Whitmore Square

Whitmore Square
Whitmore Square
Iparrityi
	From the Southern end, facing North
Type	Square
Location	Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Coordinates	34°55′58″S138°35′39″E / 34.9328°S 138.5942°E
Area	2.4 hectares (5.9 acres)
Created	1837

Last updated September 11, 2023

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-western quarter of the Adelaide city grid.

It is one of six squares designed by the founder of Adelaide, William Light, who was Surveyor-General at the time, in his 1837 plan of the City of Adelaide which spanned the River Torrens Valley, comprising the city centre (South Adelaide) and North Adelaide. The square was named in 1837 by the Street Naming Committee after William Wolryche-Whitmore, a British politician who had introduced the South Australia Act 1834 to the British House of Commons. In 2003, as part of the dual naming initiative of the Adelaide City Council, a second name, Ivaritji (later corrected to Iparrityi), was assigned in the Kaurna language of the original inhabitants. Iparrityi (c.1847—1929), also known as Amelia Taylor, was the last full-blood Kaurna person and last speaker of the Kaurna language.

History

Pre-colonial history

The Adelaide area was inhabited long before European settlement in 1836 by one of the tribes which later came to be known as the Kaurna people, or Adelaide tribe.^[1]

As Whitmore Square

Whitmore Square is one of six squares in Colonel William Light's 1837 plan for the city of Adelaide and the only one which retains the configuration given to it by Light's plan.^[2] Light intended that the squares be used as public parks or village commons.^[3]

It was named by the Street Naming Committee on 23 May 1837^[4] after William Wolryche Whitmore, a British politician who introduced the South Australia Act 1834, also known as the Foundation Act, to the British House of Commons.^[5] He was also one of the board of the South Australian Colonisation Commission set up by the Act.^[6]

After the removal of indigenous trees during the city's early colonial settlement, Whitmore Square was replanted in the 1850s and fenced to protect it from animals. The fences were finally removed in 1932.^[3] In the 1930s the square was a meeting place for people to discuss current affairs as well as a place for local children to play.^[7]

During World War II, air raid trenches were installed in the square and it was used for training of soldiers.^[3]

From 1909-1958 the north-west corner of the square was cut off by electric tram tracks.^[3]

Dual naming

In March 2003, as part of the City of Adelaide's dual naming project in association with the University of Adelaide's project^{[ clarification needed ]}, the square was assigned the name "Ivaritji",^[8] to commemorate the last full-blood Kaurna person and speaker of the language, a woman also known as Amelia Taylor, who was the daughter of Ityamai-itpina ("King Rodney"). The spelling of her name was later amended to Iparrityi.^[9]^[10]^[11] Iparrityi was born in the 1840s in Port Adelaide, and is sometimes referred to as "the last woman of the Adelaide Tribe".^[6] The name is a Kaurna word meaning "gentle, misty rain".^[3]^[12]

21st century

By the 1990s the square had become known as a place for homeless people, public intoxication, drug use and prostitution, so seen as an unsafe place to be at night. The square was made a dry zone in 2001, and a nearby strip club converted into live music venue, the Whitmore Hotel.^[7] A giant chess board and a basketball half-court were installed in 2007 and 2009 respectively.^[3] The square become a more "community-orientated park" with a Community Verge Garden on the western side. Regular events started being held in the square, such as food truck fairs and film nights.^[7]

In December 2007, a public artwork, Voyagers, was unveiled on the western side of Whitmore Square. It pays homage to the Afghan cameleers who lived nearby and worshipped at the Central Adelaide Mosque when not working in the outback.^[13]As of 2018^[update] the memorial did not have any signs explaining its purpose or the meaning of the scripts on the memorial.^[14]

In the 2010s the revival of the area continued, with several new cafes opening. In September 2018 the Whitmore Hotel reopened as Sparkke at the Whitmore, after local speciality brewers Sparkke Change Beverage Co bought the building.^[15]

The City of Adelaide, after community consultation, approved the Whitmore Square/Iparrityi Master Plan at the 11 June 2019 Council meeting. New lighting to the diagonal path across the square as well as feature tree lighting has already been installed.^[16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Light</span> British military officer

William Light, also known as Colonel Light, was a British-Malayan naval and army officer. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site of the colony's capital, Adelaide, and for designing the layout of its streets, six city squares, gardens and the figure-eight Adelaide Park Lands, in a plan later sometimes referred to as Light's Vision.

