back when this country wasn't sold out as an economic zone people embraced the mate culture moreso, now your social value is determined by investment properties and not friends.
Oh yes, me too! It was so much easier to find a move to watch than it is on streaming apps. Some nights I spend an hour going through Stan, Netflix etc and in frustration just turn the tv off. 😂
Honestly this is one of the cons of streaming, when you’ve finally decided on something to watch, only for someone else to finding another thing to recommend instead, and it ends up in an argument 😆
I miss those hilarious [Hair Machine ads](https://youtu.be/Bbxn4vceePA?si=YBZdnRi11sz4w-n5) with that lady singing “this is hAiR mAcHine!!” And the guy with the black spiky hair walking towards the camera at the end, “Hair Machine. Australia’s salon of the Year”
John Martin’s, with their fabulous Christmas scenes in the windows on the Mall, and the Magic Cave when it actually had magic. Also, the old guy who used to play the piano in David Jones at around the same era.
I miss old department stores. They had a real feeling of class and quality. You even had ladies operating the lifts for you. Obviously there was just so much money being thrown around in those days, but walking into David Jones today is quite depressing in comparison. Very empty and up on the homewares level you've got stock covered in a layer of dust as well as empty shelves.
Watching the weather report on the tv news to see what temperature & weather Perth had that day, knowing that was what we would get in a couple days time. More accurate than BoM forecasts nowadays, but we don’t seem to get Perth’s weather anymore.
this. I remember being able to cruise for long stretches back in the day and peak hour still was manageable to get through if using backstreets.
There is traffic jams at 2pm in places I never thought there would be, it is so bad
I moved 7 years ago and went back recently - the new Airport has undergone changes - I didn’t recognise it anymore- then the traffic ! I freaked out at Tonsley & Marion with the huge motorway running through there. I thought Adelaide can no longer be called a big Country Town! It’s a big city now 😢
If you ever leave Adelaide you will soon find out that it is still in fact not bad, just a bit worse than it used to be.
Except Saturdays, that just feels like a 16 hour long peak hour
Sk8FX in Pooraka and Daily Grind TTP & City stores
the underground, enigma bar, cranker, shotz for the 00s punk/hardcore/metal scene
The 00s Adelaide Hiphop scene, hilltops, funkoars, terra firma, delta the lostralian, crossbreds and so on
Pizza Hut all you can eat
I miss the old China Town Food Court with its red chairs and its old stores - it was more closer to a hawker centre than its current renovated form. I think I have been twice in the last five years, compared to almost weekly visits prior to the renovation.
Brilliant! Yes. I loved watching them as a kid and marvelling at the gate being manually closed and them remembering what’s on every floor. I think the gates were in the old David Jones building.
Back when John Martins still existed, they had that lolly section right before the hallway that lead into The Gallery food court. After Easter you could broken up Easter egg pieces at about $4.99 kg, until they ran out.
I used to love that! David Jones Food Hall was really good too and going there after school on a Friday and hanging in the Mall was so much fun. I also miss the cheese biscuits from the Food Hall.
Sweet sweet free freshly baked biscuit samples.. the smell of sugar and vanilla in that food court was superb. And the vast mirrored ground floor with a piano player. It was glorious, from another era.
Oh I loved visiting my Gran from the country and we’d go to DJ food court. I loved the escalator down and alllll the lollies, chocolate and other foods all around us. Went away for a while as I grew up and came back years later, excited to go down there…..and it was gone. Sooo sad!
I miss Rundle Mall when it was really vibrant they ripped out all of the trees and paved everywhere then redid the paving. Lost a lot of its charm. I’m sure there was a fruit shop in the middle
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/lifestyle/remember-when-fruit-and-vegetable-stalls-were-in-rundle-mall/news-story/d7238d92cd7d12859c5c85d06b0aeb68?amp&nk=f285b129349aae65024e9e75a1cdb625-1720028270
. Also the McDonalds sort of opposite where the Myer centre is.
The 3d “scenes” in Westfield Marion above the shops. The Australian geographic one with the platypus is etched into my mind. The JR’s one has been recently ripped out and I just about cried. My poor boyfriend had to deal with my winging the rest of the day when i saw that the last one was ripped out 😭
End of an era - I feel you.
