If I had a ‘Time Machine’ I’d travel back to the 50s, 60s and 70s just to capture some photos of Adelaide in those years when we were growing up. 

So many images are missing and it seems not many people had cameras in those days and consequently so much has been lost. 

People love to remember the fun parks like the roof of Cox Foys in Rundle Street which opened in the mid 50s and closed in 1977. I’ve never found any photos of the rooftop fair except for this image taken from a film produced by Screen Australia in 1964, showing a glimpse of the huge Ferris wheel that was on the roof. When I posted this on Facebook originally, there were many comments posted of memories of a yearly trip to town, a visit to the magic cave to see Father Christmas, lunch in Coles Cafeteria followed by a ride on the Ferris wheel with dad while mum did the final bit of Christmas shopping. One poster remembered “mum and me getting all dressed up to go into town, shopping in Cox Foys, lunch was a cheese sandwich and a pineapple juice, it was such a huge treat. Kids today don’t know that feeling because they have so many more treats than we did”. 

Another remembered; “Dad took me for a few rides on the Ferris wheel. He used to say he was giving me a treat but I recall being quite scared. I think he enjoyed looking out over the city and I was the excuse". 

Do you have any memories or photos to share of the Ferris wheel on the roof of Cox Foys?  

Samorn the elephant was a much loved attraction at the Adelaide Zoo. According to the Sunday Mail from June 2nd 2013;
"Samorn's own story, with still so much feeling evoked from elephant sympathisers, everyone should go directly to Samorn's (auto)biography at the Adelaide Zoo Shop, telling her true story from her 1950 birth in Siam. She was a specially chosen Asian elephant, a royal gift to Adelaide, in 1956. Right from the start she was bright, very observant, curious, and rarely forgot.

She formed many staff friends and became very attached to Hero Nuus, her senior keeper, who effectively became her "mahout". Samorn made a Zoo society member friend who tape recorded her life story from start to finish, warts and all, in Sam's "own words". She was a jealous, working, clever and trustworthy elephant both up front and behind the scenes, and would not share her beloved jobs.

Rumor has it that Samorn drank a bottle of scotch whisky every day to keep her warm in Winter 

Her growing tonnage obliged her to rock to and fro to assist her heartbeat. It wasn't boredom it kept her healthy. Samorn's Adelaide career lasted through several eras and much change. Her scribe gifted the final edition copyright of Elephant in Our Zoo to the RZS, which is a charity, in July 2012 to last forever.

Samorn, Hero and the Adelaide Zoo are forever part of Adelaide and SA history"

Remember when as kids we used to pretend to smoke with the lolly cigarettes called 'Fags'. I can recall these, as I'm sure most can, in the tuck shop at school and the local corner shop. Dave Wally shared this photo and it certainly stirred lots of great memories, some posters saying that it might have actually led them to smoking the real thing. 

Back in the 60s and 70s smoking wasn't frowned upon as it is today and the cigarette companies had open slather, allowed to advertise on radio, TV, in the paper and any other form of advertising that was available! I started to smoke when I first got a job in the PMG but soon had to make a decision...the latest Elvis 45 or a packet of Viscount. Elvis won and I was never able to afford cigarettes spending all my available money on records. I think I got lucky!!

  

    

Back in April this year we posted an article about the end of analogue TV transmission in Adelaide;

At 7am this morning they switched of the analogue TV transmitters in Adelaide. TV started in Adelaide on 5 September 1959 when NWS-9 began broadcasting. John Doherty read the first news bulletin while other presenters included Kevin Crease, Glenys O’Brien and Ian Fairweather. ADS-7 commenced transmission on 24 October 1959, I can’t remember who did the first news bulletin but I recall Alec Macaskill was one of their early newsreaders with personalities such as Angela Stacy and Rick Patterson. ABS2, the ABC station in Adelaide began broadcasting on 11 March 1960. I can’t remember who their top presenters were (I wasn’t much of an ABC fan in those days). SAS-10 commenced broadcasting on 26 July 1965. Early names that come to mind include Noel O’Connor and Caroline Ainslee. Of course we had that weird switch in 1987 when Ch-10 and 7 switched broadcast channels. Can anyone remember the original line-ups and personalities?

