Tag Archives: #portadl

The South Australian Maritime Museum

We recently visited Port Adelaide and experienced some of the fabulous things they have on offer. From dolphin cruises, ghost tours, and the museums, Port Adelaide’s history is available to be experienced by everyone. Actually, there is an interesting write up by our partner site Josie Wanders regarding “Things to do in Port Adelaide”. So, after reading this article, head over and find out what other things are on offer. One of those ideal places to visit is the South Australian Maritime Museum.

Located in a historic building in Port Adelaide the South Australian Maritime Museum is three levels of displays and interactive education. Entry via the main entrance leads into the museums shop with fun and exciting things for those people who are awestruck by the prospect of maritime life and history.

Maritime Museum
Entrance and exit through the museum’s shop

South Australia’s colourful maritime history is completely on display as you investigate the various areas within the museum. As soon as you walk through the two big sliding doors you are greeted with a full-sized ketch. Active II is a replica of the original working vessel the Active. The museum gives it visitors a chance to climb on-board and investigate the areas around a ketch. Climb into the hold and get a feel for the cargo space and how the stevedores would have had to manoeuvre around the hold to discharge and load the goods. Then check out the forecastle for crew accommodation and compare it with the Captain’s cabin. Also, see if you can fit in the ship’s galley where the meals were prepared.

Maritime Museum's Ketch
Climb aboard the Active II and check out what a working ketch looks like.

You will notice on some walls the various figureheads that used to be mounted on the bow of vessel to ward off evil spirits or to ram and scare rival vessels. It is amazing how much work goes into the carving of these figureheads and sculpting that perfect showcase.

Maritime Museum
Vessel figureheads, amazing craftsmanship!

Moving through the doors the next exhibit is about the importance of the Australian Navy in our maritime history. The models of naval ships, the uniforms and some of the equipment used to measure distance, time, location and direction are all on display.

Maritime Museum
Where was Captain Matthew Flinders on a certain date?

If you work your way downstairs the museum has an area dedicated to the migration of people into South Australia. They have some computers set up if you wish to discover if any of your relatives migrated to South Australia by ship. This area also gives the visitors an idea about what it was like on those vessels from the early 1800’s to the mid 1900’s. Climb into an old sleeping bunk to see how comfortable it is…..or isn’t!

Maritime Museum
Hop in and test out the beds the first colonists used to travel from England.

Now head on up to the top floor, here you will find exhibits about life on the LeFevre Peninsula. Check out the old surfboards, jump on the spring-loaded surfboard and test your balance, but be careful. Look at the old carnival sideshow clowns, or the range of old fishing rods.

Maritime Museum
Surf’s Up!
Martime Museum
Fishing anyone?

Keep on moving and you will discover the shipwreck area of items found from various shipwrecks around South Australia. Finally walk around and discover the ships and families that serviced Port Adelaide and some memorabilia donated by these proud family members.

Maritime Museum
Entry to the lighthouse is included with your museum entry.

Another unique thing about the South Australian Maritime Museum is that once you leave, the Port has other exhibits associated with the museum. Your entry ticket also gives you the opportunity to visit the lighthouse on fisherman’s wharf and look at the retired tugboat the Yelta moored alongside.

Maritime Musuem
A tugboat called Yelta moored alongside the lighthouse

Overall the South Australian Maritime Museum is the most known museum in the Port. And although it is not huge, it offers a good few hours of discovery. I really like the museum, but that may be due to my family’s maritime background. I’ve always been drawn to the Maritime Museum, so hopefully you and your family will be too. Once again I recommend incorporating the South Australian Maritime Museum with another fun activity like the Railway or Aviation Museums. So, enjoy your day, enjoy the museums and tell them, Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Additional Information for the South Australian Maritime Museum

126 Lipson Street, Port Adelaide SA 5015
Ph. (08) 82407 6255
Website: www.maritime.history.sa.gov.au

Trading Hours

Daily 10:00am – 05:00pm

Entry Fee

Adult: $12.50
Concession: $8
Child: $6
Family $29.50

Accommodation is available around the Port Adelaide area

Book now with Booking.com

*Post contains affiliate links

All Aboard for the National Railway Museum

I’ve lived in the City of Adelaide nearly all of my life. And the majority of that time has been around the Port Adelaide area. Port Adelaide was once a thriving centre of commerce for international and domestic cargoes arriving to Adelaide by sea.  It used to bustle everyday with stevedores discharging and loading the berthed vessels and sailors frequenting the numerous bars. Today Port Adelaide has a quieter atmosphere. Gone are the flood of ships and the mass of sailors, and many of those popular old stores and bars have long closed. However, tourists are still making their way into the Port to see its established history.  Port Adelaide has a multitude of attractions available for visitors, from museums, cruises and guided tours. We decide to head into Port Adelaide to visit some of these popular attractions starting with the National Railway Museum.

National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum

The National Railway Museum is open daily from 10am and is mainly run by a dedicated team of community volunteers. Entrance to the museum is through the main souvenir shop. The shop is stocked with a good amount of memorabilia for you and your children to remember the wonderful day.

Souvenir Shop and Railway Museum Entrance
Souvenir Shop and Museum Entrance

Once through the shop you can make your way over to the main exhibition. Make sure you stop at the level crossing and look out for the passing train. The museum runs a small train ride which does two full circuits of the museum grounds. So be careful, and keep an eye on little children. The museum staff is happy to advise when the next train ride will run, so your family doesn’t miss out.

