Glenelg is a beach-side suburb of the

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

n capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. Located on the shore of

Holdfast Bay The Holdfast Bay is a small bay in Gulf St Vincent, next to Adelaide, South Australia. Along its shores lie the local government area of the City of Holdfast Bay and the suburbs of Glenelg and Glenelg North European settlement on Holdfast Bay ...

in Gulf St Vincent, it has become a tourist destination due to its beach and many attractions, home to several hotels and dozens of restaurants. Established in 1836, it is the oldest European settlement on mainland

. It was named after Lord Glenelg, a member of British Cabinet and

Secretary of State for War and the Colonies The Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a British cabinet-level position responsible for the army and the British colonies (other than India). The Secretary was supported by an Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. Hi ...

. Through Lord Glenelg the name derives from Glenelg, Highland,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

History

Prior to the 1836

British colonisation of South Australia British colonisation of South Australia describes the planning and establishment of the colony of South Australia by the British government, covering the period from 1829, when the idea was raised by the then-imprisoned Edward Gibbon Wakefield ...

, Glenelg and the rest of the

Adelaide Plains The Adelaide Plains (Kaurna name Tarndanya) is a plain in South Australia lying between the coast (Gulf St Vincent) on the west and the Mount Lofty Ranges on the east. The southernmost tip of the plain is in the southern seaside suburbs of Ade ...

was home to the

Kaurna The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurna ...

group of

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait ...

. They knew the area as "Pattawilya" and the local river as "Pattawilyangga", now named the Patawalonga River. Evidence has shown that at least two

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

epidemics had killed the majority of the Kaurna population prior to 1836. The disease appeared to have come down the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...

from

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. Prior to European settlement there were huge

oyster reef The term ''oyster reef'' refers to dense aggregations of oysters that form large colonial communities. Because oyster larvae need to settle on hard substrates, new oyster reefs may form on stone or other hard marine debris. Eventually the oyster ...

s of Australian flat oysters (''Ostrea angasi'', also known as the Southern mud oyster) off Glenelg. Oysters were of huge importance as a food source for

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

at many locations around Australia, but the extensive reefs were decimated after colonisation; it is estimated that in South Australia alone, at least of coastal reefs were destroyed by the 21st century. Oyster fishing was practised by the early settlers, and much of the damage was caused by using

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

to collect the oysters, which led to the reefs being damaged.

Settlement

The first British settlers set sail for South Australia in 1836. Several locations for the settlement were considered, including

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a town on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. It is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, which opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. It is the largest city in the West Coast region, and is located a ...

and

Encounter Bay Encounter Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's south central coast about south of the state capital of Adelaide. It was named by Matthew Flinders after his encounter on 8 April 1802 with Nicolas Baudi ...

. The Adelaide plains were chosen by Colonel

William Light William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839), also known as Colonel Light, was a British- Malayan naval and army officer. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site of ...

, and Governor

John Hindmarsh Rear-Admiral Sir John Hindmarsh KH (baptised 22 May 1785 – 29 July 1860) was a naval officer and the first Governor of South Australia, from 28 December 1836 to 16 July 1838. Family His grandfather William Hindmarsh was a gardener in Co ...

proclaimed the province of South Australia at the site of

The Old Gum Tree The Old Gum Tree (also known as The Proclamation Tree) is a historic site in Glenelg North, South Australia. Near this tree on 28 December 1836, the British governor John Hindmarsh delivered the proclamation announcing the establishment of Go ...

Glenelg North Glenelg North is a seaside suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in both the City of Holdfast Bay and the City of West Torrens. Demographics The 2011 Census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics counted 5,699 persons in Glenelg ...

on 28 December 1836. The first

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

in Glenelg opened on 5 December 1849; the first postmaster was John McDonald of the St Leonard's Inn. A

telegraph office Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

was opened in September 1859 and the two offices amalgamated in 1868. The present post office building on

Moseley Square Moseley Square is a public square in the City of Holdfast Bay at Glenelg, and was named for Henry J. Moseley, the builder and first publican of the Pier Hotel, Glenelg. Located between Jetty Road and Glenelg Beach, the Square is the locatio ...

was built in 1912. The sale of the surveyed lots that constitute the Town of Glenelg was remarkable: the right to purchase, at £1 per "

town acre In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid. Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogona ...

