King William Street, Adelaide

King William Street, looking north from Victoria Square, February 2009.

King William Street looking south, December 2010

BankSA head office in King William Street between Currie and Waymouth Streets, July 2007. Construction of the Glenelg Tramline extension in the foreground.

The intersection from King William Street, looking east towards Rundle Mall, 2013.

King William Street between North Terrace and Currie Street, looking south-west, November 2006.

Exterior of the Adelaide Town Hall viewed from the street

King William Road, North Adelaide, from the Adelaide Oval, looking south over the River Torrens towards North Terrace, King William Street and the Adelaide city centre, May 2009.

King William Street, looking north towards St Peter's Cathedral

King William Street is the part of a major arterial road that traverses the CBD and centre of Adelaide (the capital of South Australia).^[1] It was named by the Street Naming Committee on 23 May 1837 after King William IV, the then reigning monarch, who died within a month.^[2] King William Street is 132 feet (40 m) wide, and is the widest main street of all the Australian State capital cities, which are significantly narrower by comparison. It is historically considered one of Adelaide's high streets, for its focal point of businesses, shops and other prominent establishments.

Glenelg Tramline

The Glenelg Tram runs the entire length of the street, with the northern end of the line continuing along North Terrace to the Entertainment Centre in Hindmarsh and the southern end continuing along its own off-road right-of-way to Glenelg. Tram travel north of South Terrace is free.

King William Road

The name King William is applied several times to the continuous stretch of road that begins in the inner southern suburbs and terminates in North Adelaide. Where it runs through the Adelaide city centre, it is named "King William Street"; elsewhere it is named "King William Road". It starts in the south as King William Road, at the north edge of Heywood Park in Unley Park, and runs through Hyde Park and Unley to Greenhill Road. It runs through the south parklands (as Peacock Road), the Adelaide city centre (as King William Street) and continues north from North Terrace as King William Road to Brougham Place, North Adelaide. The road continues north to National Highway 1 as O'Connell Street, but the name King William is not again used. The northern section called King William Road (connecting the Adelaide city centre with North Adelaide) passes several of Adelaide's landmarks, including Government House, Elder Park, the Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide Oval and St Peter's Cathedral. The section from North Terrace over the Adelaide Bridge to Pennington Terrace was named King William Road at the opening of the bridge in 1877.^[3]

Historical photographs

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  Sometime between 1869 and 1889. Town Hall on left, Post Office on right.

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  Sometime between 1869 and 1889. Hall's Southern Cross Hotel, the Imperial and various shops, horse and buggy and tram.

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  Sometime between 1869 and 1889.

Name changes on streets crossing King William Street

Between North Terrace and South Terrace, all east-west roads change their names as they cross King William Street. It is said this is because no one is allowed to cross the path of a monarch.^[2]

Also, travelling north-south, the cross-streets alternate between being wide (up to 4-lanes wide) and narrow (2-lanes wide), with the exception that Grote and Wakefield Streets are up to 6-lanes wide. Note that in the south half of the city, in several places the Adelaide City Council has increased the widths of footpaths and changed the road markings so that traffic is restricted to use a lesser number of lanes than the full width of the road.

Travelling south from North Terrace, the street pairs are:^[4]

West Terrace ↓		Morphett Street ↓		King William Street ↓		Pulteney Street ↓		East Terrace ↓	Designed width
	North Terrace		North Terrace		North Terrace		North Terrace		4-lane
	Hindley Street		Hindley Street		Rundle Mall		Rundle Street		2-lane
	Currie Street	Light Square	Currie Street		Grenfell Street	Hindmarsh Square	Grenfell Street		4-lane
	Waymouth Street		Waymouth Street		Pirie Street		Pirie Street		2-lane
	Franklin Street		Franklin Street	Victoria Square	Flinders Street		Flinders Street		4-lane
	Grote Street		Grote Street		Wakefield Street		Wakefield Street		6-lane
	Gouger Street		Gouger Street		Angas Street		Angas Street		4-lane
	Wright Street	Whitmore Square	Wright Street		Carrington Street	Hurtle Square	Carrington Street		2-lane
	Sturt Street		Sturt Street		Halifax Street		Halifax Street		4-lane
	Gilbert Street		Gilbert Street		Gilles Street		Gilles Street		2-lane
	South Terrace		South Terrace		South Terrace		South Terrace		4-lane
West Terrace		Morphett Street		King William Street		Pulteney Street		East Terrace	Designed width

In popular culture

King William Road was referenced in the John Schumann song "Hyde Park Calling (King William Road Scene 1)" on the 1993 album True Believers.

See also

Australian Roads portal

References

1. 2003 Adelaide Street Directory, 41st Edition. UBD (A Division of Universal Press Pty Ltd). 2003. ISBN 0-7319-1441-4.
2. "History of Adelaide through street names - Street Names". www.historysouthaustralia.net. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
3. "OPENING OF THE ADELAIDE BRIDGE.". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 17 May 1877. p. 3 Supplement: Supplement to the South Australian Register. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
4. Map of the Adelaide city centre, North Adelaide and the Adelaide Parklands.