The creek is not a natural watercourse but an artificial drainage channel that was built in 1917 to channel water away from the Greenhill Road - Fullarton Road intersection, and through the South Park Lands. Over the following century, the…

The native grasses here have survived in this small patch, despite more than 180 years of European settlement. They include species such as Spear grass, Early Nancy, Tiny Star, and Garland Lily. This is one of the very last places on the…

Dog off-leash area The central area of Victoria Park / Pakapakanthi is also a popular off-leash dog walking area. But canine association with Victoria Park has not always been so genteel. Back in the 1800's “coursing” matches were held…

This tree is native to a small island off the horn of Africa in the Arabian sea - the island of Socotra, where the species is endangered. The island is part of the war-torn country of Yemen which is hundreds of kilometres away to the north, …

This place is known locally as the Britannia roundabouts – the name coming from the hotel that overlooks the busy intersection. There are few roundabouts within the City of Adelaide. Most major intersections have traffic lights instead. But here,…

From left to right (looking from inside the park), they are the the former offices of the Adelaide Racing Club (built 1954) the turnstile building (built 1926) and the Grandstand Entrance Gates (built 1954). The turnstile building, erected in…

It is constructed of bluestone with red-brick dressings, timber-framed openings (including some stained-glass windows), corrugated-galvanised-iron roof, and timber and cast-iron detailing in typical Victorian era style. This building was State…

The white concrete planter bowl you can see here was previously the centrepiece of a rectangular garden, which was itself at the centre of the former stables area. If you look around you at the arrangement of ash, cedar, elm, plane, and Norfolk…

Motor racing came to Victoria Park in 1985 and annual events were held in most years up until 2019. Despite the popularity of motor sport at Victoria Park, there were also many people who questioned the disruption and alienation caused by these…

By the 1860s, due to the effects of grazing and clearing for firewood, most of the Park Lands had become bare dust-bowls in summer and quagmires in winter. Concern over the aesthetic degradation led to an increased public demand during the…

This waterway doesn't flow all year, but after rain it channels water through the eastern Park Lands and eventually drains into the Botanic Gardens lake about a kilometre north. It is unclear from City Council records exactly when the…

The sweat course includes opportunities for running, step-ups, bar dips (for triceps) a sit-up station, pull-ups (i.e. chin-ups) for biceps, log-lifts, and hurdles. There are also other, more recently installed exercise stations which create a…

Other parts of Victoria Park are well used for a wide variety of intensive sports and recreation - from running and cycling, to equestrian activities. However not all of the sporting activities here require physical strength or fitness. This…

This so-called "green corridor" for commuters extends from Halifax Street right across the Park to Fullarton Road. It provides pedestrians and cyclists with an attractive passage between the city and the eastern suburbs. While this…

Day-night cricket is very popular with the Big Bash League and one-day internationals played under lights. But most people don’t realise that an earlier form of night cricket was invented here in Adelaide and played by hundreds of people on…

To the Adelaide people of the late Victorian era, one of the few aboriginal people who was well-known was a so-called ‘fringe-dweller’, Tommy Walker. He frequented and camped in the Eastern Park Lands in the second half of the 19th century.…

The first decade of the 20th century was an economic boom time for South Australia, and the State was relatively wealthy. Beginning in 1905, the City Council approved a series of recommendations from Mr Pelzer to improve this Park as well as…

The first sporting oval was set up by City Gardener August Pelzer in 1906. The other two closer to Dequetteville Terrace came much later, after the 1930's. The sporting fields are used for cricket, football and athletics. They're…