St Vincent Street, Port Adelaide

St.Vincent Street, Port Adelaide, 21 February 1919

The view juxtaposes an electric tram with several horse-drawn vehicles in the wide main street of Port Adelaide. On the left is the imposing facade of the Ozone theatre which opened in 1913. Opposite stands the town hall with its clock tower. The Port Adelaide electric tram service began in 1917 and the tram is an A-2 type car. This was the first type used on the Adelaide metropolitan system.

Port Adelaide, as distinct from the Port of Adelaide, was declared a corporate town in 1855 under the District Council Act of 1852. Originally there were only a few streets protected by an embankment from the encroaching high tides. Gradually the silt from the dredging of the harbour was used to build up the level of swampy ground adjacent to the river. Then in 1856 when the Port was connected to Adelaide by rail, the town began to expand. A bridge across the river from the end of St Vincent Street was first erected in 1859, opening the further side of the river to development. In 1878 this bridge was replaced with the Jervois Bridge.

North Parade, nearer to the river and the wharves, was the Port's main shopping area until the late 19th century after which St Vincent Street assumed this role.

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