2016 – Awesome Adelaide

December 28, 2016

Urban Exploring: The Elms Glenside Psychiatric Hospital

Back in May 2016, the people of Adelaide were invited to see The Elms for the last time as part of a guided walking tour of the heritage buildings at the former Glenside Psychiatric Hospital. It was the last chance for any of us to see inside The Elms.

The Elms — Glenside Psychiatric Hospital, Metro Adelaide. — The Elms at the Glenside Psychiatric Hospital, Adelaide c2016. (Photo by WildStar)

The tours were booked solid! The guide on the day was deeply saddened that I may have missed the last opportunity. Fearing we’d missed out, we did some quick talking and thankfully managed to get an invitation to a uniquely special private tour. It enabled us to get some pretty unique pictures for you all.

The Elms housed mentally ill and poverty-stricken female patients. It was originally known as the “Additional Female Ward”. It later changed to “Women’s E, F and G Wards” and in 1982, to “The Elms”.

The Elms c1920 — Glenside Psychiatric Hospital, Adelaide. — 1920 The Elms and main building at Glenside. (Image from ‘Centenary of Glenside Hospital’ by The Griffin Press)

It was built in 1880 of hard Glen Osmond stone. A red-bricked Dining Room was added to the eastern end in 1954. An ablutions block for bathing and showering (cladded with shiny metallic sheeting) was added to the side of The Elms in 1959.

In its latter years, The Elms was used as a Domestic Training Unit and for Music Therapy. Recently the State Government changed the land’s zoning in order for it to be used for commercial and residential use. The Elms is expected to retain its heritage status and be retained. It’s to be adapted for use as a recreation facility.

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November 25, 2016

Urban Exploring: The Comms Tunnel

Early Adelaide telephone lines were copper wire. They traversed the city mounted on poles along the street, leading from your home (or place of business) all the way back to the telephone exchange. As you’d imagine, city telephone exchanges had a mass of incoming wires.

As the amount of customers grew, so did the amount of wires. Extra cross-arms had to be added to telephone poles to support more wires. They were extremely noisy in the wind, ugly, and broke during extreme weather events. Repairs were costly and took a very long time.

Adelaide Telephone Exchange c. 1909 — Top: Adelaide Telephone Exchange, Franklin Street, Adelaide c. 1909.
Bottom: Adelaide Telephone Exchange Back Entrance c.1909.
Photos courtesy State Library of South Australia.

The invention of the cable helped! Individual wires were grouped together and covered in a waterproof sheath. This allowed the wires to be placed underground, into tunnels, solving the problems associated with above-ground lines. Most cities have large cable tunnels under the main roads and footpaths, and these cable tunnels are still in use today.

Cable Tunnel to Telephone Exchange. — Top: Chris Ross, a cable repair access technician, inspecting an underground cable tunnel.
Bottom: A cut 1000-pair-cable showing the individual copper wiring.

Incoming cables from the cable tunnels are brought up from the underground tunnels into the exchange. The wires are broken out of their sheath and each pair of wires are terminated at a set of terminals on a Main Distribution Frame (MDF). The MDF also carried fuses which allowed lines to be connected or disconnected, as well as tested for faults.

Telephone exchange cable tunnel and Main Distribution Frame. — Left: A cable chamber, showing the cables on bearers and turning upwards to the MDF on the floor above.
Right: Cables from the cable chamber below connecting to the Main Distribution Frame (MDF).

From there, lines are connected to sophisticated digital switching computers that, when required, connect your line to phones locally, interstate and around the world.

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October 31, 2016

Urban Exploring: Cabin in the Woods

Most explorers will tell you it’s rare as hen’s teeth to find a place that’s old and full of its original contents – as if its occupants just got up and left, leaving their belongings behind. And so it came as a bit of surprise when I opened the door to this place; a cabin way out in Adelaide’s rural scrubland.

The cabin may not look like much, but in its day it was exceptionally modern. The high roof would have reduced the effects of South Australia’s hot climate. Sawn redgum flooring would have been chosen for its durability and strength. Timber cladding selected for its decorative and sound-absorbing finish.

Cupboards overflowed with household items from the 1920’s and 30’s. A bottle of Bickfords Tasteless Castor Oil sat high on a shelf gathering dust. Long before Raid-brand insect spray existed, Shell Tox delivered its convincing concision: “Shell Tox Kills”. A pair of Laubman and Pank spectacles from the 1920’s nobly displayed its Adelaide origins.

The Trafalgar Cold Safe, invented in Australia in the late 1800s and promoted as “Cold Storage Without Ice” sat proudly in the kitchen.

1913 Trafalgar Cold Safe Advertisement from an Adelaide Railways Timetable. (Photo courtesy Denis Bin)

The Hapsburg Beale piano, unopened for years and covered with a thick layer of grime, no longer permeated its sound through the house.

One of the many disused houses I’ve been in, this one was unique. It was a chance to step back in time and ponder the joy and hardships this family once experienced. Hopefully, in the years to come, when I return to this cabin-in-the-woods, it will be just as I left it, left frozen in time so I can experience it once more.