''Popeye'' (or 'The Popeye') is the name given to a series of motor launches which take paying passengers on pleasure cruises on
Torrens Lake, in the North Parklands of
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 ...
, capital of
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 is one of the city's "top tourist attractions".
History
![Popeye lll, March 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Popeye_lll%2C_March_2018.jpg)
The original ''Popeye'', a boat holding up to 20 passengers, was built for Gordon Stanley Watts, a
Gallipoli veteran, by Harold Lounder in 1935 in one of several workshops which were then dotted along the banks of
Torrens Lake. She proved so popular that in 1939 a second boat, ''Miss Centenary'', was purchased, which had previously run cruises at
Glenelg. She did not however (according to the local legend) gain the same acceptance with the children, who preferred to "wait for ''Popeye''", prompting Watts to re-christen her ''Popeye II''.
Later, three new
jarrah
''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, djarraly in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with rou ...
-hulled boats, capable of carrying 40 passengers each, were built at
Port Adelaide; they were numbered ''Popeye 3'', ''Popeye 4'' and ''Popeye 5'', running round trips between
Elder Park
Elder Park is a public open space in the city of Adelaide, South Australia on the southern bank of the River Torrens and that is bordered by the Adelaide Festival Centre and North Terrace.
The park is named after the Elder family who wer ...
and
Adelaide Zoo
Adelaide Zoo is Australia's second oldest zoo (after Melbourne Zoo), and it is operated on a non-profit basis. It is located in the parklands just north of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It is administered by the Royal Zoologic ...
. Apart from scheduled runs on weekends and holidays during the warmer months, ''Popeyes'' were available for private hire, for weddings, children's birthday parties and other events.
During the years that he was skipper of ''Popeye'', if there were a large number of children, Watts would call out "Anyone's birthday today?" If so, the lucky child would be allowed to steer the boat. Amongst the other ''Popeye'' skippers were the boatbuilder Harold Lounder and Roland "Sunny" Grey.
[
In March 1962 Keith Altmann, owner of riverside café, later restaurant, Jolley's Boathouse, took over the ''Popeye'' business. In 1982 three new fibreglass launches ''Popeye I'', ''Popeye II'' and ''Popeye III'' were launched as replacements for the ageing original wooden boats.][Altmann et al. 1999, p.22] These boats were launched by then Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Fraser was raised on hi ...
.
After 49 years as the owner, Altmann sold the business to current owners Tony and Lidija Shuman in 2011. He also sold adjacent business Captain Jolley's Paddleboats. The Shumans already owned and operated Elder Park Paddleboats business which operated alongside, as well as a successful bike hire business.
In 2017, the business was taken over by their 23-year-old daughter Bianca Shuman. There are only 3 permanent employees, but the workforce grows to 15 during busy summers. Ms Shuman also run
Captain Jolley's Paddleboats
an
BBQ Buoys
on the same section of the river.
Awards
* In 1988, ''Popeye'' was named the winner of the South Australian Tourism Award
* In 2011, the business was recognised as the first State Heritage Icon, a list of quintessential companies established through a partnership with the National Trust SA and the Bank of South Australia
BankSA, formerly known as the Bank of South Australia, the State Bank of South Australia and the Savings Bank of South Australia is the largest bank in South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Westpac.
History
Bank SA, formerly known as The B ...
. Other State icons include the Balfours frog cake, the Hills Hoist
A Hills Hoist is a height-adjustable rotary clothes line, designed to permit the compact hanging of wet clothes so that their maximum area can be exposed for wind drying by rotation.
For decades from 1945 the devices were mainly manufactured in ...
, Haigh's Chocolates
Haigh's Chocolates is an Australian family owned bean-to-bar chocolate making company based in Adelaide, South Australia. It was founded in 1915 by Alfred E. Haigh and now has retail outlets in Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney.
History
Alfred E. H ...
, and Coopers Brewery
Coopers Brewery Limited, the largest Australian-owned brewery, is based in the Adelaide suburb of Regency Park. Coopers is known for making a variety of beers, the most famous of which are its Pale Ale and Sparkling Ale. In the twelve month ...
.
Significant events
*In 1938, boys from Prince Alfred College
, motto_translation = Do Brave Deeds and Endure
, established = 1869
, type = Independent, single-sex, day & boarding
, headmaster = David Roberts
, chaplain = Reverend ...
hired ''Popeye'' to celebrate their win in the annual "Head of the River" rowing eight
An eight is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing (crew). It is designed for eight rowers, who propel the boat with sweep oars, and is steered by a coxswain, or "cox".
Each of the eight rowers has one oar. The rowers, who sit in ...
race against St. Peter's College.
*In 1942, ''Popeye'' was employed as a gunship, when police with a shotgun attempted to rid Torrens Lake of cormorants (possibly the great cormorant
The great cormorant (''Phalacrocorax carbo''), known as the black shag in New Zealand and formerly also known as the great black cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the black cormorant in Australia, and the large cormorant in India, is a w ...
), which had become a pest, attacking the lake's population of swans.
*In 1947, patients of the Adelaide Children's Hospital
The Women's and Children's Hospital is located on King William Road in North Adelaide, Australia.
It is one of the major hospitals in Adelaide and is a teaching hospital of the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and Fli ...
spastic centre were treated to a ride in ''Popeye'' in recognition of the centre's first birthday.
*In 1951, the two ''Popeye''s acted as floating stages for a choral concert performed by four Adelaide choirs under the banner of the S.A. Arts Council for the state's jubilee
*In 1953, following a collision between ''Popeye 5'' and a rented rowboat, Antonio Iuliano, a 24-year-old Adelaide man drowned. One of his companions was rescued by Ray Jolley, of Jolley's boathouse, and a third was rescued by ''Popeye 5''.
*In early 1958, Elizabeth, the Queen Mother toured the Lake aboard ''Popeye 5'', a spotlight on her while 200,000 voices sang '' Will Ye No Come Back Again''.
*In March 1977, ''Popeye 5'' hosted Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
followed by a choir in ''Popeye 4'' during the Queen's third[Previous visits by Elizabeth II were in March 1954 and February 1964 (when John Dowie's fountain "Three Rivers" in Victoria Square was unveiled)] official visit to South Australia.
*In 1982, the Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Fraser was raised on hi ...
, officially launched the three new ''Popeyes''[ as replacements for the wooden boats.
]
References
{{Reflist
External links
The Popeye official website
Captain Jolley's Paddleboats
BBQ Buoys
Tourist attractions in Adelaide
Passenger ships of Australia
History of Adelaide