Abandoned Places – Page 18 of 32

March 26, 2015

Urban Exploring: Grainium

In 1843 an enterprising South Australian by the name of John Ridley created the world’s first mechanical grain harvester — a machine capable of harvesting grain faster than ever before. Called the ‘Ridley Stripper’, it was horse-drawn and although it couldn’t strip the grain from the chaff, it saved a great deal of time. By 1880, improved Ridley Strippers were produced in Adelaide and used throughout Australia and the world. The suburb of Ridleyton was named in his honour.

The Ridley Stripper, invented in Adelaide by John Ridley.

By 1883, thanks to his invention, South Australia was producing sufficient grain for wheat to be exported to England and around the world. Grain silos were mass-built and Australia’s grain industry was born.

A large proportion of these grain silos still function today however a few have been left disused and abandoned. Not many of us get to see inside these towering structures. A silo we’ll call ‘Grainium’ kindly allowed us access…

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March 13, 2015

Urban Exploring: Puzzle Park

No site about exploring around Adelaide is quite complete without a visit to our states favourite amusement park — Puzzle Park. With the on-site caretaker absent, we seized the opportunity to take a sneak-peek inside.

Two Murray Bridge entrepreneurs opened Puzzle Park in 1985 and for 22 years was one of the state’s best-loved family attractions, winning a swag of tourism awards.

Mounting public liability costs forced its closure in 2007 and for the last several years it has sat decaying. The ball-pit no longer contains any balls. The giant slide too rusty to use. The merry-go-round stripped of its seats.

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February 22, 2015

Urban Exploring: Under Fort Largs

In 1870, Britain withdrew military assistance to its colonies, however there was concern that attacks might be made on Adelaide in order to disrupt shipping. Fort Largs was constructed in 1882-84 as one of a set of forts designed to protect the Semaphore anchorage, the harbour entrance and maritime activities of South Australia against perceived threats from foreign invaders.

The other fort, Fort Glanville, had been built 5 years earlier, south of Fort Largs. A third fort, planned for Glenelg, was never built but the three sites were linked by the construction of Military Road. Now you know why Military Road extends all the way from Glenelg to Fort Largs!

Under Fort Largs lies a network of small tunnels and chambers. Either side of each Armstrong Gun [Figure 1: a, b], tunnels carried artillery shells into large circular chambers [Figure 1: 11, 21]. Within each chamber sat a large carousel on which shells were stored for later retrieval. Manual cranks [Figure 1: 4, 7] within the sub-structure under Fort Largs lifted the shells up to the base of the Armstrong Guns ready for firing.

Figure 1: Fort Largs Underground Plans (Photo courtesy of David Walsh)

Today Fort Largs survives in near its original state. For external photos of Fort Largs see our previous post or check out the amazing photographs by sedge808 and Andrew Dempster!