The Jubilee 150 Walkway, also variously known as the Jubilee 150 Commemorative Walk, the Jubilee 150 Walk, Jubilee 150 Plaques, the Jubilee Walk, or simply J150, is a series of (initially) 150 bronze plaques set into the pavement of
North Terrace, Adelaide,
South Australia from
King William Street to
Pulteney Street.
History
Jubilee 150 Walkway (also known as the Jubilee 150 Commemorative Walk, Jubilee 150 Walk, Jubilee 150 Plaques, the Jubilee Walk, or simply J150, was officially opened on 21 December 1986. It was commissioned as part of the celebrations commemorating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the
British Province of South Australia on 28 December 1836.[1][2]
Overview
The plaques, which are placed between [1] contain the names and deeds of (initially) 170[further explanation needed] people who made major contributions to the founding and development of the
former colony and later state of South Australia.[3] Since 1986, the Adelaide City Council has added four plaques.[4]
Most plaques are arranged in alphabetic order,[5] and stretch from King William Road to Pulteney Street along the north side of North Terrace. The walkway starts at the
South African War Memorial, and passes in front of
Government House, the
National War Memorial, the
State Library, the
Museum, the
Art Gallery and the
University of Adelaide. This portion of North Terrace also contains more than a dozen statues, busts and other memorial plaques, plus numerous public seating benches, some drinking fountains and some water features in front of the Museum and Art Gallery.[citation needed]
In 2011 the
Adelaide City Council reorganised the area in front of Government House (between King William Road and the National War Memorial). The plaques and the major statues were not moved, but the avenue of gas lamps was removed, the various busts were moved from King William Road to an area between the statues of Venere Di Canova and
Matthew Flinders, and a bust of Sir
Lawrence Bragg was added to the group.[citation needed]
King William Street
The walkway starts near the corner of North Terrace and King William Street, in front of the front gates and gatehouse of Government House. The very corner is occupied by the
South African War Memorial. Also on that corner, starting from the gatehouse and walking SE, were (prior to 2011) the busts of Sir Thomas John
Mellis Napier,[6]Mary Lee and Sir
Mark Oliphant,[7] all of whom have plaques on the walkway. These busts have been moved further east to the vicinity of the bust of Lord Florey, between the plaques for Kate Cocks and Sir Walter Crocker, and been replaced by the first six plaques of the walkway and seating.
Statue of Venus (Venere di Canova) donated by
W. A. Horn in 1892. Somewhat controversial at the time of its unveiling in 1892, this piece was the first of Adelaide's street statues.[10] It is a copy in
Carrara marble of the statue of Venus by
Antonio Canova –
the original is at the
Pitti Palace in
Florence. (
Photo of the original.) – Pedestal of Sicilian and
Kapunda marble. Executed by Fraser & Draysey. Presented by Mr W. A. Horn. Unveiled 3 September 1892, by His Worship the Mayor (F.W. Bullock, Esq.).[11]
Prior to 2011, the bust of Lord Florey stood alone in this portion of the Price Henry Gardens. The bust was completed by
John Dowie in 1969,[10] and unveiled by the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor (Robert E Porter, Esq.) on 25 June 1969.[12]
After the 2011 reorganisation of the area, the bust of Florey was joined by the busts of Oliphant, Lee and Napier relocated from King William Street, and new busts (of Sir
Lawrence Bragg and later Sir
William Henry Bragg) were added to the group.
The three busts in their pre-2011 locations:
Sir Thomas John
Mellis Napier by
John Dowie, 1970.[8] Unveiled by His Excellency the Governor-General of Australia, The Right Honourable Sir Paul Hasluck, C.M.G., G.C.V.O., K.St.J, 2 July 1970.[6]
Captain
Matthew Flinders by
F. Brook Hitch, A.R.B.S.[16] Pedestal of Murray Bridge red granite from Kirchel's quarry at Swanport. Paving of Tea Tree Gully freestone. Architect, A.E. Simpson, I.S.O., F.R.A.I.A. (Architect-in-Chief of subscription.) Unveiled 12 April 1934.[17]
National War Memorial – Great War – 1914–1918 by Woods, Bagot, Jory & Laybourne Smith; and
Rayner Hoff, 1931.[16]
Spirit of Duty
Spirit of Compassion
Although the National War Memorial was initially proposed as a memorial to those who served in "The Great War", the site has since grown to incorporate a number of smaller memorials. These include a memorial to the
Battle of Lone Pine; the "French Memorial", which commemorates those who fought and died in France during the first and second World Wars; an honour roll of those who died in
World War II; and the "Australian Armed Forces Memorial", encompassing the
Malayan Emergency of 1948–1960, the
Korean War, the
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation in Borneo, and the
Vietnam War. In addition, the wall which surrounds the northern and western sides of the site features the six "Crosses of Memory" – a series of "simple wooden crosses" commemorating the
Siege of Tobruk from 1941 and the 10th, 27th, 48th and 50th battalions of 1916.
The statue of Robert Burns bears the honour of being the first statue carved in Adelaide. It was presented by the Caledonian Society, and unveiled on 5 May 1894 by the Chief of the Caledonian Society (Hon. J. Darling, M.L.C.).[28]
"South Australian biographies, 1980", Blue Book of South Australia : Biographies Australia, 1980.
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"Biographical index of South Australians 1836–1885", editor: Jill Statton, South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society, 1986.
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Stewart Cockburn, "Notable lives : profiles of 21 South Australians", Ferguson Publications, 1997.
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Stewart Cockburn, "The patriarchs", Ferguson Publications, 1983.
nla Back cover sub-title: The lives and philosophies of 30 distinguished South Australians.
"Late picking : vintage Jubilee 150", edited by Stella Guthrie, South Australian Council on the Ageing, 1986.
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