Torrens Parade Ground, which includes the former Torrens Training Depot and Drill Hall, is a former military facility located 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 ...

Location and description

The Parade Ground lies behind

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

, between King William Street and Kintore Avenue, with Victoria Avenue on its southern border. The Pioneer Women's Memorial Garden lies to the north-west. South Australia's

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

Memorial, and the

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

War Memorial (by

Robert Hannaford Robert Lyall "Alfie" Hannaford , (born 9 November 1944) is an Australian realist artist notable for his drawings, paintings, portraits and sculptures. He is a great-great-great-grandson of Susannah Hannaford. Family Hannaford was born a ...

) are located in the grounds.

History

The area was formerly used as a

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their envir ...

for extracting stone and fill for building government buildings. The Torrens Training Depot and Drill Hall were built in 1936.

Heritage listings

The parade ground and drill hall were listed on the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. ...

on 11 June 1998. Its significance was reported as follows:

The Torrens Training Depot was built in 1936 and is an excellent example of the Inter-War
Stripped Classical Stripped Classicism (or "Starved Classicism" or "Grecian Moderne") Jstor is primarily a 20th-century Classical architecture, classicist architectural style stripped of most or all Ornament (art), ornamentation, frequently employed by governmen ...
style of architecture in Adelaide, particularly as interpreted by architects working for the Commonwealth Government. The strictly symmetrical design of the building and its low scale with simplified classical motifs and Art Deco decorative elements make this one of the most notable buildings in Adelaide of this style to be constructed pre World War Two. The internal arrangement of the building typifies the functional organisation of the Army and its physical requirements. All external detailing which is original to the 1936 building is significant. Internally the open unrestricted form of the drill hall is the most significant aspect. The topography of the Parade Ground indicates the previous use of this area as a quarry for stone and fill for the construction of government buildings, including Government House. dapted from Torrens Training Depot Conservation Plan (1992)/blockquote> In 1999, it was listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate

21st century upgrades
In 2002 Premier
Mike Rann Michael David Rann, , (born 5 January 1953) is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and Australian am ...
announced and funded a major restoration and upgrade of the Torrens Parade Ground and its heritage listed "Drill Hall and Training Depot" building, to be used as a headquarters for veterans' organisations, and the main office of the
History Trust of South Australia The History Trust of South Australia, sometimes referred to as History SA, was created as a statutory corporation by the ''History Trust of South Australia Act 1981'', to safeguard South Australia’s heritage and to encourage research and public ...
. In 2021, the government announced that there would be a significant development; the grounds would be ripped up and gardens would be put in its place. The Drill Hall underwent a major upgrade which was scheduled for completion at the end of January 2023.

Uses
The
History Trust of South Australia The History Trust of South Australia, sometimes referred to as History SA, was created as a statutory corporation by the ''History Trust of South Australia Act 1981'', to safeguard South Australia’s heritage and to encourage research and public ...
had its offices in the Drill Hall for 18 years, before relocating in 2022 to allow for the creation of a "veterans' hub" comprising the Department for Veteran Affairs,
Returned Services League The Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) is a support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. Mission The RSL's mission is to ensure that programs are in place for the well-being, care ...
(RSL) South Australia, Vietnam Veterans Association, Air Force Association, and Legacy Club of South Australia and Broken Hill. The Torrens Parade Ground and Drill Hall are used as venues for various events, such as for the
Adelaide Fringe The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, ...
, fashion events and one-off markets.

References
{{reflist

External links

Historic cannons to return to Torrens Parade Ground
(media release, 10 Nov 2002)
Torrens Parade Ground and Training Depot
on '' Adelaidia'' Buildings and structures in Adelaide 1936 establishments in Australia Former military installations of South Australia category:South Australian Heritage Register South Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate Vietnam War monuments and memorials in Australia History of Adelaide Tourist attractions in Adelaide Adelaide Park Lands Parade grounds