Adelaide Central Market
Encyclopedia
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and is often referred to as the Central Market. The Central Market sells a wide variety of goods, including food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
, toy
Toy
A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...
s, jewellery
Jewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
, rug
Carpet
A carpet is a textile floor covering consisting of an upper layer of "pile" attached to a backing. The pile is generally either made from wool or a manmade fibre such as polypropylene,nylon or polyester and usually consists of twisted tufts which are often heat-treated to maintain their...
s, seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
, gourmet
Gourmet
Gourmet is a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterised by elaborate preparations and presentations of large meals of small, often quite rich courses...
items, groceries and much more. It has a vibrant atmosphere and is one of Adelaide's best-known landmarks.
Establishment of the Market
The Market began in Grote Street in 1869 and was known as the City Markets, with its official opening on 22 January 1870. In 1869, land was bought in the present day location of the markets for £2600 for three town acres. However, the main markets at that time was the East End Markets that existed between Rundle StreetRundle Street, Adelaide
Rundle Street is a street in the East End of Adelaide, South Australia. It runs from Pulteney Street in the west to East Terrace, where it becomes Rundle Road. Its former western extent, which ran to King William Street, was closed in 1972 to form the pedestrian street of Rundle Mall...
and North Terrace
North Terrace, Adelaide
North Terrace is one of the four terraces that bound the central business and residential district of the city of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It runs east-west, along the northern edge of the CBD.-North Side of North Terrace:...
. This market would equal the Adelaide Central Market until 1988.
Because of the overflow of the East End Markets, some traders moved to the Central Market. The structure of the building was constructed of wood and iron sheets and completed in June 1869. At its commencement, it opened on Tuesdays and Saturdays with 50 to 100 produce carts. Shops were built along the perimeter of the markets and facing the streets. In the early 1880s, fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
supplies were scarce in Adelaide and had to be brought from Port Augusta
Port Augusta, South Australia
-Electricity generation:Electricity is generated at the Playford B and Northern power stations from brown coal mined at Leigh Creek, 250 km to the north...
and Port Pirie by rail.
Today the Central Markets are surrounded by the Central Market Arcade, Adelaide China Town, and Market Plaza. The 'centre' of the Central Markets is made up primarily of fresh produce stalls, with the perimeter and arcade shops being mainly cafés, restaurants, and variety stores.
Expansion and Redevelopment
On 8 February 1900, a foundation stone was laid. Shops were added as well as a refrigerationRefrigeration
Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
plant for fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
and fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
. Electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
was added in 1902 to replace the gas lighting
Gas lighting
Gas lighting is production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, including hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, or natural gas. Before electricity became sufficiently widespread and economical to allow for general public use, gas was the most...
. Arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
shops were added in 1915 on the eastern side. At that stage, amusements were provided such as darts
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
, billatelle shooting galleries, ball bowling, hoop-la
Hoop-La
Hoop-La is a 1933 drama film notable as both a pre-code film and as the final appearance of actress Clara Bow. It was directed by Frank Lloyd and released by Fox Film Corporation, with Preston Foster, Richard Cromwell, and Minna Gombell also in the cast...
and cheap jacks. The addition of other businesses, such as the Hampshire Hotel in 1911, the Moore's Department stores in 1914 and Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
also attracted customers. The Market opened for trading on Tuesday, commencing April 1920.
In December 1922, the fish quarters of the Market was demolished and further arcades of 32 shops were added. On 27 December 1925, the North Eastern quarters of the Market were partly damaged through fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
. In 1929, butchers' licences for the Market were not renewed because of sanitary concerns.
Redevelopment of the Market commenced on 18 January 1965 with the demolition of the east end facade of market in Grote Street and addition of a car park. The new market was opened on 17 June 1966. Prior to August 1965, the Market was known as the "City Market", and after that, it was known as the "Central Market" being officially opened on 16 August 1965 with this official name.
Addition of a Supermarket and Fire
Coles SupermarketsColes Supermarkets
Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741...
joined the Central Market in June 1967. Further undercover car parking was developed as well as the addition of a shopping complex. On 22 June 1977, the Market's southern stall area was badly damaged in a fire. Major restoration was undertaken to repair the damage caused by the fire. There was also at this time, competition from local suburban shopping centres.
In 1999, the market had 90 stalls and a total lettable area of 3,349 square metres. Some 1000 car park spaces exist above the Market itself. The Market Arcade, which is surrounded by the Market, also holds 250 traders.