5 days in Adelaide, Australia- 5/17- 5/21/2024

Day 5-Adelaide University-5/21/2024

After the Botanic garden we walked around the North Terrace which is the street running along the northern edge of Adelaide Botanic Garden.

Along the way, we stopped by the front of Grand Lodge of Freemasons, which is often referred to as Freemasons Hall on North Terrace in Adelaide. Freemasonry began in medieval Europe, around the 14th–15th centuries, among the guilds of stonemasons who built cathedrals and castles. These masons were skilled craftsmen who passed down their knowledge through apprenticeships and secret symbols, like the square and compass, which identified them and marked their level of mastery. It was designed in 1925 and opened in 1927 as a monument to fraternity, learning, and service.

Freemasons use rituals and ceremonies drawn from ancient building traditions to mark moral lessons and progression in knowledge.
Members advance through degrees,  entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason,  each representing deeper moral insight.  Their motto “Audi, Vide, Tace” which translate to hear, see, be silent, reflects the virtue of discretion and contemplation

Further down is the Scots Church Adelaide with the distinctive Gothic-style stone church with the tall pointed spire. The church was completed in 1850, making it one of the oldest surviving churches on North Terrace. It was originally called Chalmers Church, named after Dr. Thomas Chalmers, a leader of the Free Church of Scotland. The name was changed to Scots Church after the union of several Presbyterian congregations in 1929. The tall stone spire, built in 1858, is one of the most recognizable features on North Terrace.

An interesting building on North Terrace.

We are now at the campus of University of Adelaide and the seven towering poles in front of are called the Wangu Poles. They are one of the University's most important pieces of contemporary public art and cultural recognition. The artwork was designed by Kaurna and Ngarrindjeri artist Paul Herzich.

Wangu means seven in the Kaurna language, the Traditional Owners of the Adelaide Plains.

The poles are the centerpiece of the Kaurna Learning Circle, a newly redeveloped area that serves as a meeting place for ceremony, cultural exchange, and learning.

The poles are equipped with integrated lighting which shines from within. This lighting is key to their nighttime effect. The poles are laser-cut with thousands of hand-drawn circles. When the internal lights switch on at night, the light streams out through all of these tiny holes. This makes the poles glow from within and appear covered in brilliant pinpricks of light, evoking a starry night sky.

This visual effect is crucial to the artwork's meaning. The circles and the light pouring out represent the Wardlipari (the Milky Way), connecting the celestial sphere with the Karrawirra Pari (River Torrens) nearby. At night, the artwork makes the ancient Kaurna story about the relationship between the stars and the river visible to all.

Behind the University sign is the Mitchell building, a prime example of Victorian Academic Gothic architecture, featuring steep gabled roofs, rows of arched windows, and decorative stonework. The Mitchell Building was the first permanent structure built on the North Terrace campus of the University of Adelaide, completed between 1879 and 1881.

The sign with the "150" in red is celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the University of Adelaide! The University was established in 1874, and the year 2024 marks exactly 150 years since its founding, which is why the number is displayed prominently across the campus and its materials. The entire celebration program is themed around "making history" and reflecting on the university's impact over the last century and a half, including its progressive past (it was the first Australian university to admit women to all degree courses on equal terms with men in 1881).

 George Ian Ogilvie Duncan (20 July 1930 – 10 May 1972) was an Australian law lecturer at the University of Adelaide.  He drowned in 1972 after being thrown into the River Torrens by a group of men believed to be police officers. Public outrage generated by the murder became the trigger for homosexual law reform, and in 1975, just three years after the tragedy, South Australia became the first jurisdiction in Australia (and one of the first in the English-speaking world) to officially decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults. The University of Adelaide, particularly the Law School, played a major role in pushing for the investigation and subsequent law reform in the face of immense public and political pressure.

The University at night

NEXT... Grey-headed flying foxes (coming soon)