Wikipedia

Hindley Street

For the song by Powderfinger, seeHindley Street (song).

Hindley Streetis located in the north-west quarter of thecentreofAdelaide,the capital ofSouth Australia.It runs betweenKing William StreetandWest Terrace.The street was named afterCharles Hindley,aBritish parliamentarianandsocial reformist.

Hindley Street

South Australia
Hindley Street, facing west
Map
Hindley Street is located in City of Adelaide
West end
West end
East end
East end
Coordinates
General information
TypeStreet
LocationAdelaide city centre
Length1.1 km (0.7 mi)[1]
Opened1837
Major junctions
West endWest Terrace
Adelaide
Morphett Street
East endKing William Street
Adelaide
Location(s)
LGA(s)City of Adelaide

The street was one of the first built in Adelaide and is of historical significance for a number of reasons. As well as housing the first meeting ofAdelaide City Council,the oldest municipal body in Australia, in November 1840, Hindley Street was home to the first stone church in South Australia; it was also the location of the firstmovieshown in the colony and the firstcinemain the state. TheWest End Breweryoperated in the street between 1859 and 1980.

The street later became known for its atmosphere and activenightlife,including a somewhat seedy reputation, until in the 21st century it reinvented itself as a more upmarket precinct, dubbed theWest End.

History

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Conrad's butcher, NE corner of Hindley and Victoria Streets, 1899 (replaced by the Metro Theatre in 1939)[2]
See also:History of Adelaide
Hindley Street, 1849, from the corner of King William St[3]
Hindley Street circa 1869

19th century

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Hindley Street is one of Adelaide's most prominent streets, with an extensive and illustrious history. The street itself was named in honour of British politicianCharles Hindley.[4]The doings of the population of Adelaide were directly connected to the street, and when the city was first developed after thecolonisation of South Australiain 1836, permission was given to cut down trees in favour of constructing buildings and paving streets–the west end of Hindley Street being one of the first locations to receive such development.[5]

The first newspaper in South Australia was printed in premises on Hindley Street, in June 1837.[6]

For many years, the street was the centre of trade and finance for Adelaide, and it was expected to hold that position as time passed. This was because Adelaide was a very young city at the time, with the majority of settlers coming from the west with the water sourced from theRiver Torrens.Immigrants who landed atPort Adelaidewould travel to a ford nearHindmarsh,then to the place whereMorphett Streetends and Hindley Street begins. Immigration Square was situated westward of the parklands, with most of Adelaide's business and trade being conducted westwards. The "trade" itself was dubious and the subject of much controversy at the time, with many residents outraged at the young girls who would travel down the street drunk due to alcohol trade.[5]

The first meeting ofAdelaide City Councilthe oldest municipal body in Australia,[7]was held in Hindley Street on 4 November 1840.[8]

The first stone church in South Australia was built in Hindley Street.[7]

On 21 April 1856, thePort Adelaide Railwaywas officially opened and thus took most of the traffic away from Hindley Street. This shaped Adelaide's changing geography, leading to the formation of what it is today–the suburbs away to thefoothills in the eastwere developed, which meant the trade went east. A reporter on the street in 1913: "The place was a veritable cradle for big concerns. First Ware's Exchange Hotel – a little down fromKing William Street.It is a history in itself, with its sketches and lingering memories of the pioneering days. To walk through its big low-ceilinged rooms is to think at once of the drovers and farmers who once made merry there. To see the photographs – quaint and laughable – of old George Coppin, the first lessee... when it was built in 1839 is to recall a good comedian of the early years ".[5]

On 20 September 1855, an episode of violence erupted on Hindley Street. It was during theLegislative Council election,which saw a mob attempting to interfere with the voting at West Adelaide. Later that same day a much larger riot developed in the same place, after the election was closed. At that time thecolony of South Australiawas ruled by a governor appointed by the British Government, and the elections were a move towards self-government for the colony.[9]

