Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka (previously spelt Mullawirraburka), and numbered as Park 14, is a recreation park located in the East Park Lands 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. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

n capital of

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 ...

. There is an

artificial lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from t ...

with rowboats for hire, a café,

children's playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

and

rose garden A rose garden or rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses, and sometimes rose species. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped ...

, and the Adelaide Bowling Club is on the Dequetteville Terrace side. The O-Bahn passes underneath it, to emerge at the western side opposite

Grenfell Street Grenfell Street () is a major street in the north-east quarter of the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. The street runs west-east from King William Street to East Terrace. Its intersection with Pulteney Street is formed by Hindmarsh Squa ...

. Before and in the early days of the

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, ...

, the eastern park lands were used as camping grounds for the local

Kaurna people 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. Kau ...

and later people from other nearby

Aboriginal peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

, such as the

Ngarrindjeri The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian people of the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of South Australia. The term ''Ngarrindjeri'' means "belo ...

. The park underwent extensive redevelopment, including the construction of the lake, around 1959–1960. It has been used for many cultural and sporting events, in particular

Adelaide Fringe Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between ...

Feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes inc ...

and Festival of Arts events, Carnevale in Adelaide, the Adelaide International Horse Trials. The Fringe venue hub set up on the western side of the park is known as Gluttony.

History

Early history of the area

Before European settlement, the eastern parklands were used by the

, as a meeting and camping area. In the late 19th century,

Poltpalingada Booboorowie Poltpalingada Booboorowie ( – 4 July 1901) was a prominent Aboriginal man of the Thooree clan of the Ngarrindjeri nation, who lived among the community of fringe dwellers in Adelaide, South Australia during the 1890s. He was a well-known an ...

, a personality well known among the European settlers as Tommy Walker, a

man, and other

Aboriginal people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

sometimes referred to as the " fringe-dwellers" camped in the area. They were forced to move from the area, first to the

Adelaide Botanic Garden The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a public garden at the north-east corner of the Adelaide city centre, in the Adelaide Park Lands. It encompasses a fenced garden on North Terrace (between Lot Fourteen, the site of the old Royal Adelaide Hospit ...

area and then to Glenelg. East Tce power station

Creation of park (1960)

Keith Conlon described the area as "bare, swampy in winter, and populated by cows" from the time that Adelaide was founded and the parklands established by Colonel Light, and 120 years later. The Adelaide Bowling Club moved to its present location, with its entrance off Dequetteville Terrace, in 1958. In 1959–60,

Adelaide City Council The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council, is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia. It is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...

made many improvements to the park area. Following a tour overseas, Town Clerk William Veale suggested an

, playground and picnic area. The new facilities were opened by Lord Mayor Charles John Glover in late 1960. The park was named after Sir Arthur Rymill,

Lord Mayor of Adelaide This is a list of the mayors and lord mayors of the City of Adelaide, a local government area of South Australia. The first local government in Australia was formed on 31 October 1840 with the election of nineteen councillors to the new Adel ...

from 1950 to 1954 and council member for 23 years, who had actively supported the extension and improvement of Adelaide’s parklands. The lake was constructed in 1959 and the rose gardens were created in the 1960s by excavating what was then the Bartels Road rubbish tip.

Dual naming (2003)

Following the Council's ''Reconciliation Vision Statement'' in 1997, it set about applying

dual naming Dual naming is the adoption of an official place name that combines two earlier names, or uses both names, often to resolve a disagreement over which of the two individual names is more appropriate. In some cases, the reasons are political. Som ...

of many city sites and features, deciding on a

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. Kau ...

name in collaboration with appropriate authorities and community organisations. In 2003 the final group of names were endorsed, and the name Mullawirraburka was applied to Rymill Park. The spelling was later revised to Murlawirrapurka, as a more correct transcription of Kaurna. (Also on Google Books.) The name Murlawirrapurka was the name of a Kaurna man, known to settlers as "King John", "King Jack", or "Onkaparinga Jack". His name was derived from Kaurna words (old spelling) ''mulla'' − dry and ''wirra'' – forest, which together made the name of Mullawirra, the "territory" in the Aldinga- Willunga area which Murlawirrapurka inherited from his father, and ''burka'' – " elder". He was one of three elders well known to the colonists (along with

Kadlitpina Rundle Park / Kadlitpina (formerly spelt Kadlitpinna), also known as Park 13, is a part of the Adelaide Park Lands in Adelaide, South Australia. It was known as Rundle Park until its Kaurna name was assigned as part of the dual naming initiative ...

and

Ityamai-itpina The Adelaide Park Lands comprise the figure-eight configuration of land, spanning both banks of the River Torrens between Hackney and Thebarton, which encloses and separates the City of Adelaide area (including both the Adelaide city centre and ...

), and more is known about him than any other Kaurna person of that time.

Lake repair (2008)

After being drained in November 2007 to make repairs addressing the leaking of per week, the lake was refilled in September 2008.

O-Bahn extension (2015−17)

In 2015, a plan to realign Rundle Street as part of a plan to extend O-Bahn bus services to and from the city of Adelaide created controversy. The plan would result in the removal of numerous long established regulated and significant trees. Critics of the plan included

Mark Parnell Mark Charles Parnell (born 9 September 1959) is an Australian former politician and parliamentary leader of the SA Greens in the South Australian Legislative Council. He was the first SA Greens representative to be elected to the Parliament o ...