", was allocated by means of a ballot held in February 1839. The "winner" was a syndicate of six led by William Finke, with

Osmond Gilles __NOTOC__ Osmond Gilles (24 August 1788 – 25 September 1866) was a settler, pastoralist, mine owner and the Colony of South Australia’s first colonial treasurer. Born in London of Huguenot descent, in 1816 he went into partnership with Phi ...

, his nephew

John Jackson Oakden John Jackson Oakden (1818 – 31 March 1884), pastoralist, was an English explorer of South Australia, part of the European exploration of Australia, and a pioneer runholder of the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Early life Born in 1818 at Yea ...

and H. R. Wigley (father of W. R. Wigley) notable members. Among the town's earliest public buildings were the Independent (Congregational) church, opened 7 March 1848, St Peter's (Anglican) church, opened 28 March 1852 and the Pier Hotel, opened Christmas Day 1856, all the work of

Henry J. Moseley Henry Jackson Moseley ( – 6 July 1894) was a builder and publican in the very early days of the British colony of South Australia. History William Moseley and Henry Jackson Moseley were sons of J. J. Moseley, builder, of Marylebone, London. Th ...

, for whom Moseley Street and Moseley Square were named. No trace of the original structures remains. The Corporate Town of Glenelg was proclaimed in 1855, separating local governance of the township of Glenelg from that of the West Torrens and Brighton district councils. Construction of the Glenelg Institute, which is now the Glenelg Town Hall (pictured top right), started in 1875. The institute opened in 1877, with lecture rooms, a concert hall and a library. The classical structure was designed by Edmund Wright, whose works include the Adelaide Town Hall and Adelaide General Post Office on King William Street. The hall sits on Moseley Square, just off the beach. The Holdfast Bay city council acquired the hall in 1887. Today it houses a museum, tourist information centre and restaurants.

Jetty

Construction of Glenelg's first jetty commenced in August 1857. It was opened on 25 April 1859. The structure was 381 metres (1,250 ft) long and cost over £31,000 to build. It served fishermen and maritime traders, including a mail service operated by P&O, until Port Adelaide replaced it as Adelaide's main port. Passengers were also able travel from the Glenelg jetty to

by steamer. Various additions to the jetty were made, none of which stand today. A lighthouse was built in 1872 at the jetty's end, but a year later it caught fire and was cast into the sea to save the rest of the structure. A replacement lighthouse was built in 1874, and was 12.1 metres (40 ft) tall. Other additions included

public baths Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

, an aquarium, a police shed and a three-story kiosk with

tea room A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...

s. The kiosk structure also housed a family. The jetty kiosk was wrecked in a storm in 1943, and the jetty was severely damaged by a freak cyclone in 1948. Most of the structure washed away and the remaining structure was deemed unsafe. Just two weeks later, the local council began drafting plans for a new jetty and construction was completed in 1969. The new structure was just 215 metres (705 ft) long, less than two-thirds of the length of the original jetty. The second jetty continues to stand today, at the end of Jetty Road. On 1 January 2016, two boys were drowned after falling into the water from rocks to north of the Glenelg jetty.

The Glenelg Blocks

An ill-fated breakwater construction project was conceived in the early 1900s, intended to create an artificial harbour for the protection of yachts and the local fishing fleet. Parliamentary approval was granted in 1905. In 1909 and 1910, work was dogged by losses of machinery to rough seas and concrete piles that shattered when driven. Pile-driving for seabed study had some success in 1913. By mid-1916 the project remained incomplete and its future was uncertain. In 1918, the contractors took legal action against the Government seeking damages of £80,000. By 1919, the project had become an embarrassment and an "eye sore" without providing a safe harbour as originally intended. Today, the structures are heavily eroded and are colonised with marine life. The site is an artificial reef known to divers and snorkelers as "The Blocks" or "The Glenelg Blocks".