Looking towards North Terrace along Bank Street from Hindley Street, 1937

A newbrewerywas built onTown Acre66 on the south side of Hindley Street, midway betweenMorphett StreetandWest Terrace,in 1859, known as theWest End Brewery.[10][11]The highly successful brewery was taken over by theSouth Australian Brewing, Malting, Wine and Spirit Company,an amalgamation of three brewers, in 1888.[12]

In August 1863, Leopold Conrad opened his butcher's shop at 88-90 Hindley Street, on the corner of Victoria Street, where it operated for decades.[13]By 1899, the building had been enlarged, with a second storey and ornamentallaceworkon the upstairs verandah,[2]which included acoat of arms.[13]Conrad died in December 1918,[14]and the business was taken over byW. H. Bruce,[15]and expanded toRundle Street,East End Market,andPort Adelaide.[14][a]

Hindley Street was also home to one of Adelaide's most beloved theatres, theTheatre Royal,designed byMelbournearchitectGeorge R. Johnsonand opened in 1878 (to replace a previous theatre of the same name built on the site in 1868).[16]On 19 October 1896 the first public moving picture demonstration in South Australia was hosted byWybert Reeveat the Theatre Royal. (By the following evening thecinématographe Lumièrehad been moved to a more suitable venue at theBeehive Corner).[17]The building was demolished in 1962 and a carpark built on the site byMiller Anderson & Co.,an Adelaide department store.[16]

The Grand Coffee Palace was built in 1891. Rebuilt in 1907, it later became the Plaza Hotel.[18][19]"Coffee palaces"were a type of residential hotel, that provided family-style meals as well as accommodation, but withoutliquor licences.[20]

20th century

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West's Coffee Palace, 110 Hindley Street

In 1903, the Austral Stores, a complex of 12 shops, large warehouse and residential accommodation, was built to the designs of noted local architectAlbert Selmar Conradat 104–120 Hindley Street. It was listed on theSouth Australian Heritage Registerin 1983 as "an excellent example ofEdwardian free style".Itsfacadeis "one of the best examples of the architecture of the Federation period in Adelaide and in South Australia". In 1908 alterations were made, including the addition of a large dining room, and became Grant's Coffee Palace, later West's Coffee Palace.[20]The building remains to this day.[21]

In December 1908,[22]West's Olympia[23]the first permanentpicture theatrein Adelaide, was established at 91 Hindley Street,[24]in a building converted from aroller-skating rink[25][26](originally built as acyclorama,then used as anice rinkknown as theAdelaide Glaciarium). The new cinema, built in the era ofsilent films,hadraked seatingwith a capacity of 3,000 patrons. It was demolished in 1938, with the new West's Theatre opening in 1939, in a newArt Decodesign.[27]This cinema operated until 1977, after which various businesses used the premises, until theAdelaide Symphony Orchestramoved in in 2001,[24]creating the Grainger Studio[23](named afterPercy Grainger).[27]

Civic Theatre(formerly the Wondergraph) in 1956

As the 1910s approached, Hindley Street entered a state of despair. Adelaide's daily newspaper,The Advertiser,began reporting on public intoxication in the street as early as 1911.[28]It would later become known for its state of debauchery well into the 21st century. Theatres, butchers and other business still thrived, despite the shifting of business away from Hindley Street.

By 1912, there were several cinemas in the city, largely clustered around Hindley Street.[27]The newWondergraph picture theatrewas built by theGreater Wondergraph Company[29]from July 1912[30]at no. 27.[31]Designed byGarlick & Jackmanarchitects, the design of the building was being lauded well before construction,[32]and on the invitation-only event on the night before its official opening night on Friday 5 September 1913, "every seat was occupied by the audience, which went into raptures over the fine appointments of the theatre and the pictures which were shown". The main feature wasThe Crossing Policeman.[b][34]The theatre was later extensively remodelled as the Civic Theatre in 1932,[31]sold toS.A. Theatresin 1939,[35][36]who sold it in August toGreater Union,who were leasing the theatre at the time.[37][38]The theatre was demolished to make way for the State Theatre[39][40]in 1957,[41]which closed in May 1977.[31]

The art-deco Metro Cinema on Hindley Street, c. 1940.

