Windsor Theatre, Brighton
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Brighton is a coastal suburb 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 ...
,
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 ...
, situated between
Seacliff Seacliff comprises a beach, an estate and a harbour. It lies east of North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland. History The beach and estate command a strategic position at the mouth of the Firth of Forth, and control of the area has been conte ...
and Glenelg and aside
Holdfast Bay The Holdfast Bay is a small bay in Gulf St Vincent, next to Adelaide, South Australia. Along its shores lie the local government area of the City of Holdfast Bay and the suburbs of Glenelg and Glenelg North European settlement on Holdfast Bay ...
. Some notable features of the area are the Brighton-Seacliff Yacht Club, the Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club, the Brighton Jetty, and a beach. The Windsor Theatre, constructed in 1925, is a long-standing institution.


History

The
Kaurna people The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurn ...
inhabited the area before
British colonisation of South Australia British colonisation of South Australia describes the planning and establishment of the colony of South Australia by the British government, covering the period from 1829, when the idea was raised by the then-imprisoned Edward Gibbon Wakefield ...
. Witu-wattingga has become the accepted Kaurna name for the area, although its origin is probably arose through confusion with Wita-wattingga, the certified Kaurna name for an area around present-day Seacliff Park, meaning "in the midst of peppermint gums". (There is, however, a
Kaurna language Kaurna ( or ) is a Pama-Nyungan language historically spoken by the Kaurna peoples of the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. The Kaurna peoples are made up of various tribal clan groups, each with their own ''parnkarra'' district of land and ...
meaning for ''witu-watti'', meaning "reeds in the middle", so could be applied to some small, intermittent
swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
s with reeds in the area, such as one near Young Street in Seacliff.) Brighton Post Office opened on 27 August 1849. Brighton Jetty Post Office opened on 1 March 1950 and closed in 1979. Brighton became the seat of a newly formed municipality, the
Corporate Town of Brighton The City of Brighton was a local government area in South Australia seated at the Adelaide sea-side township of Brighton from 1858 until 1997. History The Corporate Town of Brighton was proclaimed on 25 November 1858 by severance from the Dis ...
, in 1858. The first Brighton Town Hall was built in 1869 and was just the fourth
town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
built in the colony of South Australia. The architect and builder was George William Highet, who arrived in the colony in 1836 and served as a
town clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a To ...
and inaugural councillor. He died in Brighton aged 80 years. The hall was constructed of stone from Ayliffe's quarry in the Adelaide Hills laid on concrete foundations. It was used as the civic centre of the City of Brighton from 1869 until 1936 when it was then leased by the RSL. The second town hall was opened in 1937, at 24 Jetty Road, and still fulfils a civic administration purpose, as one of two
City of Holdfast Bay The City of Holdfast Bay is a local government area in the south-western coastal suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. History The council was formed 1 January 1997, when the City of Glenelg and City of Brighton councils were amalgamated by ...
municipal offices. Brighton was the home of Australian geologist,
Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...
explorer and academic
Sir Douglas Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader durin ...
. He was buried at St Jude's Church cemetery in the suburb. Social reformer
Catherine Helen Spence Catherine Helen Spence (31 October 1825 – 3 April 1910) was a Scottish-born Australian author, teacher, journalist, politician, leading suffragist, and Georgist. Spence was also a minister of religion and social worker, and supporter of ...
, her brother
J. B. Spence John Brodie Spence (15 May 1824 – 7 December 1902) was a prominent Scottish-born banker and politician in the early days of South Australia. He was a brother of the reformer Catherine Helen Spence. Spence was born in Melrose, Scottish Bord ...
,
Pat Glennon Pat Glennon (23 August 1927 – 14 February 2004) was an Australian jockey raised in the Ascot Vale area in Melbourne, not far from the Flemington Racecourse. Glennon rode his first winner, a horse named Alares, trained by his father, at a bu ...
and Paul Moran are buried at
North Brighton Cemetery The North Brighton Cemetery, operated by the City of Holdfast Bay in Somerton Park had its first burial in 1859. Interments * Des Corcoran (1928–2004) politician and soldier * William Fisk (1871–1940) politician * Pat Glennon (1927–200 ...
, at 301 Brighton Road.


