Kelvin Tatum from England, inaugural West End International winner Rick Miller, Shawn Moran, Sam Ermolenko, Greg Hancock, Bobby Schwartz, Billy Hamill of the United States, Egon Müller of West Germany, as well as Australia's own Jason Crump and his father Phil Crump, Leigh Adams, Craig Boyce, Todd Wiltshire, Adelaide's own Steve Baker and Ryan Sullivan.
Other top riders to have raced at Wayville include 1991 West End International winner Shane Bowes, multiple South Australian Champions Mark Fiora, Shane Parker, Craig Hodgson. Riders who appeared at Wayville in its early years included future World Champions Lionel Van Praag and Bluey Wilkinson. Others included Dicky Smythe, Vic Huxley, Alby Taylor, Sig Schlam, Frank Arthur, as well as local rider Jack Chapman. English stars Jack Parker, Harry Whitfield, Norman Evans, America's unofficial World Champion of 1931 Sprouts Elder appeared at Wayville. For regular speedway meetings not involving overseas or interstate riders, crowds at Wayville during this period were around the 25,000 mark, making Wayville the best supported speedway in Australia during its formative years, it was during this early period in the late 1920s that a young Kym Bonython to be the a successful Speedcar driver, art gallery owner and the successful promoter of Adelaide's Rowley Park Speedway from 1954-1973, got his first taste of a sport which would become a lifelong passion.
Bonython had managed to persuade his reluctant mother Lady Jean Bonython to take him to a meeting at Wayville and he was hooked. On 2 January 1933, Wayville hosted Round 2 of the four round qualifying series for the unofficial World Championship with the final to be held at the 509 metres Sydney Showground Speedway in March 1933. Queensland's Dicky Smythe won the Wayville meeting from Norman Evans. Harry Whitfield would win the Final at the Sydney Showground from Australians Billy Lamont and Bluey Wilkinson. On 12 January 1994, Wayville hosted the final Australia vs England motorcycle speedway test to be held in Australia; the test was the fourth and final test match of the series, won 4-0 by the locals. Au
Adelaide Park Lands
The Adelaide Park Lands are the figure-eight of land spanning both banks of the River Torrens between Hackney and Thebarton and separating the City of Adelaide from the surrounding suburbia of greater Metropolitan Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. They were laid out by Colonel William Light in his design for the city, consisted of 2,300 acres "exclusive of 32 acres for a public cemetery". One copy of Light's plan shows areas for a cemetery and a Post and Telegraph Store on West Tce, a small Government Domain and Barracks on the central part of North Tce, a hospital on East Tce, a Botanical Garden on the River Torrens west of North Adelaide, a school and a storehouse southwest of North Adelaide. Over the years there has been constant encroachment on the park lands by the state government and others. Soon after their declaration in 1837, 370 acres "were lost to'Government Reserves'". In 1902, The Herald noted. In 2018, the loss is about 230 hectares; the part of the Park Lands not in the'Government Reserves' have been managed and maintained by the Adelaide City Council since 1852, since February 2007, the Adelaide Park Lands Authority has advised council and government.
On 7 November 2008 the Federal Minister for Environment and the Arts, Peter Garrett, announced that the Adelaide Park Lands had been entered in the Australian National Heritage List as "an enduring treasure for the people of South Australia and the nation as a whole". In fact, large areas of the Adelaide Park Lands along the north side of the complete length of North Tce, along the north side of Port Road from West Tce to the Thebarton Police Barracks, the rail reserves, were excluded from the "Adelaide Park Lands and City Layout National Heritage Place" listing. Adelaide is a planned city, the Adelaide Park Lands are an integral part of Colonel William Light's 1837 plan. Light chose a site spanning the River Torrens, planned the city to fit the topography of the landscape,'on rising ground'; the Emigration Regulations appearing in the South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register published in London on 18 June 1836 instructed that the site of the first town be divided into 1,000 sections of an acre each.
In early 1837, William Light proposed to the Resident Commissioner James Hurtle Fisher that the figure-eight of open space, which Light referred to as'Adelaide Park', be reserved as'Park grounds'. Despite superficial similarities between Adelaide and William Penn's design of Philadelphia, there is no evidence that Light was influenced by, or knew of, the plan of Philadelphia. Light drew up a plan that included 700 "town acres" south of the River Torrens and 342 in North Adelaide. In addition, he included 38 acres of city squares: Hindmarsh, Light and Wellington Squares, Victoria Square, four one-acre Public Reserves, 2,300 acres for the Adelaide Park Lands. In 1838 the Colonization Commissioners for South Australia authorised South Australia's Resident Commissioner to purchase the Adelaide Park Lands, these instructions were carried out in South Australia in 1839. By 1839 the Park Lands were threatened by extensive timber cutting, rubbish dumping, brick-making, quarrying and grazing. To check this, a body of special constables was instituted on 9 October 1839 by George Gawler and Superintendent Henry Inman.
Inman appointed Nick Boys Bull a police sub-inspector, as Keeper of the Park Lands. Bull led an initial team of six park rangers, most being convalescent migrants thrown on government support; this dropped to two by 1840 back to four by June 1841. Pay and rations were provided by the police department. Since 1852, the areas of the Park Lands placed in the custodianship of the municipal corporation have been managed and maintained by the Adelaide City Council. Public use of the Park Lands was controlled by a ranger who patrolled the parks, regulating sporting and recreational activities in the parks and supervising the depasturing of stock grazing there; the Park Lands saw development during the 19th Century, for example the Adelaide Botanic Garden, South Australian Institute, Adelaide Oval, Victoria Park Racecourse. Extensive felling of trees and dumping of rubbish continued, which combined to give the Park Lands an unsightly appearance. In the late 19th century John Ednie Brown, the government's Conservator of Forests, was commissioned by the City Council to prepare a blueprint for the beautification of the Park Lands.