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Remember before American food arrived in Adelaide? Hamburgers in those days were generally made at a cafe or fish'n'chip shop and one 'with the lot' consisted of a REAL mince meat patty, fried onion, tomato, beetroot, bacon, fried egg and tomato sauce. We never had McDonalds of course and I can recall on a Saturday night, as a teenager, we'd drive miles to go to the Burger King on Anzac Highway or the Blue and White Cafe in O'Connell Street (best hamburgers in Adelaide), to buy a Hamburger. The best chicken shop was owned by Chick Hansen out on Main North Road at Prospect and I reckon the first Pizza Palace opened in the early 70s

The Pie Cart on the GPO corner....I think it held the record for a while as the longest operating 'restaurant' in Adelaide. Working the midnight to dawn shift at 5KA in 1968, I'd stop on my way to work and buy 2 pies, eat one before starting work and eat the other one cold at about 3am. (No microwaves in those days). After a night out, the pie cart was a life saver!

Andrew Heslop - Commentator, MC and Community Advocate has shared a memory of growing up in Adelaide; "Seppelts Wine Vinegar was once on the counter at every fish and chip shop in Adelaide. The distinctive bottle provided a thin stream of vinegar through a tiny hole in the blue top, right on to your steaming fish and chips. With the advent of multinational fast food chains the shops - many owned by hard working first generation migrants - have slowly closed down. My favourite is still open - Sotos on Semaphore Road down near the beach. Many happy memories of being there with my grandparents during summer and taking our meal across to the (now closed) sideshows and summer carnival. Happy days"! Thanks Andrew. That photo brings back so many memories of fish and chips with salt and vinegar, wrapped in yesterday's newspaper, at the beach or to take home for tea (dinner). I reckon the newspaper was better at soaking up the oil from the batter than the white butchers paper they now use. Where was your favourite fish and chip shop growing up?

Do kids today still drink milkshakes? I remember as a kid growing up in the 50's and 60's going to the deli or corner shop with a mate after school or as a teenager with a group of other teenagers for a milkshake or maybe even a 'nut sundae'. As teenagers I can't ever remember going to a pub just to get drunk....we drank, mainly beer, and that was usually outside the dance so we'd get up a bit of 'dutch courage' to ask a girl to dance. Milkshakes were served in colored annodised cups and were really cold and if you drank them too fast you'd get "brain freeze". My wife remembers a 'blue moon' milkshake which was like a bubble gum flavour. Any memories about the local milk bar and milkshakes?

                                                

Remember when Mr Whippy first started to sell ice creams in Adelaide suburbs from his van? I reckon it would have been mid to late 60's? During summer school holidays or on weekends you'd hear 'Greensleeves' a few streets away and it would get louder as he came closer to your street. Then it was on to try and scrape a few coins together, then a sprint to hopefully catch Mr Whippy before he merrily made his way to the next street. You could get icecream dipped in chocolate, hundreds & thousands, or topped off with a flake. Come to think of it I haven't heard a Mr Whippy van for years. Are they still around?

While we're talking about ice creams and milk shakes, lots of posters comments mentioned Sigala's as the BEST place for a milk shake. Sigala’s was in Rundle Street – now Rundle Mall – Just opposite the Myer Emporium. They had all different flavoured milkshakes and ice creams. One of my favourites was their “Special” – which was served with a scoop of ice cream and then a flavoured syrup, followed by another scoop of ice cream and a different flavour syrup. From memory there was about four scoops of ice cream then a layer of mixed fruit salad topped with whipped cream, then crushed nuts, and a cherry on top. I think it cost about 2/6. They also had "American Milkshakes' and fantastic 'spiders'