The City of Unley has developed a self-guided ‘walk down memory lane’ to rediscover its complex history and stunning architecture through the ‘Discover Historic Unley’ initiative.
From the Cremorne Hotel housing a small zoo, including an elephant, to Unley Oval hosting the English cricket team in 1903, participants can expect to capture fascinating glimpses into Unley’s rich past. It is amazing stories such as these, all based around historic sites near Unley Road that will truly ignite the inner historian in everyone.
City of Unley General Manager Community Megan Berghuis said ‘Discover Historic Unley’ aimed to educate people on how the area came to be and key sites that are embedded in Unley’s ‘DNA’.
“The catalyst for this incredible trail was a project that was started over four and a half years ago, which revealed a number of intriguing historical sites,” Ms Berghuis said.
“The self-guided walk takes in eighteen key sites around Unley including the oldest site of Mornington which took shape in 1853, to the Unley Shopping Centre built in 1966, and everything in between.”
The tour will uncover the ‘inner historian’ as it delves into how Unley first separated from Mitcham and formed a Town way back in 1871 with the villages of Unley, Parkside, Goodwood and Fullarton. From this time on, Unley Road grew into a corridor of commercial, social and cultural life. By 1906 there were more than 20 000 people spread across 15 villages and Unley became South Australia’s third city after Adelaide and Port Adelaide.
The tour will officially be launched on Wednesday 21 May as part of History Month, but will continue as self-guided walking tour. Signs are in place at 11 sites and a brochure is available from the Unley Libraries, Unley Museum and Civic Centre from May.
“We are really encouraging people to come and take a tour to learn about the uniqueness of this area and how it got to where it is today,” Ms Berghuis said.
To download a brochure please visit our website
Don, this is an excellent program. The brochure is excellent for self walks.
I notice that it is very Unley Road centric, not straying far from the Town Hall.
I would like to see the program to be extended to include historical sites across Unley, including Goodwood, Forestville, Millswood and Clarence Park.
For example the Goodwood Park Hotel (and was there ever a Goodwood Park?) had a telescope mounted on the upstairs balcony and kept a watch on ship arrivals at Glenelg. When a ship was sighted the hotel rigged up horse drawn carts and headed down to Glenelg to load up fresh supplies. The hotel had the freshest produce in the Unley area and serviced the wider area.
Thanks Bob. It is truly inspirational.
The committee felt it desirable to keep the initial concept to a localised area.
The concept has been picked up by traders in a number of areas within Unley including Goodwood Road and that too is exciting. It si my understanding that we have in the new budget an allocation to allow this program to expand.