Pitman Park

Salisbury
Large northern suburban area of Adelaide - now a city
Salisbury, with a population which is expected to reach 116,000 by 2001, is a large city which is now part of the northern suburbs of Adelaide. It is defined by the Pookara railway line, the Para river at the Old Spot Hotel and from the eastern foothills of the Adelaide Hills to the sea. It is located 20 km north of the Adelaide Central Business District.

A Scotsman, John Harvey, who was responsible for getting the mail from Adelaide to Gawler, settled on the Para Plains in 1843 and obtained land on the Little Para River in 1847. He was responsible for the establishment of Salisbury. He named the small settlement after the famous English cathedral city which happened to be the birthplace of his wife. He went on to name Wiltshire Street (after the county of his wife's birth), renamed the Old Government Road - Commercial Road, and named a number of smaller roads after his children.

The first citrus orchards in the district were planted in 1852 and the town was laid out in 1854. The railway arrived in 1856 and Harvey benefited greatly. Not surprisingly the railway attracted settlers and soon the township had shops, houses, hotels and churches. The economic future of the district was essentially agricultural. Wheat, oranges and dairy cattle all prospered and the Waterwheel Mill was built to provide water for some orange groves.

Salisbury remained a quiet and small township on the northern outskirts of Adelaide until the postwar years when Adelaide began to sprawl, particularly when the new development at Elizabeth was created in the 1950s. Prior to this, in 1927, the government had acquired land for an airfield at Parafield.

Things to see:  

The Old Spot Inn
Best known old building in the area, this pub was established as early as 1849. It is now recognised as one of the most important historic locations in what is essentially a modern suburban environment. It is located on the Main North Road just to the north of the town and is a very prominent location on the side of the road.

Salisbury Water Wheel Museum

Salisbury Water Wheel Museum
Located in Pioneer Park on Commercial Rd near the Little Para River this Water Wheel was built for Frederick Heinrich Kuhlmann who arrived in the Salisbury area, bought the Old Spot Inn in 1899 and developed a 30 acre orange grove and vegetable garden. His water supply for the hotel and his agricultural pursuits was a reservoir and he contracted a Mr Lee, a local blacksmith, to build a water wheel to pump water to the reservoir. The Little Para was dammed and Kuhlmann succeeded in filling his reservoir. The wheel was never perfect and it stopped being used in the 1940s. In the 1980s the local Rotary Club removed the wheel and it was re-established as an exhibition inside the museum. It has a diameter of 4.2 metres, has 64 buckets, a capacity of 20 litres and rotated at 8 revolutions per minute. The Museum is open on the first and third Sundays of each month from 2.30 p.m. - 4.30 p.m. Entry is free. It can be opened for special viewings: contact 8258 3016 or 8258 2275.

Little Para River
A pleasant escape from the city. The river starts in the hill above Salisbury Heights, drops to the plain and winds for 21 km until it joins the Torrens River. There are a number of parks with shade trees, picnic areas and playgrounds along its length.

The waterfall in Pitman Park

Pitman Park
This park was built in 1977 and is an attractive addition to the city. It is a popular place for picnics and relaxation and the waterfall has become a site for local weddings.

St Kilda Mangrove Trail
Located at Fooks Terrace, St Kilda this is a pleasant 1.7 km boardwalk experience which offers an insight into the bird, plant and marine life which lives on the shoreline north of Adelaide. There are a number of hides along the boardwalk where people can sit and watch the birds

	Hotels
	Eureka Tavern 10 Park Tce Salisbury SA 5108 Telephone: (08) 8258 2171
	Old Spot Hotel 1955 Main Rd North Salisbury Heights Salisbury SA 5108 Telephone: (08) 8258 2096
	Stockade Tavern Gawler St Salisbury SA 5108 Telephone: (08) 8258 2405
	The Salisbury Hotel 52 Commercial Rd Salisbury SA 5108 Telephone: (08) 8258 2722
	Restaurants
	Brass Lantern Parabanks Shopping Centre John St Salisbury SA 5108 Telephone: (08) 8250 5104
	Emperor's Crown 28 John St Salisbury SA 5108 Telephone: (08) 8258 9617
	Fasta Pasta 28 Park Tce Salisbury SA 5108 Telephone: (08) 8258 8888
	Nanking Chinese Restaurant 68 Daphne Rd Salisbury East Salisbury SA 5108 Telephone: (08) 8258 6533
	Salisbury Pizza & Pasta 26 Park Tce Salisbury SA 5108 Telephone: (08) 8281 0579
	The Great Eastern Chinese Restaurant 3 Church St Salisbury SA 5108 Telephone: (08) 8258 6018