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Photo from the City of Playford. The Octagon was designed to cater for any type of entertainment from stage shows, balls and cabarets to indoor sports.

Great Pop Groups, Blue Light Discos and More!

One of the most popular posts featured on the Adelaide Remember When Facebook page early last year concerned the Octagon and Shedley Theatres at Elizabeth. It attracted thousands of views and likes and almost 500 comments, as people recalled their past experiences and reminisced about the early days of Elizabeth and the good times had […]

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Photo from the Holdfast Bay History Centre. Magic  Mountain was likened to a 'giant dog dropping'.

Magic Mountain, Memories From the 80s and 90s.

Remember Magic Mountain the theme park at Glenelg that opened in 1982? Strangely, it was never a major tourist attraction to the area but was very popular with locals who loved the rides, especially the giant water slides, said to be the largest in the southern hemisphere at the time. One of the main criticisms was […]

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Photo of the Largs Pier in 1982, taken by Ken Charlton from the Department of the Environment

The Pub That Rocked. The Largs Pier

It was in the ’70s and ’80s when the Largs Pier Hotel began to establish its reputation as an important meeting place for some of the truly great Aussie bands of the day, such as Jimmy Barnes and Cold Chisel, AC/DC, The Angels and Lobby Lloyd and the Coloured Balls. All played there in the […]

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Photo supplied by Andrew Heslop. The old Red Hen at Semaphore

Recollections of Semaphore and the Train

When Andrew Heslop: Social Entrepreneur, Commentator & Community Advocate shared a photo and some recollections of growing up in Semaphore in the 70s on the ARW Facebook website late last year, it brought back some wonderful memories for many people. Andrew wrote; “My grandparents lived at Semaphore and I mostly grew up with them, listening […]

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Photo by Frank Hall. The City Baths just before the building was demolished in 1969

Adelaide City Baths 1861-1969

Adelaide’s City Baths stood on the western side of King William Street behind Parliament House, from 1861 until 1969 when the Adelaide Swimming Centre (now Adelaide Aquatic Centre) was opened in the northern Parklands. The City Baths were then demolished to make way for the Festival Plaza, part of the Festival Centre complex. My memory […]

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Kenny Peplow shared this photo; "Dad's FJ taxi on Henley Beach Road at Torrensville, around 1958-1959." The taxi was parked outside the local deli at the time.

Where Was Your Corner Deli?

If you’re a baby boomer who grew up in Adelaide,  just the mere mention of the words ‘corner deli’ will instantly bring back a flood of wonderful memories! There was a corner deli on almost every second corner in every suburb and they stocked everything from milk and bread to shoe polish and sewing needles. […]

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The Regent Theatre in the 1940s. In 1968 it became part of an arcade complex. The theatre closed in 2004. Photo: MRC Productions.

Memories of the Regent Theatre in Rundle Street

When the Regent Theatre first opened in Rundle Street on June 29th 1928 it was described by The Advertiser writer of the day as a “Palace of Art”. It contained tapestries, paintings and other art works which made “going to the pictures as much a cultural uplifting experience as it was entertainment”. Indeed it was a […]

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Girls cooling off with a swim at the Gilberton Brigde in 1967

When We Swam in the Torrens

It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when the River Torrens was a great place for a cool swim, for fishing and lots of fun. Keith Hasler of Modbury North wrote to me recently with boyhood memories of when he lived at Gilberton as a young lad from 1950 to 1970. Here’s […]

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Photo from the Migration Museum SA. The Glenelg Migrant Hostel where John D'Arcy first arrived in Adelaide

Remember the Migrant Hostels of Adelaide?

Recently on Adelaide Remember When Facebook website, famous Adelaide singer and songwriter Beeb Birtles (Zoot and LRB) posted a photo and shared some of his early memories of time spent with his high school friend and fellow band member of Zoot, John D’arcy at the Glenelg Migrant Hostel. Thousands of newly arrived migrants passed through […]

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Photo shared by Steve Arnd from ARW Facebook. The old car park at the Glenelg beach, many a lost Saturday  night spent parking there.

Glenelg. The Beach From Our Youth

On a stinking hot summer’s day in Adelaide, before we were all air conditioned, there was one escape from the heat, the beach. We are blessed with many fine beaches along the coastline, but most people would head for ‘the bay’. A nice easy drive along Anzac Highway, and as you neared the end of […]

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