Amusement parks

Glenelg has been a popular spot for recreation and leisure for much of its history. Following the success of

Luna Park, Melbourne Luna Park Melbourne is a historic amusement park located on the foreshore of Port Phillip Bay in St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria. It opened on 13 December 1912, with a formal opening a week later, and has been operating almost continuously ever ...

, a similar amusement park was constructed on Glenelg's foreshore in 1930.

Luna Park Glenelg Luna Park Glenelg was an amusement park that operated at Glenelg, South Australia from 1930 until 1935. Plans for an amusement park at the seaside town were first raised in 1928, but not acted upon. In 1929, a lease to build a scenic railway at ...

was placed in voluntary liquidation in 1934, and all the rides (excluding a single carousel) were disassembled, purchased by the directors, and transported to Sydney, where they were used in the construction of Luna Park Sydney. The park's managers claimed that the reasons for the closure were the inability to make money from the park as it was, and opposition to changes from Council and residents, who were afraid that "undesirables" would be attracted to the area. Built near the former Luna Park site was Magic Mountain, which first opened in 1982. It featured water slides, mini-golf, bumper boats, dodgem cars and many other amusements and was popular with many Adelaide residents. It was also extensively criticised, called an eyesore and likened to a "giant dog dropping" in the media; despite this it was very popular with young children and teenagers. As part of the Holdfast Shores development, Magic Mountain was finally demolished in 2004 and replaced with The Beachouse, a 5-storey modern centre with a more conservative design which still incorporates the historic carousel; it opened in mid-2006. Since its opening, The Beachouse has been a widely popular attraction of the Glenelg area, appealing to both adults and children. A 25-metre single-arm

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...

was a prominent feature of the area until its closure.

Wastewater treatment plant

South Australia's second largest wastewater treatment plants is located in Glenelg. It was first established in 1933, and was upgraded in 1945, 1962, 1973 and most recently in 2002. A pipeline pumps 2.8 gigalitres of treated wastewater to Adelaide where it is used to irrigate green spaces, such as parks and ovals. The facility also conducts tours for school groups and visitors to learn about water supply and treatment. The plant also returns treated wastewater to the ocean. The most significant pollutants discharged to the sea (by mass) in 2018/19 were:

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

(180 tonnes),

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

(78 tonnes),

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element with the symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine i ...

(32 tonnes),

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous wa ...

(14 tonnes), fluoride (14 tonnes) and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

(1 tonne).

High-rise development

Atlantic Tower During Development in the 1970's

Atlantic Tower was built in the late 1970s and was Adelaide's tallest residential building at the time. The fourteen-story tower featured a revolving restaurant on its top floor, and was part of a larger development plan that never eventuated. Many other high-rise buildings exist in Glenelg, including the fifteen-story Stamford Grand hotel on

, built in 1990, and the twelve-story Liberty Towers, built in 2004. The Holdfast Shores development, starting in the late 1990s, included the construction of the Marina Pier apartment building with its own private marina in

, and the Pier Hotel, founded 2001, and unrelated to the historic Pier Hotel on Moseley Square. The development was met with strong opposition, from both local residents and the City of Holdfast Bay, fearing overdevelopment would ruin the area. Parts of the plan were scaled back, with the Platinum Apartment building scaled down from fifteen stories to nine, and the cinema complex cancelled.

Demographics

The 2016 Census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics counted 3,349 persons in Glenelg on the night of the census. The majority of residents are of Northern European descent, and almost two-thirds of residents are at least second generation Australian. Glenelg is a predominantly Christian community, with common affiliations, in descending order,

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Anglican, no religion and Uniting. The age distribution of Glenelg residents is skewed upwards more so than that of the Australian population. 26.4% of persons were 65 years or older in 2001, compared to the Australian average of 12.6%. 20.4% of persons were younger than 25 years, compared to the Australian average of 34.5%.

