Day at the Port

20c for a weigh in.

Light House Port Adelaide

American (likely) amber 1930's pressed glass dolphin footed bowl.

 

Off to the South Australian Maritime Museum in Port Adelaide yesterday. Port Adelaide was once a bustling commercial and shopping suburb. It is a wonderfully historic place with and abundance of beautiful old stone buildings. It really is a shame that it is no longer what it once was. One of the pubs has a sign celebrating 150 years in 1999 but the windows are now boarded up. So sad. A lot of the shops are empty but I did notice that the two pubs closer to the wharf  have been given a face lift and much more inviting. We ate at the Lighthouse Inn. I remember when my parents went inside there years ago to see if it was suitable for kids - we ended up going to KFC... Now it is looking great. We had pizza and stuffed ourselves silly.

Over the last 15 years I have been expecting ‘The Port’ to become a tourist hub and a popular area to live again but it still has not happened. There are beginnings of it though. It is such a beautiful area (if you ignore the industrial side). Presently the old buildings seem to be wasted but at least they are still there to admire.

The Museum was fascinating. They have a Pirate play area for the kids (which I think maybe just for school holidays) that my son did not want to leave.  Apart from that there were a lot of things for kids to do in the main museum. I really enjoyed viewing the salvaged items from ship wrecks and the stories from those times gone by. It was sad to read the list of deaths on voyage on one of the ships in 1866. Mostly children who had passed away from things like diarrhoea and dysentery, also newborn infants. It made us so grateful for our modern lives.  

Our next stop was a climb up the Lighthouse.  It was quite muggy and claustrophobic but we managed to make it to the top. Was very proud of my unadventurous 3 year old. Great view of Port Adelaide from the top.