Today started with a basket full of washing, well it has to be done sometime. Have decided to have a car free day and go into Adelaide on the O-Bahn (a bus which converts into a tram for part of the journey). By the time the washing was done and hung out it was 11.30am before we got the bus.

The plan is to visit the Old Adelaide Gaol which turned out to be further from the centre of the city than we thought and it took us around 1/2hour to walk there . On the way though we saw lots of buildings we’ve never seen before as we’ve never walked that side of the city. We got off the bus at our usual stop outside the Hospital and walked down towards the Station and onward passing lots of new modern buildings for The University and the New Adelaide
Hospital, hope they’ve got triple glazing as it’s right next to the rail line and very close to the airport.

The first building we came to though was the first church built in the city The Trinity Church. Reverend Charles Beaumont-Howard arrived in Australia on HMS Buffalo and became
the first Anglican Minister. He held his first service on Sunday 1^st January 1837 at Glenelg. The North Terrace Church we see today was chosen by Colonel William Light the Surveyor General and the foundation stone was laid on 26^th January 1838 by Captain John Hindmarsh the first Governor of South Australia. It was reconstructed in 1845 and extended in 1888-1889 when it was transformed into the Victorian Gothic style we see today, with pointed windows and a pitched roof .

Adelaide itself was settled in 1836 and was the first colony established without convict labour, at the time they didn’t consider they would need a gaol as everyone was considered law abiding. The first wrong doers were kept in irons aboard HMS Buffalo until it sailed in June 1837. Then a tent and wooden stockade was used until 1839 when a permanent gaol was needed and the Adelaide Gaol was designed with 5 yards and 4 observation towers. Due to rising costs only 2 towers were finally built. This gaol was used until the 1970’s.

The only women hung at Adelaide Gaol was Elizabeth Lillian Woolcock who was convicted of poisoning her husband Thomas in Moonta after several weeks of illness. The autopsy revealed that he had been poisoned. After less than 30 minutes she was found guilty but the jury asked for leniency due to her only being 26 but the judge ordered her execution to take place on Tuesday 30^th December 1873.

Another female inmate was Sarah Francisco who was kept in Two Yard between 1871 and 1912 she was convicted of a record total of 295 offences for drunkenness and unruly behaviour mostly around Port Adelaide. In total she spent more than 16 years, including 12 Christmas Day’s . An Irish immigrant she had arrived in South Australia in 1866

Got back around 4.30 managed to get the right bus this time, but did get on a tram going in the wrong direction though, good job it was only 2 stops from the end of the route.