OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Machine Histories ELDER PARK DEMO - and Scott Bonnar

PART TWO - Elder Park & That Demonstration

Elder Park is a public landmark in the city of Adelaide, on the southern bank of the River Torrens.
It is the most historic and romantic of Adelaide's parks; with its elegant Victorian-era Rotunda.

The Elder Park Rotunda was erected in 1882. It is the home of the annual Christmas Carols by Candlelight
for Adelaide and also hosts Symphony under the Stars and the Adelaide Festival of Arts. Note the proximity
to the Adelaide Oval, Arts and Entertainment precincts:-



[As a side-note, I discovered that the park is named after the Elder family who were early settlers
and developed the company Elder Smith (previously known as Goldsbrough Mort).I guess that fact reflects
the great commercial activity that surrounded Adelaide in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.]

From the early days, Elder Park was a social meeting place for many public events and the Adelaide
City Council used it as a venue for demonstrations. Here is what the park looked like in about 1920:



[Courtesy of State Library of S.A. Elder Park Collection HERE.]

The public notice of an electric mower demonstration was of some public interest. Electricity,
the marvel of the age, was increasingly making its role present in trams and street lighting.
Here is the first notice of the demonstration:-



The demonstration was held on 30 March, 1920 at 3 p.m. and by accounts in the Wednesday papers,
it was successful:-



On the following Saturday, the 3rd April, there was more coverage of the event - and a poem written by
the Mail's resident poet for the event:-



The following Saturday after that, April 10, there was yet another article. This one, again,
reiterating the view of earlier reports that the demonstration was a 'pronounced success'.
The company behind the demonstration was the well-known firm of Harris, Scarfe, & Company.



TO BE CONTINUED ...