Semaphore Walkabout

The Port Adelaide March and Commemoration for Australia’s first ever Merchant Navy Day on September 3 will be the major event in Australia that day so locals should feel proud.

Special Merchant Navy Day street flags promoting the historic event are now flying in Port Adelaide two weeks before the event.

On August 27 there will be a special feature section in Messenger Community Newspapers with full details of the event and merchant navy history.

So many people who live in our district have some link with the Merchant Navy and most Australian migrants came here on a Merchant Navy vessel. 

The event will begin at the Fisherman’s Wharf Markets (Birkenhead Bridge end) just after 11 am on September 3 and go along Queens Wharf and down to the old Ports Corporation building for a commemoration service at the Navigator Memorial.

Guest speakers will include the Mayor of Port Adelaide Enfield, Gary Johanson and new SA Veterans Affairs Minister, Michael Atkinson.

Former and serving merchant seamen, Semaphore Port Adelaide RSL veterans, Merchant Navy Association SA,  Vindicatrix Association SA, South Australian Maritime Museum  and the Maritime Union of Australia will be marching with a number of other maritime organisations, relatives and friends of seafarers. 

The internationally renowned South Australian Pipes and Drums will lead the march along Queens Wharf.

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Our photos show new views of the city, the hills, the Timeball Tower and the foreshore from a new block of serviced apartments behind Semaphore Library

Pictured on a balcony is Peppe, one of the development partners. The project incorporates a restored old cottage with the new apartments while preserving the original historic building behind the Semaphore Library.

The cottage is believed to have once been the home of a Semaphore Signalman called Mr Uder over a century ago when Semaphore was the hub of communications for South Australia.

When it is completed, the complex will cater for between six and twelve visitors, including the disabled, as local holiday accommodation in Semaphore continues to expand.

Semaphore Music Festival 2008 will get Semaphore rocking over the Labour Day Long Weekend October 3 to 6.

At the crossroads of alt, country, roots and blues, rockabilly, indie pop/rock, folk/punk and insanity, the Festival will give you a long weekend of hip-swingin’ fun.

There will be free outdoor concerts on the Semaphore Foreshore Reserve on Saturday, Sunday and Monday plus shows at the Workers’ Club, Semaphore Hotel, Semaphore Port Adelaide RSL, Federal Hotel and The Exeter.

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The majestic Angel at the top of the Semaphore War Memorial clock on the foreshore is the inspiration for a new logo for Semaphore.

The ’Semaphore Angel Wave’ logo depicts a golden angel, followed by the waves of green and blue representing the fun and freedom, but also the diversity of Semaphore.

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If it’s a while since you’ve heard the lyrics of the great Beatles hit Penny Lane, then head for 99 Semaphore Road and you’ll see them as soon as you walk through the door.

It’s all part of the extension of Penny Lane House of Hair into the shop vacated by jeweller John Richardson recently.

Erin and husband Justin, who has joined her in running the popular and busy salon, have created a stylish new exterior and interior.

They are also carrying a small but most attractive range of jewellery in keeping with the salon extension’s previous life.

Rare photos of an empty St Vincent Street and the Town Hall clock in a state of shock as the semi-trailers finally vanish from the heart of the Port.

With the new Tom “Diver” Derrick road bridge now open, at 11.20 am on Monday August 4 an uncanny silence has descended on the long suffering centre of town.

To residents and the clock, which appears to to think it’s 3.15 in the morning, it’s almost as good as a Port Power win.

For staff in businesses in the centre of Port Adelaide it means adjusting to a new world. Some are still having difficulty lowering their voice levels, having had to shout at each other over the traffic noise.

Others left their offices just to see if was all real.

As we hope for the smog and the traffic noise to abate in Beijing for the Olympic Games, Port Adelaide is in lockstep after years of gridlock and every local resident can now breathe a sigh of fresh air.

To mark the historic opening of the $178 million bridges over the Port River we have selected six more photos to mark this important event for Port Adelaide and Australia.

Premier Rann with Tom ‘Diver’ Derrick’s sister Rose Stirling at the point of cutting the ribbon.

During a welcome break in the wet and windy weather, excited local schoolchildren rush across the central span of the road bridge with their colourful flags.

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Rose Stirling, 77, sister of Tom ‘Diver’ Derrick VC, joined Premier Mike Rann and local Federal MHR Mark Butler (right) in cutting a ribbon to open the new Port River road bridge that now bears his name on a wet and windy Friday, August 1.

A highlight of the opening ceremony was the colourful dash across the new bridge by local schoolchildren carrying an array of colourful flags.

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Derrick VC, who swam in the Port River, is finally getting the recognition he deserves and his name will cross the river in style with the opening of Port Adelaide’s new road bridge.

We took a stroll in a Semaphore Park and a preview walk across the bridge to get these photos of the remarkable transition from a small plaque to a massive road bridge for this local hero.

At the official opening ceremony on Friday August 1, the Semaphore Port Adelaide RSL will get their recognition for making that giant leap possible.

And we understand that Tom’s surviving sister will be a guest of honour.

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Up to 10,000 people are expected to take the historic first walk across the Tom ‘Diver’ Derrick road bridge on Friday August 1.

Pedestrians only can cross the new bridge between 3 pm and 6 pm following the official opening by South Australian Premier Mike Rann at lunchtime.

The four-lane roadway is 300 metres long with eight fixed spans and a shared path for pedestrians and cyclists. The opening span is 58 metres long and weighs approximately 2000 tonnes.

The Mary MacKillop rail bridge has a single dual gauge track and is one kilometre long with 23 fixed spans; its opening span weighs 1200 tonnes and is 62 metres long.

Both have 10 metres clearance to mean sea level (about 8 metres above high water) to allow free passage for tourist boats and smaller vessels.

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