Transport

The suburb is bordered by Anzac Highway, (the road link to the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ad ...

), to the north, Brighton Road to the west and Pier Street to the south. Jetty Road is the main shopping strip in the suburb, and runs down the middle.

Adelaide Metro Adelaide Metro is the public transport system of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is an intermodal system offering an integrated network of bus, tram, and train service throughout the metropolitan area. The network has an ann ...

operates several bus services from Glenelg to various destinations including the central business district and Adelaide Airport. The local council operates a free loop bus service in the area. Glenelg is the terminus of the

Glenelg tram line The Glenelg tram line is a tram/ light rail line in Adelaide. Apart from a short street-running section in Glenelg, the line has its own reservation, with minimal interference from road traffic. The service is free in the city centre and a ...

, which runs from

, along Jetty Road though Glenelg, to the

Adelaide Entertainment Centre The Adelaide Entertainment Centre (AEC) is an indoor arena located in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is used for sporting and entertainment events. It is the principal venue for concerts, events and attractions for audiences bet ...

. The route dates back to 1873.

Features and attractions

The wide beach is popular with visitors and locals alike, and tourists to Adelaide often visit Glenelg. To the north is the mouth of the Patawalonga River, which has been dammed to create an artificial lake which is used as a boat harbour, with a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

down to the sea. This is a popular spot for

recreational boating Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasu ...

. A replica of was constructed in 1980 on the shore of the Patawalonga, with the appearance of being moored in the artificial lake, with a restaurant operating on it. It was demolished in 2019, after its popularity declined and it was no longer viable as a business. Jetty Road is a long ribbon of shops, entertainment facilities and other commercial activities and is the main shopping precinct in Glenelg. There is an annual celebration of the Epiphany for the Orthodox faithful of

, accompanied by the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

festival of the

Theophany Theophany (from Ancient Greek , meaning "appearance of a deity") is a personal encounter with a deity, that is an event where the manifestation of a deity occurs in an observable way. Specifically, it "refers to the temporal and spatial manifest ...

. A shark museum owned and operated by conservationist and shark attack survivor Rodney Fox once operated in Glenelg. Many of its former exhibits were leased to the South Australian Whale Centre, Victor Harbor, in 2008.

Sport

Glenelg is home to a team in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), the Glenelg Tigers, and the Glenelg Seahorses in the

South Australian Grade Cricket League South Australian Premier Cricket (previously known as South Australian District Cricket and South Australian Grade Cricket) is the semi-professional State league based in metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia. It is currently the highest level o ...

Reef restoration

In late 2020,

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

used a large

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

to scatter several hundred tonnes of stone across the sea floor about offshore, to create of substrate for a new oyster reef for the native

angasi oyster The southern mud oyster, Australian flat oyster, native flat oyster, native mud oyster, or angasi oyster (''Ostrea angasi''), is endemic to southern Australia, ranging from Western Australia to southeast New South Wales and around Tasmania. ''O ...

, which had been nearly eliminated in Australian waters by over-harvesting and dredging during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Oyster reefs and seagrass beds help to protect coastlines from the effects of storm events and

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, as well as offering the benefits of greater

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

, which helps to protect fish stocks, and protection from extremes of temperatures, which can threaten

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnera ...

Politics

Since 1985 Glenelg has been located in the Electoral district of Morphett for the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the South Australian Legislative Council, Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament House in the st ...

. It was previously in the seat of Glenelg. The current sitting member is Stephen Patterson of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

, who has held the seat since 2018. Federally, Glenelg is in the

Division of Boothby The Division of Boothby is an Australian federal electoral division in South Australia. The division was one of the seven established when the former Division of South Australia was redistributed on 2 October 1903 and is named after William Bo ...

and is held by Nicolle Flint of the

since 2016.

References

External links

* https://www.glenelgbeach.com.au * https://www.helloglenelg.com.au
City of Holdfast Bay
{{Authority control Seaside resorts in Australia Suburbs of Adelaide Tourist attractions in Adelaide Gulf St Vincent