Tuesday, March 25, 2025

This evening, I am all museum-ed out.

When I was planning this trip, I noticed that there were two museums in Port Adelaide that sounded interesting. The first was the National Railway Museum, the other was the South Australian Maritime Museum. Since they were only a stone's throw apart, I though I could do them in a day with plenty of time to spare. Big mistake!

First the Railway Museum (me and trains!) It had a wide range of exhibits, and probably has a wider range of locomotives than York (if not as many exhibits). I thought a quick hour would see me round there, then off for lunch. Two hours later I was talking to one of the staff/volunteers about preserving the exhibits. He was very friendly and invited me through the No Entry gate to get some better pictures. He had been painting one of the exhibits, and his mate even removed the tarpaulin so that it didn’t show up in the picture. He told me that though Australia is one country, the states still bicker. The loco (no 752) came from Victoria, and the preservationists there want it back!

Then for a late lunch at Pirate Life brewery. In the heat here, I am eating salads which is unlike me. They had two very refreshing pale ales, confusingly with the same named South Coast Pale. The only way to distinguish them was by the strength.

Then to the Maritime Museum. I thought I could knock it off in an hour, then get the train back to Adelaide. Again, big mistake. The centrepiece is a ketch, the Active II (I think). I was able to go on board and go down into the cabins and hold (not good if you are claustrophobic, and the steps must have been a nightmare in anything more than a breeze). I spent more time learning the stories of the migrants to South Australia, who were not convicts but settlers. It was fascinating.

I went back to the hotel then went for an evening stroll by the River Torrens. It was beautiful, with the buildings turning golden as the sun went down. Unfortunately, it was still very hot.