TheMetro Theatrewas one of Adelaide's earliest cinemas, and a noted example ofArt Deco architecture,was designed by American theatre architectThomas W. Lambin association with local architectF. Kenneth Milne.[42]Built on the site of Conrad's butcher shop on the northeast corner of Victoria Street,[2]it opened on 6 October 1939, a luxurious building which included air-conditioning, and accommodated an audience of 1,286 in stalls,dress circle,and lounge. It existed on the corner of Hindley and Victoria Street for many years until it was closed in 1972, then subsequently redeveloped in 1975 as a modern four-screenGreater Unioncinema complex, called Hindley Cinemas 1–4.[42]It was here that the filmPicnic at Hanging Rock(1975) had its world premiere.[citation needed]This cinema would not endure either; it was closed in 1991 and demolished in 2005, with an apartment building built on the site.[42]As of 2022aKFCoutlet occupies the ground floor, with student accommodation above it.[43]

In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Hindley Street became known for its diversity: coffee lounges, restaurants, pubs, ice and roller skating rinks, a late-night chemist, theatres, cinemas, "alternative" bookshops and retail outlets were available along the strip. It was by this time Adelaide's unofficial "nightlife" street,[28][44]and had also acquired a somewhat seedy reputation.[45]

In 1982, West End Brewery moved toThebartonand the building was demolished.[46]

In the 1990s, it gained a reputation for being Adelaide'sred light district.[28]

21st century

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In the early 2000s, the street experienced somewhat of a decline, with several shops closing and left vacant or boarded up, and a consequent lack of daytime foot traffic. Late-night alcohol-fuelled violence and drunken behaviour along the street drove theAdelaide City Councilto introduce a 3am lockout, in which all business (predominantly nightclubs) must refuse entry after 3am.[28]

Location and description

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Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of thecentreofAdelaide.It runs betweenKing William StreetandWest Terrace.[47]

Twopedestrianisedstreets which run between Hindley and Currie Streets are notable for their historical value, restaurants, bars, and specialist shops: Leigh Street[48][49][50][51]and Peel Street.[52][53]

In the 21st century, Hindley Street has been given new life by urban renewal andUniSA's City West campus and a number of businesses, creating the city'sWest End precinct.[54]

Notable premises

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Imprints Booksellers

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Interior of Imprints Booksellers (2013)

The literary book retailer Imprints Booksellers[55]was founded in 1984 at no. 80 by Graham Miller, father ofGreg Mackie,with his wife Gayle Miller and her friend Patricia Sykes. Mackie first worked at the store on weekends when he was still a university student, but six months later bought into the business.[56]From 1984 until 2003 Mackie was director and co-proprietor (with Gayle Miller[56]), of Imprints.[57]It moved to its current (as of March 2024[58]) location no. 107 Hindley Street in 1999, around the time that many arts organisations were moving into the vicinity, includingAdelaide Festivaloffices above the shop.[56]

In 2007, Mackie and Miller sold the shop to Jason Lake and Katherine Woehlert, who had been working there for some time. At the time, theRudd governmentwas offering stimulus packages; however, theglobal financial crisisoccurred the following year, causing losses. Later, online bookselling andAmazonoffered serious competition, along with booksuperstoressuch asBordersinRundle Mall(which closed in mid-2011).[56]

Imprints ran theAdelaide Writers' Weekbook tent for ten years from 2011, under the direction of Laura Kroetsch and thenJo Dyer.[56]

In 2015, the store was raided bySouth Australia Police,after a complaint had been lodged that they had been selling unwrapped copies of the new edition of the cult novelAmerican Psycho,[59]byBret Easton Ellis.The novel, first published in 1991, had been classified asR18+under national censorship legislation since its release, which meant that it was only allowed to be sold in plastic to persons over 18.[60]