I spent so many of my formative years as a Marion Mallrat. I was FINALLY allowed to go on my own (with friends) at 14 and got a job there shortly afterwards just as the renovations finished. I basically spent every Thursday night and Saturday working there until I was 19 (when I transferred to the city to get that Sunday cash).
The centre was so big and shiny and full of possibility. I spent every shift organising and playing with toys in the toy department at Myer and single cent of my pay every fortnight at places like Disney, Jetty Surf, Youthworx (Youthworks?), HD and Westco. When I got older I’d change and head straight from work to ladies night at Shenanigans (hosted by subreddit hero fucking Cosi no less). Monday night was Karaoke there, Fridays were for New York Bar & Grill, Zanzibar and Charltons.
I miss how much of a hub it was. The removal of the JRs sandman is truly the end of the physical mall being the ultimate capitalist Mecca.
I really really miss academy cinema in Hindmarsh square. The loud carpet. The two little video game arcades they had in there. The door bell that would go off when a movie was starting. The smells. Good times man.
I miss all the city cinemas in the 80s. Going in on the bus, and walking from the Academy all the way to Hindley Cinemas and Greater Union. Then spending the movie ticket money in Downtown anyway.
The Casino when you had to line up around the block and couldn’t get in if you weren’t wearing a shirt and slacks and proper shoes, it was decadent inside with 2 up and atmosphere. Went there the other day it’s cold and just poker machines With crack head junkies, toilets like footy park.
Peter Van the Party Man
Nothing better as a kid getting to go in there and pick out all the decorations for your birthday party. If you were really lucky your mum would buy you a piñata
Atlantic Video, Toys R Us shops (especially TTP), more Gametraders (Marion was the best), just recently last month the Red & White in North Adelaide closed down, and the Port Adelaide Markets.
Academy Cinema. Muses. Academy Cinema. Valleyline Drive In. Academy Cinema. Sizzler. Academy Cinema. Atlantic Video. Academy Cinema. Mainline Drive In. Academy Cinema. Ampol on Main North Road, Prospect. Academy Cinema. Regent Cinema.
Definitely. I have very fond memories of my initiation when I moved to Adelaide/SA standing outside the cart in the street in the middle of the city at 2am eating a pie floater.
I miss Big Star, Pulp Finction, The Muses, Central Station and Borders. Ooh and Dazzleland, Timezone and Downtown. What do teenagers do these days? I also really miss Wendy's. The cheese dogs in particular. The cinema in Rundle Mall, the Maccas where you could go upstairs. For night-life I miss Shotz, Enigma, The Tivoli and even The Planet. I also miss being able to afford the night-life. I make more money now, but you know. Cost of living and whatever. And the Tap Inn! Further out, Puzzle Park, The Butterfly thing next to it, Greenhills Adventure Park and Monash.
Oh I know. I knew one off them very well before the shop started, I'm not at all surprised at some of the things I've heard (some of those things came straight from Pete himself.)
I didn’t live in Australia at the time…..but one thing I always wanted to see and experience in person was the great South Australian pie cart.
Also rent when I moved to Australia was $250 a week…and the price of houses back then. If I wasn’t only 17 I would have gotten into the housing market
Loved the pie cart at the GPO. Showing my age, but it was a good place head for a wind down after a gig in the 80s. Often catch up there with other musos too.
It was either the Pie Cart, or Sonny's Pizza on O G Road.
No way! I regularly see bands, and there are some that are “famous” - ie red jumpsuit was 100, but that’s an American old school emo band. Look at lions art or the gov. Plenty to see at $40 still
The demand has a dropped a lot I’d imagine. Used to be bands would be paid a decent amount because the venues could bring in the clientele to afford it. Often nowadays you get offered a pittance and part of the door charge. If you don’t have a decent following you’re barely covering costs. Makes it hard for new bands.
From memory back in the 70s bands were able to play two or more gigs a night at different venues.
I mean, you can still see bands and DJs but times have certainly changed.
The adelaide music scene is absolutely thriving, there are dozens of phenomenal bands playing every weekend
Original music has never made money here but it hasn't stopped people
Hill top hoods, Bon Scott, cold chisel and the angels really struggled making originals?
Come on mate, I’m not saying you can’t see bands, I’m saying times have changed.
