What is there to do in Adelaide? Too much | Peter Goers

I’ve seen Adelaide change from a beloved big country town to a city I struggle to recognise, writes Peter Goers. Have your say.

Sometimes some people think Adelaide is dull. What do you think? Actually, sometimes I wish it were duller. Anything for a quiet life.

Like beauty, dullness is in the eye of the beholder and often it’s the dull people who think Adelaide is dull.

Dull is as dull does – or, rather, doesn’t.

I’ve lived here all my life except for a few years when I escaped, not because I was sick of Adelaide but Adelaide was sick of me.

The topic of the dullness or otherwise of our beloved city came up because of a Facebook post from the oddly-named Dull Women Community and 1500 people responded – and the vast majority didn’t think Adelaide was dull.

TELL US WHY IN THE COMMENTS

The best response came from Nick Limberis, who sagely opined: “They say there are only two types of people who don’t want to live in Adelaide. Those who have never been here and those who have never left.” True.

The best view of Adelaide is always when you return from somewhere else and you’re happy to be home.

If you find Adelaide dull it’s your fault. You are the problem. You are dulling us down. Lot of things happen in Adelaide – perhaps too much.

The most difficult thing to accept in life is change, yet the only constant in life is change.

In my time I’ve seen Adelaide change from a beloved big country town to a city I struggle to recognise. We are still the City of Churches but we are now the City of Empty Churches. Once Adelaide was as comfortable as an old cardie. Once, you went to town, parked and walked into the place you were visiting.

Growth brings frustrations. Heritage buildings are replaced by tall-taller-tallest, ugly cookie-cutter buildings.

There have only been two great modern buildings in the last 30 years, the SAHMRI building (now built out) and that high rise with asymmetrical windows on Waymouth St. Everything else is just stultifyingly ordinary.

The Scape university student accommodation building on Waymouth Street is one of the best recent additions to the CBD. Picture: Colin James

SAHMRI is the other. Picture: Dean Martin

Sadly, Adelaide now ranks as having the sixth most expensive housing in the world.

We are no longer a 20-minute city. It can take 40 minutes to get 3km on South Road. Our traffic is a chocked bad joke. And getting worse.

Public transport gets worse too, if that’s possible. There are roadworks everywhere and they take forever.

Adelaide used to have climate. Now we have weather. We’ve not had a heatwave in 10 years and we’re still using heaters in November.

Change is not always progress but it is energising.

The Premier says “Adelaide is open for business” but it has been since 1836 and for countless millennia before that for Aboriginal people.

We may all get frustrated by Adelaide but that’s not dullness. We can never say nothing ever happens.

Adelaide is a glorious place to live ‘tween hills and sea.

Melbourne is hideous, Perth is weird, Sydney is aggressive with a wallet where its heart used to be and Brisbane is ghastly and always best avoided.

Canberra has improved but it’s too cold. Hobart is a beautiful city but too cold, too.

Like art and beauty, dullness is subjective. Cricket and golf are, to me, the definition of dull but are, inexplicably, thrilling to other – mainly dull – people.

I’m happiest reading a book, boring my friends and pontificating herein weekly. Am I dull? Maybe, but I’m like Adelaide itself, I’m our kind of dull. I belong.

Young people often leave Adelaide – and they always have – but they come back, relieved to be home. And everyone ends up wearing an old cardie.

HOT/NOT

HOT

Port Pirie – forever.

Beach volleyball – but you have to be gorgeous to play it.

NOT

The super duper vroom-vroom car race traffic chaos.

Where is summer?

Proposed 70km/h speed limit on country roads. Absurd.

VALE

Christine Pierson – a great friend to all cats.

Deane O’Brien of Norwood – one of the last, great eccentrics.