Friday, July 12, 2019

PHILISTINE TOURS RESUME

Everything  old   is  new  again  in  City  of  Churches
The  above  absolutely brilliant  Bruce  Petty cartoon was used on the front  cover of the  CSR  Building Ideas  June  l969  magazine  to mark  the Australian Architectural  Convention  in   Adelaide .

On a central  monument   , Colonel William  Light , the man who  designed  Adelaide,  is  shown  asking where he went wrong , pointing at  a  crazy scene   of   church  spires  galore  , a  Wooomera  rocket ,  a  revered   footballer   with  angel  wings  ,  pontificating  clerics  . The God-fearing city offers  amazing spectacles    daily with 6 O'clock closing of pubs ; a judge  wielding  a whip warns  young people   enjoying themselves   they  will  be taught  to  behave like  adults ; a  large  Arts Festival     fountain  advertises a   genuine  Icelandic  sock dance troup , drama , opera ; a  woman   with a    pet dog wearing  a  Union Jack   coat  tells her knitting friend the   Advertiser newspaper   proposes Princess  Ann  grace the  muddy  Lake Torrens  Festival .    
 
And slap bang  in the centre of the  extraordinary  cartoon is   a Philistine  Tours bus , in which an obviously sozzled passenger ,  draped  in a grapevine, a camera   slung about his  neck,  instructs  the   driver   to  head  back to the  Barossa   wineries   , as he does not want to see  any  more  Adelaide attractions . 
 
A  toffy   pastoralist  , standing near the    Arts Festival  fountain ,   tells  his wide  brim  hatted   mate  he  is opposed   to intermarriage with  the  convict  states .
 
Much more   is  intertwined  in the   work , including   a  squawking   bird, possibly a  penguin , does not look like a  crow ,    demanding   nonsense  be put back  into  culture . 
 
CSR  hastened to  point out  the  supplied    critical  comment about  Adelaide and the  way  it  had  developed  were  not  necessarily  the views of the company .
 
It said  a l962 report on the development of metropolitan Adelaide  had  raised  fears that  the existing   haphazard   growth  pattern would continue .   It did ...Open spaces which were  to  be  preserved  as  buffer zones between the metropolitan  districts   had  been  whittled away without  apparent   concern . Public transport had deteriorated. Undesirable land use  had  even further   infiltrated  inner suburbs, ideal for  high density  housing, thus making  redevelopment  and  rehabilitation  more  difficult . 
 
Shopping  centres had been built  as a result of  research by  promoters , following unplanned   housing trends . Areas of  significant recreational and   scenic   value had  been overrun by subdivisions .  It was not " a happy picture ." Individual buildings , however  good , could  not compensate for lack of  planning  vision or for the rather inverted sense of values that  existed in  relation to " progress"  and social values  as  in  other  Australia  cities .  Until a better framework was offered   for Adelaide's future, individual buildings  could be  regarded only as  interesting , but minor , appendages to a grey , anonymous  metropolis .    
 
Right now,  in Adelaide,  there is  uproar  over a proposal to demolish  a  fine old   theatre  and   nearby  shops  at  Thebarton   for a   superhighway . Seems    Philistine  Tours  is   back  in   business .