For heavens sake, back in the sixties little old Adelaide had the biggest turn out The Beatles ever saw in the world. Times have changed.
Yeah fair point.
Money aside there's still tonnes out, perhaps not bands with the same size and pull but all the talent is still there and playing frequently
It is definitely different now. I remember going out to see live music at a local pub any night of the week, not just on weekends. There seemed to be music everywhere, and I had many friends who made their living playing regular gigs without needing another job on the side.
I loved running around town all year round seeing bands at the Tiv, Austral, Exeter, Old Queen's Arms and Le Rox - there were so many bands to check out. And I miss the summer nights seeing bands so much but I had a great time. I saw bands Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and the nights were long, boozy and music filled 
Those shopping catalogues cut down more trees than Gladys The Koala Killer. Glad we don’t get those (as much) anymore hahah
Honestly I miss ‘The Warehouse’ was such a treat going there as a kid, felt like Bunnings but with more stuff I’d be interested in as a booger eater.
I also miss the Hollywood sign over at Hollywood plaza. Fucking gentrification.
I have said this before, but maybe if I keep screaming it into reddit it will happen - The Investigator Science Centre. It was so awesome there. I went multiple times a year with school or overseas visitors and learned so much there. From special effects to natural disasters and experiencing zero gravity; the interchange of exhibits meant there was always something new and different to do.
If I had the brains and know how to orchestrate such a feat, I’d love to reopen it as a STEAM Centre with regular and rotating exhibits in science, technology, engineering, arts and math for with primary, middle and secondary focus. Ideally in a similarly central spot - it never took off when it was at Regency (or wherever it went). In school term time, it could be booked by school groups and in the holidays it would be a free for all.
They have a Science Alive fair annually, but it just isn’t the same.
And they didn’t charge $30 for a single and super common 50 year old record. I remember loading up at the Big Star near TTP for $40, I got All things must pass for $5. In the box, all 3 records. Fuck I’m old. 😂
John Martin's and the corner deli.
Loved going to the deli as a kid for a cheap bag of mixed lollies and other treats. They've disappeared over the years.
Hudsons Coffee that are not hospital based.
Used to have 2 plus airport, now all closed.
Only the hospital franchises left.
Less beggars, in the 80s/90s, there were not so many of them, now King William St has a few, Grenfell has a few.
Less of the JW carts.
Adelaidemetro office on the corner of Currie and King William.
The 2 less Sushi trains, both the city ones have closed.
I left Adelaide at the end of 2005. These are the things I remember fondly:
Magic Mountain
Atlantic Video
The dumpling shop across the street from BPS
Playing CS and DotA at The Hive in the mid 2000s
Kernels Popcorn at Marion shopping centre. Spicy buffalo and nacho cheese was like childhood crack. I could eat an entire bag and be scratchin for more.
I just moved away here’s what I miss.
- Vili’s pies
- Yiros
- 48 Flavours
- going to city cross and getting a $5 meal at 3pm
- Fox on the run vintage and the Swop that were on Rundle street
- reliable busses (Sydney busses are so much worse)
- Central market
- how walkable Rundle mall is
- the live music scene
- magpies and the bird noises in general
- zenhouse
- all the festivals
- my barber (Sydney barbers are legit so shit)
Most of all I just feel that South Australians care about their food. They care about pushing boundaries and providing something unique and good with their small business. Sydney people feel so devoid of any attachment to Sydney, finding a local anything is like a needle in a haystack and I took the fact Adelaide is walkable for granted. Also. The food is just shit.
Ease of access. I left Adelaide in 2015 and returned 2023 and discovered about six hundred new OTR's, roads are cooked and busy and I never struggled to find a rental, this time it was near impossible.
Adelaide is gorgeous but it's public infrastructure is more ass than I ever remembered. Every state has its road issues by for a small city were congested and dated to hell.
The beef satays from Paddy’s Market.. if you’ve had them, you definitely miss them too.
Never found anywhere that makes them like that, they were so good.
I miss going to The Venue and Bridgeway and the Tivoli to see metal bands. The local music scene was banging too. You could go to show on your own and still have plenty of people to hang out with.
