The Jubilee Exhibition Railway was a railway spur in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. It was built in 1887 from where the Adelaide station currently is to the

Jubilee Exhibition Building The Jubilee Exhibition Building in Adelaide, South Australia, was built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession to the throne on 20 June 1837. The jubilees of her Coronation on 28 June 1838, and of the Proclamation of Sout ...

which stood near

Frome Road Frome Road is a connecting road in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. It starts from North Terrace in the Adelaide city centre, running in a northerly direction past the University of South Australia, the site of the old Royal Adela ...

on what is now part of the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. The line used an existing tunnel under

King William Road King William Street is the part of a major arterial road that traverses the CBD and centre of Adelaide, continuing as King William Road to the north of North Terrace and south of Greenhill Road; between South Terrace and Greenhill Road it is ...

which had been built in 1854 for horses and cattle to cross the road without disrupting traffic. The tunnel is likely the origin of rumours about rail tunnels located under the city of

. Much of the land where the line once ran has been reused as parts of

Adelaide University The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

and the

Adelaide Festival Centre Adelaide Festival Centre, Australia's first multi-purpose arts centre and the home of South Australia's performing arts, was built in the 1970s, designed by Hassell Architects. The Festival Theatre opened in June 1973 with the rest of the centr ...

. There were no stations built. No known evidence of the line remains today.

History

The line was built for the Jubilee International Exhibition held in 1887. It was used to transport exhibits including heavy machinery and a locomotive and tender built in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

. The line was not used to transport people to the exhibition so did not have a station platform at either end. Following the exhibition, the line continued to be used for transporting exhibits to the Exhibition building, and building materials for university buildings. It later served the Adelaide Showgrounds which were located on the east side of what is now the grounds of

. In 1927 when the Adelaide Showgrounds moved to Wayville the line was seen as redundant. The line was closed and the tunnel under King William Road filled in.

Passengers

The line never carried regular passenger service. During the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

, troops from the

parade ground A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...

were taken to ships at

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

and during the 1919

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

pandemic, it was used to carry around 600 people from Melbourne to the quarantine camp on the Jubilee Oval.

Later encounters

In 1973, the tunnel was rediscovered when construction on the

was taking place. The section of the tunnel uncovered was lined with bluestone about 5 metres wide and at least 10 metres long. The

Adelaide city council The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...

investigated whether it would be worth reopening the tunnel as a pedestrian subway to complement the new festival centre. The state government agreed to contribute $35,000 towards the opening of the tunnel. Subsequently the costing was found to be grossly underestimated at $90,000-$140,000 so the project was abandoned and the excavations refilled.

References

{{Closed Railway lines of Adelaide Closed railway lines in South Australia History of South Australia Railway lines opened in 1887 Railway lines closed in 1927