The Adelaide Central Market is a major fresh produce market 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 States and territories of Australia, 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 o ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. As one of the oldest markets in Australia, Adelaide Central Market has a large range of fresh food, including fruit and vegetables, meat and poultry,

seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...

, cheeses, baked goods, small goods, and health foods, along with several cafés and eateries. Currently, approximately one million kilograms of

fresh produce Produce is a generalized term for many farm-produced crops, including fruits and vegetables (grains, oats, etc. are also sometimes considered ''produce''). More specifically, the term ''produce'' often implies that the products are fresh and ...

are delivered to the market and sold every month. It is a popular tourist attraction in the city, with more than 8.5M visitors every year, and is also referred to as the Central Market.

History

Establishment

The Market began in

Grote Street Grote Street is a major street running east to west in the western half of Adelaide city centre, in Adelaide, South Australia. It is on the northern border of Chinatown and the Adelaide Central Market, and is a lively centre for shopping and r ...

in 1869 and was known as the City Markets, with its official opening by Mayor Judah Solomon on 23 January 1870. Later that year, three acres of land were bought for £2600 in the present-day location. However, the main markets at that time were the

East End Markets The East End is a part of the Adelaide central business district, in the north-east corner of the Adelaide city centre. This area is a popular office and retail district and has an increasing residential interest from the building of high-dens ...

that existed between

Rundle Street Rundle Street, often referred to as "Rundle Street East" as distinct from Rundle Mall, is a street in the East End of the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs from Pulteney Street to East Terrace, where it becom ...

and North Terrace. These markets would rival the Adelaide Central Market until 1988. Some traders moved from the East End Markets to the Central Market. The building was constructed of wood and iron sheets, and it was completed in June 1869. At its commencement, it opened on Tuesdays and Saturdays with 50 to 100 produce carts. Shops were built along the perimeter of the market and facing the streets. In the early 1880s,

fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

supplies were scarce in Adelaide and had to be brought from

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a seaport, it is now a road traffic and railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about north of the state c ...

and

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South A ...

by rail. Today the Central Market is surrounded by the Central Market Arcade, Adelaide China Town, and Market Plaza. The 'center' of the Central Market is made up primarily of fresh produce stalls, with the perimeter and arcade shops being mainly

cafés A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-c ...

restaurants A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

, and variety stores.

Expansion and redevelopment

On 8 February 1900, a foundation stone was laid by Mayoress Rosa Ware, in the presence of the Mayor of Adelaide,

Arthur Ware Arthur Wellington Ware CMG (1861 – 29 January 1927) was a brewer and Mayor of Adelaide from 1898 to 1901 and a publican in both South Australia and Queensland. History Ware was born in Kooringa, the eldest son of Fanny (née Crawford) (1 ...

. Shops were added as well as a

refrigeration The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...

plant for

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

and

Electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describe ...

was added in 1902 to replace the

gas lighting Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, such as hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly ...

Arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

shops were added in 1915 on the eastern side. At that stage, amusements were provided such as

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small sharp-pointed missiles known as darts at a round target known as a dartboard. Points can be scored by hitting specific marked areas of the bo ...

, billatelle shooting galleries,

ball bowling A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used fo ...

, hoop-la, and cheap jacks. The addition of other businesses, such as the Hampshire Hotel in 1911, the Moore's Department stores in 1914, and

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established t ...

also attracted customers. The Market opened for trading on Tuesday, commencing April 1920. In December 1922, the fish quarters of the Market was demolished and further arcades of 32 shops were added. On 27 December 1925, the northeastern quarters of the Market were partly damaged through

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames ...

. In 1929, butchers' licenses for the Market were not renewed because of sanitary concerns. Redevelopment of the Market commenced on 18 January 1965 with the demolition of the east end facade on Grote Street and the addition of a

car park A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

. The new market was opened on 17 June 1966 by Lord Mayor

James Irwin James Benson Irwin (March 17, 1930 – August 8, 1991) was an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and a United States Air Force pilot. He served as Apollo Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landi ...