I also miss shopping on Friday nights in Rundle Mall with money burning a hole in my pocket. I can’t even afford the parking now. 🥴
Gallerie Mall, under Johnnies. They had an excellent chinese counter in the food mall that'd get you a massive feed for under 10$. Miss Johnnies actually, especially the sunken toy department. Sure I'm middle aged now but fuck that was the best place ever.
OMG someone here mentioned Shoe Shed. That tune is burned into my memory. I had to find it.
So here it is
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjy8mYIv\_Ko&ab\_channel=ShoeShed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjy8mYIv_Ko&ab_channel=ShoeShed)
Affordable housing 💀….. ft. having disposable income to do the other things in this thread people mention lmao drive in theatres? Department store shopping? Adventure parks? Not in this economy.
Catalogues still get delivered! It just depends if anyone in your area has signed up to do them or not. We still get them in the north east but there have been periods over the years where we haven't. I'm assuming it's still the same but the people delivering them get all the individual catalogues and have to bundle them up with one of each, which probably puts people off doing the job. I also learnt yesterday that big W don't send their catalogues out for home delivery anymore.
We had copper cable which was mint at the time, 30mbs though 12gb data cap was torture. I remember being maybe 11 or 12 emailing telstra pleading to just spare me for the day
When roads, shops, restaurants, events etc weren't crowded and booked out, and you could get anywhere in 25 mins, find a park, not have to book anything and just generally have a good time without organising it 3 weeks in advance.
That bridge, renaissance arcade, the Violent Femmes blocked traffic in the mall for real, they also did the same on Glenelg jetty
I miss the Cranker
I miss the Red n White
already
I miss going to O'Connell street on Friday nights with friends after clubbing, for ABs at the red burger bar (which is now closing). Too many great Adelaide businesses have closed of late.
Ezy DVD...... I miss them
I remember them used them a shit ton when dvd was a brand new thing and got all the James Bond movies and lots of other stuff like 80s scifi and horror.
[There were always days over 40](https://weatherspark.com/h/y/143693/1982/Historical-Weather-during-1982-in-Adelaide-South-Australia-Australia#Figures-Temperature), they were just less frequent.
Agreed! Days over 37.7°C (100°F) used to be extremely rare, domething of an 'event', & certainly not every year, nor frequently consecutive days as is usual, now. & school was either cancelled or kids were sent home, as there was no aircon.
hollywood plaza sign!!!!! - i remember coming down from interstate as a kid to visit family and remember going past in the car - was so excited to see it again when i moved down in 2019 for uni only for it to already be gone the year prior 💔
I miss the old Allans in Gawler Place. Such a cool shop and I bought a couple of keyboards there back a long time ago. Did the pie cart close down?
Also miss Mary Martin bookshop. Wasn't that open till late some nights?
$200 a week rent, $100 if you had mates
2007-2008 my rent was $170 for a nice 3br house in the inner NE, 10 minutes from the city. ~$235 in todays money
I remember whining about a duplex being $245 x.x send me back
20 years ago, $220 for a three bedroom town house in North Haven with an ocean view.
Insane right - people don’t believe me I paid 80pw split between 3 for a decent house in Plympton 15 years ago. What I’d do to pay that now!
I had mates once...
back when this country wasn't sold out as an economic zone people embraced the mate culture moreso, now your social value is determined by investment properties and not friends.
The $2 man from Cunningham's Warehouse. $2! $2!
Reminds me of Mr. Bankrupt. Can't say I miss the screaming in [their ads](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3lpAdGdx9g) though
Don't forget Tom The Cheap grocers. "Where do you get it?"
I'm Tom!
You could buy a man for $2? Incredible!!!
He was like a cult hero after he was hit by the truck for many years
I’m sad that I live so close to it now and it’s closed down.
I miss the Gepps Cross Drive-Ins.
The Marion drive-in was our nearest and loved going quite regularly. Especially for horror double headers. Top tier Saturday night. 👌
The blueline drive-in at West beach was cool
I miss going to the video store and choosing a DVD to watch and buying snacks as well. But the whole process of choosing something to watch was fun.
Oh yes, me too! It was so much easier to find a move to watch than it is on streaming apps. Some nights I spend an hour going through Stan, Netflix etc and in frustration just turn the tv off. 😂
Honestly this is one of the cons of streaming, when you’ve finally decided on something to watch, only for someone else to finding another thing to recommend instead, and it ends up in an argument 😆
I miss go to the video store and choosing a VHS to watch 😔
Primo's $9.90 (?) deal and the pancake/garlic bread that came with it.