The Kaurna people are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurna culture and language were almost completely destroyed within a few decades of the British colonisation of South Australia in 1836. However, extensive documentation by early missionaries and other researchers has enabled a modern revival of both language and culture. The phrase Kaurna meyunna means "Kaurna people".

Victoria Square, also known as Tarntanyangga, is the central square of five public squares in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.

This article details the history of Adelaide from the first human activity in the region to the 20th century. Adelaide is a planned city founded in 1836 and the capital of South Australia.

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 from the surrounding suburbia of greater metropolitan Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. They were laid out by Colonel William Light in his design for the city, and originally consisted of 2,300 acres (930 ha) "exclusive of 32 acres (13 ha) for a public cemetery". One copy of Light's plan shows areas for a cemetery and a Post and Telegraph Store on West Terrace, a small Government Domain and Barracks on the central part of North Terrace, a hospital on East Terrace, a Botanical Garden on the River Torrens west of North Adelaide, and a school and a storehouse south-west of North Adelaide.

Kaurna is a Pama-Nyungan language historically spoken by the Kaurna peoples of the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. The Kaurna peoples are made up of various tribal clan groups, each with their own parnkarra district of land and local dialect. These dialects were historically spoken in the area bounded by Crystal Brook and Clare in the north, Cape Jervis in the south, and just over the Mount Lofty Ranges. Kaurna ceased to be spoken on an everyday basis in the 19th century and the last known native speaker, Ivaritji, died in 1929. Language revival efforts began in the 1980s, with the language now frequently used for ceremonial purposes, such as dual naming and welcome to country ceremonies.

Tjilbruke is an important creation ancestor for the Kaurna people of the Adelaide plains in the Australian state of South Australia. Tjilbruke was a Kaurna man, who appeared in Kaurna Dreaming dating back about 11,000 years. The Tjilbruke Dreaming Track or Tjilbruke Dreaming Trail is a major Dreaming trail, which connects sites from within metropolitan Adelaide southwards as far as Cape Jervis, some of which are Aboriginal sacred sites of great significance.

Light Square, also known as Wauwi, 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 Currie Street crosses its northern tip, isolating about a quarter of its land. Morphett Street runs through the centre in a north–south direction.

Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka, and numbered as Park 14, is a recreation park located in the East Park Lands of the South Australian capital of Adelaide. There is an artificial lake with rowboats for hire, a café, children's playground and rose garden, and the Adelaide Bowling Club is on the Dequetteville Terrace side. The O-Bahn passes underneath it, to emerge at the western side opposite Grenfell Street.

Hindmarsh Square/Mukata is one of five public squares in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. It is located in the centre of the north-eastern quarter of the city, and surrounds the intersection of Grenfell and Pulteney streets, near the eastern end of the Rundle Mall. Pirie Street forms the southern boundary of the square.

Adelaide city centre is the inner city locality of 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 local government area. The population was 15,115 in the 2016 census.

Hurtle Square, also known as Tangkaira, is one of five public squares in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia. Located in the centre of the south-eastern quarter of the city, it surrounds the intersection of Halifax and Pulteney streets. Its north edge is bounded by Carrington Street.

Wellington Square, also known as Kudnartu, is a public square in the Adelaide suburb of North Adelaide, South Australia, in the City of Adelaide. It is roughly at the centre of the largest of the three grids which comprise North Adelaide.

Morphett Street is a main street in the west of the city centre of Adelaide, South Australia, 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 on the south-western corner of its junction with North Terrace.

