Morphett Street is a main street in the west of the
city centre
A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...
of
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
,
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 ...
, parallel to
King William Street and numbered from north to south. At its northern end it is part of the West End of Adelaide, a thriving cultural and entertainment precinct, with the
Lion Arts Centre
The Lion Arts Centre, also known as Fowler's Lion Factory and Fowlers Building, with the main music venue within known as the Lion Arts Factory (formerly Fowler's Live), is a multi-purpose arts centre, including studios, galleries, music and pe ...
on the south-western corner of its junction with
North Terrace.
Location
The street runs from south to north between
South Terrace and North Terrace, and passes around and through two of the five squares in 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 ...
,
Light Square
Light Square, also known as Wauwi (formerly Wauwe), is one of five public squares in the Adelaide city centre. Located in the centre of the north-western quarter of the Adelaide city centre, its southern boundary is Waymouth Street, while Cur ...
and
Whitmore Square
Whitmore Square, also known as Iparrityi (formerly Ivaritji), is one of five public squares in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. Occupying 2.4ha (24,000 m2), it is located at the junction of Sturt and Morphett streets in the south-we ...
. At
Hindley Street
Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of the Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs between King William Street, Adelaide, King William Street and West Terrace, Adelaide, West Terrace. Th ...
it transforms into the start of the bridge which crosses North Terrace (at which point its name changes to Montefiore Road), the railway yards and the
River Torrens
The River Torrens (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the Ad ...
.
History
Morphett Street was named after Sir
John Morphett
Sir John Morphett (4 May 1809 – 7 November 1892) was a South Australian pioneer, landowner and politician. His younger brother George Morphett was also an early settler in South Australia.
Early life
Morphett was born in London, t ...
, a prominent pioneer, whose votes at a meeting on 10 February 1837, (including numerous
proxies), played an important role in confirming the site of Adelaide.
A small brewery known as
Morphett Street Brewery operated on a premises near the northern end from 1859 to about 1873.
The southern half of Morphett Street, between
Grote Street
Grote Street is a major street running east to west in the western half of Adelaide city centre, South Australia. It is on the northern border of Chinatown and the Adelaide Central Market, and is a lively centre for shopping and restaurants. Th ...
and South Terrace, was originally named Brown Street after John Brown, the first Immigration Officer of South Australia. Brown Street was subsumed into the expanded Morphett Street in August 1967. The Brown Street Memorial in
Whitmore Square
Whitmore Square, also known as Iparrityi (formerly Ivaritji), is one of five public squares in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. Occupying 2.4ha (24,000 m2), it is located at the junction of Sturt and Morphett streets in the south-we ...
maintains the commemoration of John Brown.
From the late 1990s, a revitalisation of the "West End" of Adelaide was undertaken, which included the conversions of several old buildings (including the creation of the Lion Arts Centre in an old factory building) and the new
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along North Terrace are ...
's West End campus. The
Mercury Cinema
Mercury CX, formerly Media Resource Centre (MRC), is a not-for-profit film and television training organisation based in the Lion Arts Centre on the corner of Morphett Street and North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, which aims to give scr ...
opened at no. 13 and the design studio
JamFactory moved to a new purpose-built building at no. 19 in 1992.
In March 2021, a laneway that runs off Morphett Street and parallel to
Hindley Street
Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of the Adelaide city centre, centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs between King William Street, Adelaide, King William Street and West Terrace, Adelaide, West Terrace. Th ...
, near the former Cargo Club building (since demolished), was renamed Sia Furler Lane, after Adelaide-born singer-songwriter
Sia. A large mural titled ''She Imagined Buttons'' was painted on a wall nearby by local artist Jasmine Crisp, which is intended to reflect the response of a fan to Sia's 2011 performance in Adelaide.
Notable buildings
Trinity Church Adelaide, established in 1836 as Holy Trinity Church in the earliest days of the
colony of South Australia
A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...
and
listed on the now-defunct
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...
in 1980,
is on the north-eastern corner with North Terrace.
The
Lion Arts Centre
The Lion Arts Centre, also known as Fowler's Lion Factory and Fowlers Building, with the main music venue within known as the Lion Arts Factory (formerly Fowler's Live), is a multi-purpose arts centre, including studios, galleries, music and pe ...
is on the other side of the bridge, on the north-western corner, next door to the
Mercury Cinema
Mercury CX, formerly Media Resource Centre (MRC), is a not-for-profit film and television training organisation based in the Lion Arts Centre on the corner of Morphett Street and North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, which aims to give scr ...
and
JamFactory.
Southern and northern continuations
Morphett Street continues north of North Terrace as Montefiore Road, and south of South Terrace as Sir Lewis Cowen Avenue.
[ Montefiore Road and Hill were named after ]Jacob Barrow Montefiore
Jacob Barrow Montefiore (1801–1895) was a member of the South Australian Colonization Commission in London from 1835 to 1839, a body appointed by the British Government under King William IV to oversee implementation of the ''South Australia ...
, a Colonising Commissioner who was a cousin of the British philanthropist, Moses Montefiore
Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, Philanthropy, philanthropist and Sheriffs of the City of London, Sheriff of London. Born to an History ...
. Lewis Cohen served on the Adelaide City Council
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. It is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...
for 30 years, including several terms as Mayor and Lord Mayor.
Further reading
*
See also
References
{{Adelaide CBD Streets
Streets in Adelaide