Brown presented his Report in 1880, but it was not acted upon until the turn of the 20th century when A. W. Pelzer became the City Gardener. Major progress was made in planting and landscaping the Park Lands during his tenure and further improvements such as creation of new gardens and boating lakes were carried under the authority of W. C. D. Veale, the Town Clerk. In the 2010s, about 25% of the Park Lands are the location of government and cultural buildings. Of the remaining 700 hectares, many parts have been sculpted into planned gardens and playing fields; some of the remainder is remnant or regenerated Adelaide Plains grasslands or grassy woodlands, of which 230 hectares have been deignated and developed by the city council as areas for native fauna and flora. Developments in the early 2000s focused on maintenance and upgrading of recreational facilities, removal of remnant grasslands and open grassy woodlands through urbanisation and the Greening of Adelaide tree planting and replac
Glenelg tram
The Glenelg tram is a light rail line in South Australia running from Hindmarsh, through the Adelaide city centre, to the beach-side suburb of Glenelg. It is Adelaide's only remaining tramway. Apart from short street-running sections in the city centre and Glenelg, the line has its own reservation, with minimal interference from road traffic; the service is free in the city centre and along the route to the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Hindmarsh. The service is free along the length of Jetty Road, Glenelg to Moseley Square. Three routes in total operate on the network, Glenelg to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with select peak services that continue to the Entertainment Centre, Glenelg to the Adelaide Festival Centre, which operates only on weekends and Adelaide Oval event days and Entertainment Centre to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. A 1.6 kilometre northern extension through the city centre opened on 14 October 2007, extending the line from Victoria Square along King William Street and North Terrace to Morphett Street.
A further 2.8 kilometre north western extension of the line along Port Road to the Adelaide Entertainment Centre opened on 22 March 2010. Construction of a new junction, branch lines along the eastern end of North Terrace and King William Road and four new stops began in July/August 2017 and opened on 13 October 2018; the line named the Adelaide and Glenelg Railway, was built by a private company, the Adelaide, Glenelg & Suburban Railway Company, opening on 2 August 1873. The single track line was built to the 5 ft 3 in broad gauge, commencing at the Angas Street corner of King William Street and followed that thoroughfare to South Terrace ran through the South Parklands and the south-western suburbs on its own right of way to Brighton Road, Glenelg where street running recommenced, using Jetty Road to terminate outside the Pier Hotel on Moseley Square. A depot was erected in the parklands at South Terrace, it was operated by small 2-4-0 tank locomotives, hauling two-axle end loading passenger carriages and open wagons for cargo.
Raised platforms were not provided, the carriages being provided with steps for ground level loading. Run round loops were installed at Glenelg and South Terrace, trains being propelled in one direction along King William Street. Special services operated to Morphettville Racecourse after it opened in September 1873. Crossing loops were installed at Goodwood and South Plympton. Patronage during the first few years of operation rose from 468,000 in the first year to 727,000 in 1877-88. On 24 May 1880, the Holdfast Railway Company opened the Holdfast Bay line from Adelaide railway station to Glenelg, it used the tracks of the South Australian Railways between Adelaide and Mile End while a depot was built at St Leonards. Whilst one line was a profitable proposition, two were not, both lines were immediately in financial trouble and merged to form the Glenelg Railway Company on 11 May 1882. A connecting line was laid along Brighton Road and the South Terrace depot closed. In 1882, a horse tramway was laid along King William Street parallel to the railway.
Local services between Angas Street and Goodwood were introduced by the railway using a Merryweather tram motor with an unpowered Rowan car as a trailer. In 1883 the SAR's Belair line was extended towards the South Coast and crossed the Glenelg line at Goodwood station via a flat crossing; the Holdfast Bay line was the most unprofitable of the two, this being due to excessive charges by the SAR for use of its line. Moves were made to close the line but these met with strong opposition as closure would isolate Glenelg from the rest of the state. To overcome this it was proposed to lay in a connection at Goodwood. In December 1899 the private company was acquired by the SAR, who continued to operate the line as a steam railway; the Glenelg line was duplicated from Goodwood to Brighton Road by 1910. The Holdfast Bay line was duplicated from Mile End to St Leonards by 1914 with raised platforms being provided at most stations. To help reduce working expenses it was proposed to deviate the Holdfast Bay line to join the other at Morphettville and although a line was built, no connection was made and it was only used for race traffic.
The Adelaide tramways had been electrified and to enable the line in King William Street to be duplicated, the railway was cut back to South Terrace in 1914. Railway passengers were carried by tram to Victoria Square. In 1927 ownership and operation transferred from the SAR to the Municipal Tramways Trust. Steam trains ceased on 2 April 1929 and the line was closed to be rebuilt as a double track standard gauge, electrified at 600 V dc and converted to tramway operation; the Goodwood flyover was constructed at this time, separating the new tram tracks from the conventional railway. The line was reopened on 14 December 1929 with the city terminus reverting to Victoria Square; the Holdfast Bay line closed on 15 December 1929 for conversion but this was not undertaken due to the onset of the Great Depression. Thirty H type trams were built for the line, with a design influenced by North American interurban streetcars of that era. There were one or two quirks in the earlier years, the most famous being the horse trams operated in the 1930s.
These were trams specially constructed to carry race horses from stables located along the line to Morphettville Racecourse. This service was a carry-over from the days of the steam railway, which had performed this function. Another unusual feature was operation of triple sets of H type trams in peak hours, express trams that ran non-stop over a significant portion of the route. In 2006, only one express; the line was the only route to survive the closure of Adelaide’s street tramway network during the 1950s, saved by its high pro
