Urban Exploration Adelaide – Page 4 of 46

January 14, 2020

Urban Exploring: A Backyard Cinema

Exploring an Abandoned Cinema

It was a Saturday night. We’d received a tip-off about a small cinema that was sitting disused in a suburban backyard.

They’re rare — only about 4 or 5 still exist in South Australia, so we were keen to take a look.

From the outside, it looked just like any other suburban shed; a grey square structure with galvanised cladding. Nothing about the property gave any indication of what was inside.

As we entered, we could see it had been meticulously transformed inside. Its owner had decorated it with lengthy yellow and red cloth with foam and PVC cladding inset with golden ornamental accents. It was truly a sight to see.

Cinemas like these are rare and were mainly built by projectionists or enthusiasts,… and they would go all-out; making their cinemas look as grand as possible!

This cinema contained a little pair of 16mm Bell & Howell movie projectors from the 1970s. Like many of the projectors around at the time, the first projector held the first 40-60 minutes of the movie and the second projector held the next 40-60 minutes.

Lost Film Re-Discovered!

It was in an Australian private cinema similar to this one that a previously lost film was discovered.

For 80 years, the 1930s classic film ‘MAMBA’ thought lost was found in Australia. An old cinema projectionist had a nearly complete 35mm nitrate print of ‘Mamba’ in his collection. All 9 reels were in great shape and stored in their original cans.

At the time, after commercial viewings, films had to be returned or destroyed. In fact, a lot of films were meant to be destroyed after their run. In some cases however, it was just easier to store the film in the corner and as a result many films considered lost are still available.

So when out exploring, if you’re 100% certain a canister of film is headed for the skip-bin, consider handing it in to your local historical society for preservation or contact us and we’ll refer you to an appropriate person. You may have found a piece of history needing preservation.

Safe Travels,
WildStar

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October 1, 2019

Urban Exploring: Gilligan’s Island

Mika Hakkinen Crash

It was Friday, November 10, 1995, on a warm spring morning in Adelaide. The qualifying session for the 1995 Adelaide Grand Prix was well underway when the international TV cameras cut to an establishing shot of the Adelaide race track on Brewery Bend corner.

Formula One world champion Mika Hakkinen‘s red and white McLaren had crashed into the tyre wall.

The broken black tyre marks at the beginning of the curb revealed that his car had careened out of control at tremendous speed off the track.

Hakkinen’s left rear tyre had a blow-out resulting in his car hitting the tyre wall at around 200 kilometers per hour. Hakkinen’s head took a ferocious hit.

“Mika couldn’t move, he wasn’t breathing or communicating in any way with us,” said an intensive care specialist. “But he was alive.”

The impact crushed the base of Hakkinen’s skull, cutting off his breathing. Hospital surgeons at the track fought to save his life, performing an emergency tracheotomy before transporting him to the Royal Adelaide Hospital with head injuries. Their impromptu surgery prevented long term, irreversible brain damage. Hakkinen was in a coma for several days and spent three weeks recovering.

The Push for a Helipad

Dr Eugene (Fred) Gilligan initiated the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s Medical Retrieval Service in 1973.

At the time, critically ill and injured people transported by helicopter had to land on Victoria Park Racecourse and transferred to the Royal Adelaide Hospital by Road.

In 1987, Dr Fred Gilligan and his team prepared a report for the South Australian Government outlining the critical need for a Helipad at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The Helipad was never commissioned due to lack of funding.

A Gift to the People of South Australia

Dr Fred Gilligan led the medical team which escorted Mika Hakkinen back to London after his crash at the 1995 Adelaide Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Hakkinen openly praised the standard of care he received in Adelaide after the crash. The McLaren team stated that, if it were not for the high quality of treatment Mika would not be alive today.

As a gift to the people of South Australia, Hakkinen donated a substantial un-disclosed sum of money to help build the much needed Helipad for The Royal Adelaide Hospital. It was a ‘Thank-you’ gift for saving his life.

Royal Adelaide Hospital Helipad with SGIC 1 Helicopter comp. Mika Hakkinen. (Source: Alan Hoare)

On 11 March 1997, 16 months after the accident, Mika Hakkinen flew into Adelaide with the then Premier John Olsen on board the Rescue 1 Helicopter for the official opening of the $2.1 million dollar Royal Adelaide Hospital rooftop Helipad.

The Helipad was constructed on the rooftop of the Outpatient Building of the Old Royal Adelaide Hospital. A lift was also incorporated in the construction allowing patients to be immediately transferred to the Emergency Department.

Photograph of The Royal Adelaide Hospital Helipad signed by Mika Hakkinen. (Source: Health Museum of South Australia)

The new Helipad decreased the transport time by up to 30 minutes for patients arriving by air, and since its construction, saved many lives.

“Gilligan’s Island”

The Helipad was affectionately named “Gilligan’s Island” by retrieval services staff after Dr Eugene (Fred) Gilligan.

Dr Gilligan started the Royal Adelaide Hospital Retrieval Service in 1973 and retired in April 2002 after hundreds of thousands of kilometers of rescue flights.

Gilligan’s Island stopped receiving helicopters in September 2017 and has remained un-used for over a year.

Late last week marked the end for the historic Helipad.

Demolition contractors removed it as part of the ongoing demolition and remediation of the Old Royal Adelaide Hospital site.

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August 21, 2019

Urban Exploring: LeCornu Furniture

Phillip Joshua Le Cornu

In 1854, Phillip Joshua Le Cornu migrated from the UK to South Australia. He leased a small shop at 66 O’Connel Street North Adelaide and started a ‘cabinet manufactory’ business and begun to produce furniture.

At the time, he wouldn’t have imagined that it would become one of Adelaide’s most iconic businesses.

North Adelaide Factory

In 1908, Phillip Joshua’s son Philip Hammond took over management of the business. He was a skilled cabinetmaker like his father.

The factory was expanded in 1924 bringing its number of employees to 30. At this time, Le Cornu started supplying furniture throughout the state.

‘Factory-To-You’ Sales Success

In 1954, Lance Le Cornu, grandson of Philip Hammond Le Cornu, took over the management of Le Cornu and formed Le Cornu Limited.

Under Lance’s direction, Le Cornu began advertising their ‘factory to you’ sales. It was an instant success. Customers lined up outside the store each morning eagerly waiting for it to open. The public demand was so strong that other manufacturers were invited to sell their goods through the Le Cornu store in order to meet demand!

The Keswick Chrysler Assembly Plant

With business thriving, Le Cornu purchased the 9-acre Chrysler car assembly site on Anzac Highway at Keswick. A huge warehouse / showroom with extensive car parking was built, which was twice the size of the North Adelaide site.

Le Cornu’s had now become the largest furniture store in Australia!

The new Le Cornu store at Keswick was officially opened by Premier Don Dunstan in 1974. It was the world’s largest self-service furniture warehouse/showroom and featured a childcare facility, a restaurant and 200 fully-decorated room displays.

Le Cornu’s Continued Success

After continued growth from successful TV advertising and newspaper ads, a further 5,000 square metres was added to the Keswick site.

Le Cornue Expansion Now Open — Le Cornu Expansion ‘Now Open’ to the public.

In 1989, Premier John Bannon officially opened the new expansion.

The Le Cornu’s store underwent another massive transformation in 2011 reinvigorating the brand with a stylish new look. It is in this state that the site remained until its closure on October 9, 2016.

Abandoned and Demolished

For 2+ years the Le Cornu Keswick site sat abandoned. A few of us eager explorers we able to visit the warehouse and showrooms before its impending demise. The site has now been under demolition for the past month with the site expected to be fully leveled by the end of the week.