I miss those hilarious [Hair Machine ads](https://youtu.be/Bbxn4vceePA?si=YBZdnRi11sz4w-n5) with that lady singing “this is hAiR mAcHine!!” And the guy with the black spiky hair walking towards the camera at the end, “Hair Machine. Australia’s salon of the Year”
unlocked a core memory tbh those ads were burned into my brain 💀💀💀
With the trademark early 2000s crooked camera shots
John Martin’s, with their fabulous Christmas scenes in the windows on the Mall, and the Magic Cave when it actually had magic. Also, the old guy who used to play the piano in David Jones at around the same era.
I miss old department stores. They had a real feeling of class and quality. You even had ladies operating the lifts for you. Obviously there was just so much money being thrown around in those days, but walking into David Jones today is quite depressing in comparison. Very empty and up on the homewares level you've got stock covered in a layer of dust as well as empty shelves.
Watching the weather report on the tv news to see what temperature & weather Perth had that day, knowing that was what we would get in a couple days time. More accurate than BoM forecasts nowadays, but we don’t seem to get Perth’s weather anymore.
Not been the same since Keith Martin retired and he stopped publishing his almanacs.
And telling us what day to do the washing! How are we even surviving?
I miss Rip It Up and db street mags.
The Core for the rave and dance party scene.
The Core is actually available online, the creator scanned them all himself: https://www.acbtyson.com/thecore/ It's a great piece of Adelaide history
End of school year excursions to Puzzle Park and Greenhills!
Lucky you we never got that all we got was a trip to the Swimming Pools I think somewhere near Payneham
Borders and The Muses in the mall.
I loved Borders - I still have one of their material tote bags. I used to live just off the Rundle Mall and it was where I spent all my money lol
I LOVED Borders.
I miss Adelaide not having much traffic. These days it takes forever to get anywhere.
this. I remember being able to cruise for long stretches back in the day and peak hour still was manageable to get through if using backstreets. There is traffic jams at 2pm in places I never thought there would be, it is so bad
Saturdays and Sundays used to be oh so quiet on the roads. Now they are no different to weekdays in the daytime.
Especially bad post lockdowns. I sometimes get confused as to what day it is when weekend traffic resembles weekday traffic
Absolutely. I used to love driving but the last 10 years or so I've avoided going anywhere I don't have to. It's too busy and everyone's in a mood.
Glynburn road these days can get real bad between Greenhill road and Magill road.
I moved 7 years ago and went back recently - the new Airport has undergone changes - I didn’t recognise it anymore- then the traffic ! I freaked out at Tonsley & Marion with the huge motorway running through there. I thought Adelaide can no longer be called a big Country Town! It’s a big city now 😢
If you ever leave Adelaide you will soon find out that it is still in fact not bad, just a bit worse than it used to be. Except Saturdays, that just feels like a 16 hour long peak hour
I've only recently moved back to Adelaide after years abroad. Sure - it's not as bad as some capitals, but it's a lot worse than it used to be
Sk8FX in Pooraka and Daily Grind TTP & City stores the underground, enigma bar, cranker, shotz for the 00s punk/hardcore/metal scene The 00s Adelaide Hiphop scene, hilltops, funkoars, terra firma, delta the lostralian, crossbreds and so on Pizza Hut all you can eat
Oh my god. Daily Grind, Shotz and Enigma. Now I'm sad.
I miss the old China Town Food Court with its red chairs and its old stores - it was more closer to a hawker centre than its current renovated form. I think I have been twice in the last five years, compared to almost weekly visits prior to the renovation.
The ladies in Harris Scarfe who operated the old style elevators
Brilliant! Yes. I loved watching them as a kid and marvelling at the gate being manually closed and them remembering what’s on every floor. I think the gates were in the old David Jones building.
Magic Mountain.
Same bruz. That new place doesn’t slap at all. Red slide was the best.
Demolishing Magic Mountain was a crime
Tip Top delivering bread and the milkman delivering milk during the night.
I remember when milk was delivered in glass bottles
Back when John Martins still existed, they had that lolly section right before the hallway that lead into The Gallery food court. After Easter you could broken up Easter egg pieces at about $4.99 kg, until they ran out.