Overview

Brighton has a large sandy beach which is patrolled by the Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club on Weekends and Public Holidays between November and March. Brighton Beach is popular for Adelaide beach goers as it is relatively safe – currently rated as Least Hazardous by Surf Lifesaving. A
sand replenishment Beach nourishment (also referred to as beach renourishment, beach replenishment, or sand replenishment) describes a process by which sediment, usually sand, lost through longshore drift or erosion is replaced from other sources. A wider beach can ...
program has been in operation for many years resulting in the beach sand dunes gradually increasing through the program of replacing eroded sand and replanting of the dunes with plants and grasses. In summer, a sandbar normally forms in the water which can produce waves on windy days. Brighton is well known by local surfers for producing messy but fun "stormy sessions". The Esplanade is an area of prime real estate which has been transformed over the years from a street of old cottages to new modern town houses. Brighton's Jetty Road runs perpendicular to the Esplanade and is home to many restaurants, cafes and the local hotel, known as "The Esplanade", or "Espy".


Brighton jetty

The original Brighton Jetty was built in 1886 and stood for over 100 years. The
jetty A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...
was badly damaged by winter storms in 1994 and was rebuilt using funds supplied by a mobile phone service provider, hence the
telecommunications tower Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-made ...
on the end of the jetty. In 1926 the women of Brighton installed a drinking fountain near the entrance of the jetty to commemorate the death of Kathleen Duncan Whyte, who was fatally attacked by a shark while swimming. At the shore end of the jetty is a War Memorial arch. Here, traditional Dawn Services are held annually on
Anzac Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...
to commemorate fallen service men and women.


Events and attractions

Brighton is the home of the
Brighton Jetty Classic Brighton Jetty Classic is an open water swim held in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of ...
, an Open Water Swim made up of the 1500 metre Brighton Jetty Classic Swim and the 400 metre Jetty Swim, aimed at first time open water swimmers. The Brighton Jetty Classic had its first year in 2006 when approximately 800 swimmers successfully completed the event. It is an annual event, being hosted on the first Sunday in February. The 2010 event had over 1200 swimmers, making it the largest open water swim in South Australia. The course is around the Brighton Jetty, which makes the Jetty a fantastic viewing platform for spectators. Brighton Oval is the largest sporting complex in the
City of Holdfast Bay The City of Holdfast Bay is a local government area in the south-western coastal suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. History The council was formed 1 January 1997, when the City of Glenelg and City of Brighton councils were amalgamated by ...
. It features a skatepark as well as football,
lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
, cricket and
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
clubs.


Windsor Theatre

The Windsor Theatre is located at 1 Commercial Road. Opened in 1925, the
picture theatre A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...
was owned by the
Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
(
South Australian Lodge of Friendship The Province of South Australia was established by an Act of the British Parliament and was assented to by King William IV on 15 August 1834. Freemasonry became included in the plans for the proposed new settlement with the establishment of a n ...
). Unusually, the
proscenium A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...
was situated in the centre of the building and was shared by two auditoriums. By 1949, the lease had been acquired by
Ozone Theatres Ltd Ozone Theatres Ltd, formerly Ozone Amusements, was a cinema chain based in Adelaide, South Australia, from 1911 until 1951, when it sold its theatres to Hoyts. It was founded by Hugh Waterman and was jointly run by him and seven sons, including ...
. The Windsor continues to operate , charging per session. It often shows
double feature The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown. Opera use Opera ho ...
s, and its screenings include both mainstream films and indie /
arthouse film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...
s. It is one of very few cinemas from the era of
silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...
s still standing and operating as a cinema in Adelaide.


Cement works

Although called
Adelaide Brighton Cement Adbri, formerly Adelaide Brighton Cement, is an Australian manufacturer of cement, lime and dry blended products. Adbri operates manufacturing and distribution facilities in South Australia, the Northern Territory, and New South Wales. Associat ...
, the cement works are actually located in the nearby suburb of Marino.


References


External links


City of Holdfast BayThe Brighton Jetty ClassicThe Brighton Surf Lifesaving ClubBrighton Beach Summary from Surf Lifesaving Australia
{{Authority control Suburbs of Adelaide