MLC,

Nick Xenophon Nick Xenophon ( Nicholas Xenophou; ; born 29 January 1959) is an Australian lawyer and former politician who was a Australian Senate, Senator for South Australia from 2008 until 2017. As a centrist, populist, independent politician, he twice sh ...

and former Australian Democrats leader, Ian Gilfillan. Public objections to the redevelopment prompted the creation of the Rymill Park Alliance and the ''Save Adelaide's Rymill Park'' campaign and Facebook page. However, construction went ahead and was completed in 2017 December. Rymill Park and nearby

Rundle Park / Kadlitpina Rundle Park / Kadlitpina (formerly spelt Kadlitpinna), also known as Park 13, is a part of the Adelaide Park Lands in Adelaide, South Australia. It was known as Rundle Park until its Kaurna name was assigned as part of the dual naming initiative ...

was closed and a tunnel was built underneath them.

New master plans (2019–20)

In late 2019, the Council published a draft Master Plan and Community Land Management Plan (CLMP), inviting comment from the community both online and at a public meeting on 8 December.

Lake upgrade (2023–24)

The lake underwent a major upgrade costing million, from August 2023 until its reopening in April 2024. The changes make it more

environmentally friendly Environment friendly processes, or environmental-friendly processes (also referred to as eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green), are sustainability and marketing terms referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that c ...

, and includes a new pipeline connecting it to the

Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi, also known as Park 16, is a park located in the Southeastern Park Lands of the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is bordered by Fullarton Road, Greenhill Road, East Terrace and Wakefield Road. Before 18 ...

that will supply most of its water. This makes it more cost-effective for the Adelaide City Council, which was previously spending A$160,000 a year topping up the water and replacing it after outbreaks of

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

Location, facilities, use

The park is bordered by

East Terrace East Terrace is a road that marks the eastern edge of the Adelaide city centre in Adelaide, South Australia. Description East Terrace is one of the main north–south thoroughfares through the east side of the city. Although the terrace esse ...

, Dequetteville Terrace, and Rundle and Bartels Roads. It is in close proximity to the

, Hutt Street, Rundle Park, and Victoria Park. Statue of Alice - Rymill Park - Adelaide

A shallow artificial lake was built in the park in 1960. Rowboats have been available for hire at the park's

kiosk Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Iran, Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist ...

, exclusively for use on the lake. The lake underwent renovations from August 2023, and reopened in April 2024. Adelaide businessman Arnie Rossis ran the kiosk from 1998 until 2013, when it was taken over by his daughter and son-in-law until they closed it in 2018. Various "pop-up" caterers used the space since, until "Loch & Quay" leased it for the 2018/2019 season, but , the kiosk has not reopened. Negotiations are under way for the owner of Peter Rabbit, a cafe in Hindley Street, to rebuild and run the kiosk. Construction has yet to be approved by parliament, but it is hoped that works would be able to be started in spring 2024. Other features of the park include rose gardens, playgrounds, avenues of well-established trees, barbecue facilities, and the 1962 statue ''

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

'' by John Dowie, inspired by

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

's stories for children. Dowie's "Piccanniny" drinking fountain, in the form of an Aboriginal child and made out of coloured concrete with a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

water container, is near the playground. The park has been a site for many cultural and sporting events including Carnevale in Adelaide, the Adelaide Equestrian Festival, Aerobic Challenge, and various events in the Adelaide Festival,

and Feast festivals. The Fringe location in Rymill Park is known as "Gluttony".

Flora and fauna

Many of the park's larger trees provide hollows and roosts which are utilised by various species for nesting and residence. Native birds species commonly seen in the park include crested pigeons, magpies,

magpie-lark The magpie-lark (''Grallina cyanoleuca''), also known as wee magpie, peewee, peewit, mudlark or Murray magpie, is a passerine bird native to Australia, Timor and southern New Guinea. The male and female both have black and white plumage, though ...

s, eastern rosellas,

rainbow lorikeet The rainbow lorikeet (''Trichoglossus moluccanus'') is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Six ...

Australian white ibis The Australian white ibis (''Threskiornis molucca'') is a wading bird of the family (biology), family Threskiornithidae. It is widespread across much of Australia. It has a predominantly white plumage with a bare, black head, long downcurved b ...

and various species of duck. Ducks are present year-round at the artificial lake which provides a permanent water source.

Pacific black duck The Pacific black duck (''Anas superciliosa''), commonly known as the PBD, is a dabbling duck found in much of Indonesia, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific, reaching to the Caroline Islands in the no ...

s and

Australian wood duck The Australian wood duck, maned duck or maned goose (''Chenonetta jubata'') is a dabbling duck found throughout much of Australia. It is the only living species in the genus ''Chenonetta''. Traditionally placed in the subfamily Anatinae (dabbling ...

s are the most commonly sighted species. Marsupials such as the

brushtail possum The brushtail possums are the members of the genus ''Trichosurus'' in the Phalangeridae, a family of marsupials. They are native to Australia (including Tasmania) and some small nearby islands. Unique among marsupials, they have shifted the hyp ...

rest in tree hollows by day and emerge at night to forage and feed.