G+ Anniversary Adelaide Photowalk #4

The final leg of our photowalk last week... a trip to the National Wine Centre of Australia... note, that's their name. Personally I think it's a bit strange... which country's national wine centre did they think we'd have in Adelaide? Anyhow, that's a small point. Actually the history of the Wine Centre has been something of an interesting story... but first off, I guess I should tell you a bit about the place.

The building sits just outside the CBD, and was the brainchild of the then Liberal government in South Australia. Wine, after all, is one of South Australia's chief produces. Like many good ideas in Adelaide however, things have a tendency to go awry.

The centre opened in 2001, but amidst complaints from the opposition, the media, and competition from a private "centre" the Centre closed down, and was re-opened as a campus of the Adelaide University in 2003.

Despite all the controversy however, the building is quite distinctive in it's own right, fashioned as it  is on the wine barrel design... making for an unconventional look in an otherwise conventional Adelaide.

The centre itself is open to the public to stroll through, and during the Photowalk that's exactly what we were all doing. So I think I'll just post a few more photos from around the buildings...

Inside is quite a pleasant environment... mixing quintessential corrugated iron with glass, timber and ochre stucco. There's plenty of information (including a whiff sampler where you can smell the different ingredients to the different wines).

The internal sails/windows really add to the ambience. It may not be Sydney Opera House, but there's a nice elegance to it.

And of course, there's the wine.... and there's lots of it. You can buy it, taste it, and be educated about it. And, as the Wine Centre is now part of the University of Adelaide, it means that drinking wine can be about getting smarter (not just drunk).

 

And the Wine Centre has not been without it's excitement too, with the former Premier of the State, Honorable(?) Mike Rann being attacked unceremoniously by a disgruntled ex-husband (it's a long story) with a rolled up magazine. Grassy knoll it was not, but it actually left quite a bit of damage (something to remember when you yell abuse at the newspaper-delivery kid next). The incident (and the story behind it) didn't bring down the government, but it was one of the events that left long-time Premier leaving office with a less than glorious note. I wonder if he's been back since leaving politics... I do note that he did get a position with the competing Flinders University. Coincidence?

So leaving the National Wine Centre (of Australia)... I headed across the road to Rymill Park for the final meet up.

Time for just a couple more shots of the park...

And just because I can, I'll throw in two completely unrelated photos from the park...

Overall... photowalks, I've found are not necessarily the most social events (and especially as I'm such a shy lad)... but they are fantastic events for getting out and about, enjoying the great outdoors and especially, most especially, giving you a great reason to grab your camera and start looking through the viewfinder for different perspectives of the world around you.

So thank you Google, thank you Paul Clarke for organising this walk, and also a big thank you to everyone on G+ for helpful comments since getting back on-line. And also, finally a HUGE thank you to you (the reader) for allowing me this self-indulgence. Well, at least you have if you've read right down to the bottom of this post. Well done, by the way... I always wonder how many people actually read my blog posts.