Viaducts, near Adelaide

Coloured illustration of viaducts, near Adelaide.

Postcards were developed in the 1890s and provided a cheaper method of communication than letters as postage was cheaper on postcards. The 'divided back' postcard format was introduced in Britain in 1902, where the message and recipient's address could be written on the one side, allowing the front of the card to be used completely for a picture. Postcards were immensely popular especially in an era when photography was an expensive hobby. The cards had attractive images and provided the space for a brief message, as on this card where a fond grandmother sends a card to her granddaughter holidaying at Port Elliot on the south coast. Note especially the South Australian stamp on the card. Despite the Federation of the Australian colonies in 1901 it was not until 1913 that the Commonwealth Postmaster-General's Department released the first Australian stamp: a kangaroo on the map of Australia.

The viaducts for the railway lines in the Adelaide Hills crossed two steep gullies and were manufactured by an American company. These viaducts were criticised during their construction and even after they had been publicly tested on 18 August 1882, with a loaded train weighing nearly 200 tons. It was thought they would be too frail particularly for high speed trains.

The tunnels and viaducts served an important role on the main Adelaide to Melbourne railway line until 1919, when the Adelaide to Belair section was duplicated with a dual track system further east. The viaducts were dismantled in 1920. The old tunnels are still there and have been used variously for storing paintings from the Art Gallery of South Australia during World War II and later for growing mushrooms.

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