. Prior to August 1965, the Market was known as the "City Market," and after that, it was known as the "Central Market."

Addition of a supermarket

Coles Supermarkets Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Coles, is an Australian supermarket, retail and consumer services chain, headquartered in Melbourne as part of the Coles Group. Founded in 1914 in Collingwood by George Coles, Coles operates ...

joined the neighboring Central Market Arcade in the Central Market precinct in June 1967. Further covered car parking was developed as well as the addition of a shopping complex.

Fire

On 22 June 1977, the Market's southern stall area was badly damaged in a fire. Major restoration was undertaken to repair the damage caused by the fire. At this time, there was new competition from local suburban shopping centers. The restoration was completed in 1987 and the damaged area was reopened by Lord Mayor James Jarvis on 14 April 1987. The Market currently has 76 stalls covering some 8,000 square meters and roughly 1,000 car park spaces.

Central Market Precinct

Including the main Central Market building, the Central Market Precinct is composed of five separately managed areas.

Adelaide Central Market

The Market itself holds over 76 stalls in a single undercover area. The Market is owned by the

City of Adelaide 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 South ...

and is managed by the Adelaide Central Market Authority (a subsidiary and

statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example re ...

of the City of Adelaide), which also manages the car park above the entire precinct.

Central Market Arcade

Originally known as Victoria Square Arcade, the Central Market Arcade is located to the immediate east of the Central Market. The current arcade was constructed following the redevelopment of the market proper and was opened by then Premier

David Tonkin David Oliver Tonkin AO (20 July 1929 – 2 October 2000) was an Australian politician who served as the 38th Premier of South Australia from 18 September 1979 to 10 November 1982. He was elected to the House of Assembly seat of Bragg at the 1 ...

on 3 November 1982; it houses over 60 specialty shops. Privately owned from its construction, the City of Adelaide assumed ownership of the arcade in September 2018 when the building's ground lease expired and began plans to completely redevelop the site into a new arcade topped with a mixed-use tower.

The Market Plaza

Located on the western side of the Central Market and linking it with Chinatown, the Market Plaza houses a number of specialty shops, cafes and a food court. The Market Plaza was opened by Lord Mayor James Jarvis on 3 December 1985 and is independently owned and managed.

Gouger Street

The main street of Adelaide's CBD is well known for its abundance of multicultural cuisine and dining establishments.

Chinatown

Plaques and commemorative stones

File:Adelaide Central Market Buildings Foundation Stone.jpg, Photograph of the foundation stone for the Adelaide Central Market Buildings set by Mayoress Rosa Ware and Mayor

on 8 February 1900. This stone is currently located at the

entrance to the markets File:Adelaide Central Markets Redevelopment Opening Plaque 1966.jpg, Photograph of a plaque to mark the opening of the redeveloped Adelaide Central Market Buildings by Lord Mayor

on 17 June 1966. This plaque is currently located at the

entrance to the markets File: Victoria Square Arcade Opening Plaque.jpg, Photograph of a plaque to mark the opening of the Victoria Square Arcade (now Central Market Arcade) by Premier

on 3 November 1982. This plaque is currently located at the Victoria Square entrance to the Central Market Arcade. File: Market Plaza Opening Plaque.jpg, Photograph of a plaque to mark the opening of The Market Plaza by Lord Mayor James Jarvis on 3 December 1985 File: Adelaide Central Markets Restoration Plaque 1987.jpg, Photograph of a plaque to mark the restoration of the Adelaide Central Market Buildings by Lord Mayor James Jarvis on 14 April 1987. This plaque is currently located at the Grote Street entrance to the markets.

References

External links

* {{coord, 34, 55, 47, S, 138, 35, 51, E, display=title Buildings and structures in Adelaide Tourist attractions in Adelaide Retail markets in Australia History of Adelaide Shopping arcades in Australia Retail buildings in South Australia