Anzac Highway is an main arterial road heading southwest from 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 in Australia, local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia. It is legally defi ...

, the capital of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, to the beachside suburb of Glenelg. Originally named the Bay Road, it mostly follows the track made by the pioneer James Chambers from

Holdfast Bay 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 The colonial settlement at Holdfast Ba ...

, the first governor's landing site, to Adelaide.Kerr, Margaret Goyder ''Colonial dynasty: the Chambers family of South Australia'' Rigby Ltd., Adelaide, 1980. It gained its current name in 1923, to honour the contribution of the

ANZACs ANZAC, ''Anzacs'' (named for members of the all volunteer army formations) is a 1985 Australian five-part television miniseries set in World War I. The series follows the lives of a group of young Australian men who enlist in the 8th Battalion ( ...

in World War I.

Route

Beginning at the intersection with South Terrace, West Terrace and Goodwood Road on the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre () is the inner city locality of Adelaide, Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Adelaide l ...

's south-western corner, Anzac Highway heads southwest through the

Adelaide Park Lands The Adelaide Park Lands comprise the figure-eight configuration of land, spanning both banks of the River Torrens between Hackney and Thebarton, which encloses and separates the City of Adelaide area (including both the Adelaide city centre and ...

, through

Plympton Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient Stannary, stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down riv ...

, before turning west through Camden Park and terminates at the bayside suburb of Glenelg. The highway is serviced by a 15-minute "Go Zone", serviced by the 262, 263 and 265 buses.

History

The road from the city to Holdfast Bay was originally named the Bay Road. After the

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

was lobbied in 1917 by the ANZAC Memorial League to rename it in honour of the ANZAC troops who fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, it was renamed Anzac Highway in 1923, at the same time doing some roadworks. In 1937, the government, in collaboration with the

West Torrens Council The City of West Torrens is a local government area in the western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. Since the 1970s, the area was mainly home to many open spaces and parks, however after the mid-1990s (1993–1995) the LGA became more resid ...

Unley Council The City of Unley is a local government area in the Adelaide metropolitan region, South Australia. It is located directly south of the Adelaide city centre. The Corporate Town of Unley was created in 1871, when 2,000 signatories to a petition ...

and

Glenelg Council 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 on 1 January 1997, when the City of Glenelg and City of Brighton councils were amalgamated ...

Council agreed on a plan for the future of the road, which was ratified by Parliament by the passing of the ''Anzac Highway Memorial Act 1937''. The plan included developing a dual carriageway which included trees on the

central reservation A median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also ap ...

and along the verges, to be maintained by the respective councils. Claret ash trees were chosen. On 18 September 1918, a tram line opened from Sturt Street in the city, via West Terrace and then down the Bay Road to Keswick. It was used to transport soldiers returned from

to the military hospital there. Known as the West City Line, it ran down West Terrace and Goodwood Road, and turned west into Park Terrace, now

Greenhill Road Greenhill Road is a major road in Adelaide, South Australia, that provides a connection to the eastern and hills suburbs. Its western section, running along the south side of Adelaide Parklands, forms part of Adelaide's City Ring Route. Route ...

, before turning in to Bay Road. It terminated at the entry to the

Keswick Barracks Keswick Barracks is a barracks of the Australian Army in Keswick, South Australia. The barracks are located on Anzac Highway adjacent to the Adelaide Showground. The base is separated from the showgrounds by the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line. ...

. After redevelopment of Anzac Highway in the 1930s, the tram line was truncated at the new Keswick Road Bridge in March 1939, at a stop known as Wayville West. In December 1957, this line was closed. The

South Road South Road and its southern section as Main South Road outside of Adelaide is a major north–south conduit connecting Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula, in South Australia. It is one of Adelaide's most important arterial and bypass roads. A ...

intersection with Anzac Highway had major construction works in 2007-2009, as part of a South Australian Government initiative to transform South Road into a non-stop north–south route. Both routes became

grade-separated In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights ( grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tr ...

, with South Road travelling through an underpass, with bi-directional controlled exits onto Anzac Highway. The underpass model is a

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade separation, grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. ...

. In October 2007, construction began. In March 2009, the underpass was opened, and named the ''Gallipoli Underpass'', in keeping with the Anzac theme. Each of the four corners of the intersection has a display to commemorate those who fought in the war.

Major intersections

In popular culture

Anzac Highway is mentioned in the song ''"One More Boring Night in Adelaide"'' by

Redgum Redgum were an Australian bush band, folk and political music group formed in Adelaide in 1975 by singer-songwriters John Schumann and Michael Atkinson (composer), Michael Atkinson on guitars/vocals, and Verity Truman on flute/vocals; they were ...

, on their 1978 album ''

If You Don't Fight You Lose ''If You Don't Fight You Lose'' is the first album by Redgum Redgum were an Australian bush band, folk and political music group formed in Adelaide in 1975 by singer-songwriters John Schumann and Michael Atkinson (composer), Michael Atkinson ...

''.

Route

History

Major intersections

In popular culture

See also

Notes

References

Further reading