Restrictions on people's movementsduring the COVID-19 pandemiccaused business in Adelaide's CBD to decline from mid-2020. In December 2021, Woehlert was diagnosed withbreast cancer,just as they were preparing for the 2022 Writers Week. They managed that one, but found that they were running out of energy to run the shop, and put it on the market in February 2024. The bookstore had acquired a reputation for its expertise in recommending books to customers, of whom they have a faithful following, including writer Walter Marsh, who published a book about media mogulRupert Murdoch's youth calledYoung Rupert.[56]

Other businesses and institutions

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Hindley Street Music Hall, a large live music venue, opened in August 2022,[61]after the site of the HQ nightclub complex was bought byLive Nation Australiaand a purpose-built split-level live music space created.[62]

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"Hindley Street",a song by Australian bandPowderfingeron its albumInternationalist,was written about the street.[63][64]

Hindley Street is mentioned in the song "Carrington Cabaret" byRedgumon their 1978 albumIf You Don't Fight You Lose.[65]

The street features in the 2023 filmEmotion Is Dead,written and directed byPete Williams.[66]

The Australian cover band, theHindley Street Country Clubis named after the live music scene of the 1970's, 80s and 90s.[67]

Architecture

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  • Theatre Royal c. 1881
  • Returning soldiers march past Theatre Royal
  • The Mayfair Hotel, no. 158 (formerly Colonial Mutual Life)
  • High-rise and The Little Pub
  • Roy Renestatue

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toHindley Street, Adelaide.

Australian Roads portal

Footnotes

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  1. ^Sign reads "L. Conrad, Wholesale & Retail Butcher". From theState Library of South Australia:"Born 4 October 1839 in Hanover, Germany, Leopold arrived in South Australia in February 1858... He died at hisEast Terraceresidence, Helstonleigh, on 17 December 1918. "[14]
  2. ^Article says it was calledCrossing a Policeman,but it is evidently this one.[33]

