Cowley's Pie Cart
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Cowley's pie cart was a late-night eatery which operated in
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
outside the
General Post Office, Adelaide The General Post Office is a colonial-era building situated on 141 King William Street on the north-west corner of King William Street and Victoria Square. It is the former General Post Office for South Australia. Postal services operated from ...
on Franklin Street close to Victoria Square.


History

Adelaide's pie carts consisted of a large self-contained enclosed trailer with a single awning servery opening to the footpath. There was no seating supplied, the range of food available (apart from pies and pasties) was very limited, and the only drinks available were tea, coffee and a small range of soft drinks. A notable characteristic of Adelaide's pie carts was their democratic nature: every class of person could be seen at the counter. Cowley's pie cart was opened by William "Bill" Cowley, owner of Cowleys Bakeries, of Cross Road,
Glandore Glandore (, meaning ''harbour of the oak trees'') is the name of a village and harbour in County Cork, Ireland. It is off the N71 road, about 10 km east of Skibbereen. The village has several pubs, with traditional music performances. It ...
, in 1937. Wonder World! television interview by Tony Johnston recorded 21 June 1994 and broadcast in July 1994. :Bill was a nephew of Joseph Cowley, one of Sturt's 1845 expedition party; a grandmother, Rebecca Bevis, migrated to South Australia in 1838 on the same ship ( Pestonjee Bomanjee) as
Governor Gawler Colonel George Gawler (21 July 1795 – 7 May 1869) was the second Governor of South Australia, at the same time serving as Resident Commissioner, from 17 October 1838 until 15 May 1841. Biography Early life Gawler, born on 21 July 1795, was t ...
. She married Thomas Cowley, one of those closely involved with John Ridley's invention of the
stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events. Modern forms of stripping m ...
. A specialty of Cowley's pie cart was the "
pie floater The pie floater is an Australian dish sold in Adelaide. It consists of a meat pie in a thick pea soup, typically with the addition of tomato sauce. Believed to have been first created in the 1890s, the pie floater gained popularity as a meal so ...
"; a meat pie upside-down on a plate, surrounded by a generous serving of thick pea soup (made from blue boiler peas),"Blue boiler peas" are whole dried green field peas, not carlin peas, maple peas or black peas, as are used for "mushy peas" in England. and frequently topped with tomato sauce. The last owner/operators of this pie cart were Ray Purvis and his family, who had a licence to operate it from 5 pm (when the post office closed), until around midnight, being then one of the few food outlets open in Adelaide after 9 pm.


See also

* Harry's Cafe de Wheels


References

{{Reflist History of Adelaide 1937 establishments in Australia