Rundle Park / Kadlitpina, also known as Park 13, is a part of the Adelaide Park Lands in Adelaide, South Australia. It was known as Rundle Park until its Kaurna name was assigned as part of the dual naming initiative by Adelaide City Council in 2003. The park is bounded by East Terrace, Botanic Road (north), Dequetteville Terrace (east) and Rundle Road (south).

East Terrace marks the eastern edge of the Adelaide city centre. It is one of the main north–south thoroughfares through the east side of the city. Although the terrace essentially runs north–south between North Terrace and South Terrace, unlike Adelaide's other three terraces, its path is far from a straight line; travelling the entire length of East Terrace requires turning at right angles at most intersections from Pirie Street onwards. These days however, the traffic flow, after a swerve to the east between Grenfell and Pirie Streets, continues southwards over the Pirie intersection into Hutt Street and on down to South Terrace.

William Wolryche-Whitmore, also known as W. W. Whitmore, was a Shropshire landowner and British Whig politician. He held a seat in the House of Commons from 1820 to 1835, representing first Bridgnorth and later Wolverhampton.

Dervish Bejah Baloch (c.1862–1957), also known as Bejah Dervish, or simply Dervish, was a camel driver who played a significant role in the exploration and development of outback Australia, before settling in Marree, South Australia and growing date palms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivaritji</span> Kaurna elder, Kaurna language speaker and weaver

Ivaritji also known as Amelia Taylor and Amelia Savage, was an elder of the Kaurna tribe of Aboriginal Australians from the Adelaide Plains in South Australia. She was "almost certainly the last person of full Kaurna ancestry", and the last known speaker of the Kaurna language before its revival in the 1990s.

References

↑ "Kaurna People". Adelaidia. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
↑ "Adelaide Park Lands & Squares: Whitmore Square Report" (PDF). Adelaide City Council. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Clark, Amber; Ramm, Kara-Lee; McInnes, Simone; Elton, Jude. "Whitmore Square, SA History Hub". History SA. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
↑ "Nomenclature of the Streets of Adelaide and North Adelaide" (PDF). State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 14 December 2019. taken from The City of Adelaide Year Book, 1939-1940
↑ "History of Adelaide Through Street Names". History of South Australia website. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
1 2 "Whitmore Square". Adelaide Park Lands Preservation Association. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
1 2 3 Staff Writers (25 November 2013). "Whitmore: Renaissance of our neglected Adelaide CBD square". City Messenger. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
↑ "Kaurna Placename Meanings within the City of Adelaide". University of Adelaide. Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
↑ "City squares recognise women from the past". City of Adelaide. 19 March 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
↑ Amery, Rob; Williams, Georgina (2002). "Reclaiming through renaming: the reinstatement of Kaurna toponyms in Adelaide and the Adelaide Plains" (PDF). The land is a map: placenames of Indigenous origin in Australia. Pandanus. pp. 255–276. ISBN 1740760204 . Retrieved 7 March 2021– via Adelaide Research & Scholarship (University of Adelaide).
↑ "Park 15". Adelaide Park Lands Preservation Association. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
↑ Gara, Tom (December 1990). Tom; Gara (eds.). "The life of Ivaritji" (PDF). Journal of the Anthropological Society of Adelaide. 28 (1–2 (Aboriginal Australia: Special issue)): 64–100. ISSN 1034-4438.
↑ Elton, Jude (2013). "Voyagers". History SA. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
↑ Affifudin, Amirul Husni (September 2018). "Historical Archaeology Report: Mahomet Allum Khan". ResearchGate: 27–29. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.23125.27365 . Retrieved 27 November 2019.
↑ Knight, Gordon (5 September 2018). "Historic Whitmore Hotel in the CBD to reopen as Sparkke at the Whitmore". Adelaide Now. The Advertiser. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
↑ "Whitmore Square/Iparrityi Master Plan". City of Adelaide. Retrieved 27 November 2019.