References

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  1. ^"Hindley Street"(Map).Google Maps.Retrieved1 June2022.
  2. ^abc"Butcher shop, north east corner of Hindley Street and Victoria Street, 1899".State Library of South Australia.January 1899.Retrieved24 December2022– via Flickr.
  3. ^"Adelaide – Hindley St., From the Corner of King William St".Wesleyan Juvenile Offering.VI.London: Wesleyan Mission-House. 1849.Retrieved9 November2015.
  4. ^Templeton, Anthony (11 April 2015). "Hindley Street: Is the party over after 178 years?".Adelaide Now.
  5. ^abc"Adelaide Streets".State Library of South Australia.Retrieved5 October2015.
  6. ^"History of Adelaide through street names".Holdfast Database.Archived fromthe originalon 9 February 2007.
  7. ^abJohn Blacket (1907).The Early History of South Australia: A Romantic Experiment in Colonization, 1836–1857.Methodist Book Depot.
  8. ^"History".Adelaide Council.Archived fromthe originalon 28 February 2011.
  9. ^"Hindley Street riot".SA History Hub.Retrieved24 December2022.
  10. ^"South Australian Manufactures: Simms's Brewery".South Australian Register.Vol. XXV, no. 4466. South Australia. 7 February 1861. p. 3.Retrieved23 May2017– via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^"The Imperial Brewery".South Australian Register.Vol. XL, no. 8818. South Australia. 18 February 1875. p. 5.Retrieved23 May2017– via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^Richardson, Tom (13 October 2020)."End of the West End: tears flow for historic brewery as Lion quits SA".InDaily.Retrieved6 October2021.
  13. ^ab"Butcher shop, north east corner of Hindley Street and Victoria Street, 1865".State Library of South Australia.January 1865.Retrieved24 December2022– via Flickr.
  14. ^abc"Premises of L. Conrad, Butcher, 79 Hindley Street".State Library of South Australia.Retrieved23 December2022.
  15. ^"W.H. Bruce stand at show [PRG 280/1/45/79]"(photo).State Library of South Australia.Retrieved24 December2022.W. H. Bruce Ltd (Successors to Conrad's)
  16. ^ab"Theatre Royal".Adelaide City Heritage.National Trust of South Australia.5 November 2016. Archived fromthe originalon 17 December 2022.Retrieved17 December2022.
  17. ^Dylan Walker (1995).Adelaide's Silent Nights.National Film & Sound Archive.ISBN0-642-25238-6.
  18. ^"An Important Judgement. The Cyclorama Case".The Advertiser.23 November 1906.Retrieved19 March2015.
  19. ^"Temperance".Adelaidia.Retrieved8 January2019.
  20. ^ab"Former West's Coffee Palace – 104–120 Hindley Street ADELAIDE".Experience Adelaide.16 September 2019.Retrieved17 December2022.
  21. ^"Coffee Palaces in Adelaide".WeekendNotes.21 October 2012.Retrieved17 December2022.
  22. ^"West's Pictures at Olympia".The Register (Adelaide).Vol. LXXIII, no. 19, 362. South Australia. 2 December 1908. p. 9.Retrieved17 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  23. ^ab"Hindley Street, Adelaide [B 4785]"(photo + text).State Library of South Australia.13 July 1928.Retrieved17 December2022.
  24. ^abStephenson, Sally (10 August 2018)."Going to the pictures".Listening to the Past.Retrieved17 December2022.
  25. ^"Olympia Roller Rink".The Critic.South Australia. 15 April 1908. p. 12.Retrieved17 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  26. ^"The stage".Gadfly.Vol. III, no. 147. South Australia. 2 December 1908. p. 8.Retrieved17 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  27. ^abc"Former cyclorama/ice rink as Adelaide's first fixed picture theatre, West's Olympia, in Hindley Street, 1908".AdelaideAZ.Retrieved17 December2022.
  28. ^abcd"Hindley Street: it wasn't always this way".indaily.au.9 October 2013.Retrieved5 October2015.
  29. ^"The Greater Wondergraph Company".The Express and Telegraph.Vol. XLIX, no. 14, 552. South Australia. 29 February 1912. p. 1 (5 o'clock.).Retrieved20 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  30. ^"Wondergraph Picture Hall".The Mail (Adelaide).No. 12. 20 July 1912. p. 1.Retrieved20 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  31. ^abcRoe, Ken."State Theatre in Adelaide, AU".Cinema Treasures.Retrieved22 December2022.
  32. ^"A big Adelaide enterprise".The Mail (Adelaide).No. 2. South Australia. 11 May 1912. p. 1.Retrieved20 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  33. ^The Crossing PolicemanatIMDb