Train Ride Crossing
Watch out for passing trains!
Train ride
Take a ride around the museum on Ken

The main pavilion is quite a sight, with all the well maintained trains and carriages lined up. Visitors can immerse themselves in the exhibits by entering the opened passenger carriages or climbing into the drivers cabins. The patrons can see the changes in standards between the different travel classes. From the luxury cabins of first class to the seated compartments of second class. They also have the ability to look at the service trains which brought goods to Australia’s remote communities. These trains contained grocery stores, butchers, banks and a Post office, to name a few. It is amazing what goods and services these trains provided to the people of rural Australia.

Railway Museum
Train 409 in the main pavilion of the National Railway Museum

The museum has various station displays, from re-creations of the station masters office to the communications office and old signalling stations. Furthermore, they have historic memorabilia of the old Adelaide train station before its development. The old ticketing desk and departure board brought back memories of days long past when my grandmother used to take us into the city for some school holiday adventures.

Old Adelaide Station Departure Board
Old Adelaide Station Departure Board

A stroll out into the museum yards shows us more trains ready to be refurbished. The museum also has some disused advertising freight wagons like the old West End beer wagon, and the TNT transport wagon.

West End Beer Wagon
West End Beer Wagon

If you keep following the footpath around, you will find yourself at another large pavilion with a range of commercial trains from different eras. Here you will find some engines that have done some incredible journeys lugging coal, iron ore and other commodities along Australia’s vast rail network.

Train 4 to Iron Knob
Train 4 to Iron Knob

The National Railway Museum is a great day out, the restored trains look fantastic and children will love climbing in and out of the carriages and engines. There are some educational and interactive screens available, but some need to be repaired as they don’t all work. The train ride is quite nice but a little short, so you may need to do a couple of trips to appease the children. Alternatively, the museum also runs the longer train ride along the foreshore at Semaphore, which is a good option.

Semaphore foreshore train ride
Semaphore foreshore train ride

I recommend combining the National Railway Museum and the Aviation Museum since they are very close to each other and well worth the visit. Therefore while you’re visiting tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

National Railway Museum
Pin Me!
Additional Information

76 Lipson Street, Port Adelaide SA 5015
Ph: (08) 8341 1690
Website: www.natrailmuseum.org.au

Trading Hours

Daily 10:00am – 04:30pm

Accommodation is available around the Port Adelaide area

Book now with Booking.com

Entry Cost

National Railway Museum Prices
National Railway Museum Prices

 

*Post contains affiliate links

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Red Lime Shack, Adelaide – Deliciously Healthy

I have been regularly driving past the Red Lime Shack for a couple of years now and thinking I must try them out. Finally we got there, and I can promise it will not take as long to go back again!

The Red Lime Shack is a vegan cafe situated on St Vincent Street in Port Adelaide. It has been around for a few years now and has had accolades in the past with The Advertiser voting their veggie burger the best in the state in 2014.

Red Lime Shack
Red Lime Shack

The cafe itself has a very strong community feel to it. The furniture is a mismatched hodgepodge of comfy chairs and sofas, with some areas with tables for food, but others for relaxing with a coffee. There are also tables outside for when the weather is nice or if you have your doggy friend with you.  There are many causes being promoted on the counters and surrounds, with paintings and other items for sale from local artists. The walls are covered in posters promoting local events or events that will appeal to the vegan community.

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Red Lime Shack
Red Lime Shack
Red Lime Shack
Comfy seats inside, other seating outside.
Comfy seats inside, other seating outside.

My favourite part of the cafe was a free book exchange. Customers are free to swap any books they like from the shelves with ones they have finished reading. There looked to be a decent selection of books on the shelves just waiting to be picked up. Next to the shelves was also a small table to cater for children with some colouring items and toys. Overall, there is a great atmosphere at the Red Lime Shack and I felt immediately comfortable and relaxed.

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Book Exchange
Kids corner
Kids corner

We had called in for lunch. I myself am not vegetarian, but my dining companion was. The menu is actually vegan, but had a great range of items. Red Lime Shack is a breakfast/lunch/coffee venue, so they serve an all day breakfast menu. We chose to have the fruit salad from the breakfast menu but without banana, and this was no problem at all. Of course we also had to try the award winning burger – this one was a pecan, sweet potato and maple patty with fresh salad, onion jam, mustard and tahini mayo. There was also the option of a gluten free bun, but we went with the standard. This was washed down with a BerryRipe fruit smoothly.

Fruit Salad
Fruit Salad
BerryRipe Fruit Smoothie
BerryRipe Fruit Smoothie
Veggie Burger
Veggie Burger
Some of the pies for dessert.
Some of the pies for dessert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s hard to say much about a fruit salad, but this one was fresh and plentiful for the AUD$9 we paid for it. The burger for AUD$11 was delicious, not at all dry like some veggie burgers I have tried in the past, and with a great mix of flavours. The only bad part was that it was so filling we  had to forgo the signature raw lime pie for dessert.

We also did not get a chance to try the organic coffees, but will be back to do so. There is a frequent customer offer with coffee, once you buy seven, the eighth cup is free. Another menu item at the Red Lime Shack is a Suspended Coffee. As a customer I can purchase one, but it is held to be served to a local disadvantaged community member at a future date. Just another way the local community is being supported by this great cafe.

Overall a great, economical place to grab a quick lunch or breakfast in Port Adelaide, to have a business meeting or to meet friends for a coffee. The food may be vegan, but it is tasty and you will not even notice the missing ingredients. Their menu can be found on the website here to get you drooling before you arrive and remember to tell them Simon from Ourworldinreview sent you!

Red  Lime Shack Rating: 1-10 (1=very poor, 10 = excellent)

Decor = 8
Atmosphere = 8
Service = 8
Price = 9
Food = 8

Overall = 8

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