  34. ^"The New Wondergraph".Daily Herald (Adelaide).Vol. 4, no. 1080. South Australia. 6 September 1913. p. 3.Retrieved20 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  35. ^"Greater Wondergraph Coy. Ltd".The Advertiser (Adelaide).South Australia. 8 September 1939. p. 22.Retrieved25 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  36. ^"Greater Wondergraph Coy".The Advertiser (Adelaide).South Australia. 25 September 1939. p. 12.Retrieved25 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  37. ^"S. A. Theatre deal".The Age.No. 28801. Victoria, Australia. 16 August 1947. p. 4.Retrieved24 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  38. ^"Civic Theatre sold to Greater Union".The Advertiser (Adelaide).Vol. 90, no. 27725. South Australia. 16 August 1947. p. 9.Retrieved24 December2022– via National Library of Australia.
  39. ^"Hindley Street, Adelaide [B 4475] • Photograph"(photo + text).State Library of South Australia.Retrieved20 December2022.
  40. ^"Hindley Street, Adelaide [B 13652] • Photograph"(photo + text).State Library of South Australia.Retrieved20 December2022.
  41. ^"Hindley Street, Adelaide [B 13984] • Photograph"(photo + text).State Library of South Australia.Retrieved20 December2022.
  42. ^abc"Hindley Cinemas 1–4 in Adelaide, AU".Cinema Treasures.3 August 2007.Retrieved17 December2022.
  43. ^"87 Hindley Street, streetview".Google Maps.Retrieved24 December2022.
  44. ^Hindley street informationArchived17 September 2008 at theWayback Machine,pleasetakemeto
  45. ^Fanning, Graeme (6 July 2020)."9 interesting spots along Hindley Street Adelaide".WeekendNotes.Retrieved6 October2021.
  46. ^Alison Painter."South Australian Brewing Co. Ltd".SA History Hub.History Trust of South Australia.Retrieved6 October2021.
  47. ^2003 Adelaide Street Directory, 41st Edition.UBD (A Division of Universal Press Pty Ltd). 2003.ISBN0-7319-1441-4.
  48. ^"Take a Stroll Down Leigh Street".WeekendNotes.26 March 2012.Retrieved22 December2022.
  49. ^"Leigh Street – Adelaide, Attraction".South Australia.28 March 2022.Retrieved22 December2022.
  50. ^denisbin (6 April 2012)."1854 Bible Christian Methodist Church Clarendon, Adelaide Hills South Australia".Flickr.Retrieved25 July2019.
  51. ^Mack, Melissa (25 September 2013)."Leigh Street to stay closed".InDaily.Retrieved25 July2019.
  52. ^"Peel Street – Adelaide, Attraction".South Australia.10 March 2022.Retrieved22 December2022.
  53. ^Honan, Georgia (28 January 2022)."Your guide to Adelaide's Peel Street".Glam Adelaide.Retrieved22 December2022.
  54. ^"Home".Adelaide West End Association.11 March 2021.Retrieved6 October2021.
  55. ^"A literary haven in Adelaide's west end".Imprints Booksellers.27 March 2024.Retrieved27 March2024.
  56. ^abcdefCase, Jo (15 March 2024)."It's the end of an era for Imprints – and hopefully the start of a new chapter".InReview.Retrieved27 March2024.
  57. ^"Strategic Leadership Group: Greg Mackie OAM Chief Executive Officer".History Trust of South Australia.11 January 2023.Retrieved27 March2024.
  58. ^"Contact".Imprints Booksellers.27 March 2024.Retrieved27 March2024.
  59. ^"Bookstore raided by police for selling novel American Psycho".The Sydney Morning Herald.17 July 2015.Retrieved27 March2024.
  60. ^Sutton, Malcolm (17 July 2015)."Police ask for new edition of American Psycho to be kept from Adelaide bookshelves".ABC News.Retrieved27 March2024.
  61. ^Brandle, Lars (18 July 2022)."Anita's Theatre Becomes Live Nation's First Regional Venue: Exclusive".The Music Network.Retrieved19 February2024.
  62. ^"About".Hindley Street Music Hall.10 August 2022.Retrieved19 February2024.
  63. ^"Internationalist – 1998".Powderfinger.2 November 2016.Retrieved23 December2022.
  64. ^"Powderfinger – Internationalist (album review )".Sputnikmusic.6 November 2011.Retrieved23 December2022.
  65. ^"Carrington Cabaret".Red Raggin' – The Redgum Lyrics Archive.Retrieved23 December2022.
  66. ^Williams, Pete (1 July 2024)."Emotion is Dead May Be the Most South Australian Movie Ever Made".Broadsheet(Interview). Interviewed by Watts, Tim.Retrieved24 July2024.
  67. ^"Hindley Street Country Club notches more than 1 million video views".Sunday Mail (SA).13 April 2019.

34°55′24″S138°35′39″E/ 34.9233°S 138.5941°E/-34.9233; 138.5941

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