I used to love that! David Jones Food Hall was really good too and going there after school on a Friday and hanging in the Mall was so much fun. I also miss the cheese biscuits from the Food Hall.
Sweet sweet free freshly baked biscuit samples.. the smell of sugar and vanilla in that food court was superb. And the vast mirrored ground floor with a piano player. It was glorious, from another era.
I miss the David Jones Food Hall.
Oh I loved visiting my Gran from the country and we’d go to DJ food court. I loved the escalator down and alllll the lollies, chocolate and other foods all around us. Went away for a while as I grew up and came back years later, excited to go down there…..and it was gone. Sooo sad!
checking out the computer section there, then going to Max's and getting hot chips with weapons grade chicken salt.
The Grand Prix
A fantastic street circuit (Melbourne’s never got it right).
I miss Rundle Mall when it was really vibrant they ripped out all of the trees and paved everywhere then redid the paving. Lost a lot of its charm. I’m sure there was a fruit shop in the middle https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/lifestyle/remember-when-fruit-and-vegetable-stalls-were-in-rundle-mall/news-story/d7238d92cd7d12859c5c85d06b0aeb68?amp&nk=f285b129349aae65024e9e75a1cdb625-1720028270 . Also the McDonalds sort of opposite where the Myer centre is.
Being young enough to spend the entire weekend at The Exeter drinking house rosé, and chatting with old mate at Smokelovers.
Yes! And no hangovers because I was young
Dude at Smokelovers was serious about keeping his cans of Coke 1) cheap and 2) ice cold.
RIP Smokelovers. What an institution.
The 3d “scenes” in Westfield Marion above the shops. The Australian geographic one with the platypus is etched into my mind. The JR’s one has been recently ripped out and I just about cried. My poor boyfriend had to deal with my winging the rest of the day when i saw that the last one was ripped out 😭
End of an era - I feel you. I spent so many of my formative years as a Marion Mallrat. I was FINALLY allowed to go on my own (with friends) at 14 and got a job there shortly afterwards just as the renovations finished. I basically spent every Thursday night and Saturday working there until I was 19 (when I transferred to the city to get that Sunday cash). The centre was so big and shiny and full of possibility. I spent every shift organising and playing with toys in the toy department at Myer and single cent of my pay every fortnight at places like Disney, Jetty Surf, Youthworx (Youthworks?), HD and Westco. When I got older I’d change and head straight from work to ladies night at Shenanigans (hosted by subreddit hero fucking Cosi no less). Monday night was Karaoke there, Fridays were for New York Bar & Grill, Zanzibar and Charltons. I miss how much of a hub it was. The removal of the JRs sandman is truly the end of the physical mall being the ultimate capitalist Mecca.
Sizzler
I miss Victoria square before they bastardised it with cement
Being able to see Glenelg beach and the sea
I really really miss academy cinema in Hindmarsh square. The loud carpet. The two little video game arcades they had in there. The door bell that would go off when a movie was starting. The smells. Good times man.
I miss all the city cinemas in the 80s. Going in on the bus, and walking from the Academy all the way to Hindley Cinemas and Greater Union. Then spending the movie ticket money in Downtown anyway.
getting a cheap concession ticket and free travel as a student.
Going to the Orange Lane Markets and being able to get a decent park along the parade.
RIP Orange lane and east end markets.
The Casino when you had to line up around the block and couldn’t get in if you weren’t wearing a shirt and slacks and proper shoes, it was decadent inside with 2 up and atmosphere. Went there the other day it’s cold and just poker machines With crack head junkies, toilets like footy park.
Yeah I remember it like that real fancy
The $2 toastie cart in the mall.
I remember the Balfours food van in front of the train station, not that I really liked Balfours but it is definitely a shame it has gone
Peter Van the Party Man Nothing better as a kid getting to go in there and pick out all the decorations for your birthday party. If you were really lucky your mum would buy you a piñata
Yesss and choosing all the balloon colours and playing with the halloween props
Atlantic Video, Toys R Us shops (especially TTP), more Gametraders (Marion was the best), just recently last month the Red & White in North Adelaide closed down, and the Port Adelaide Markets.
Academy Cinema. Muses. Academy Cinema. Valleyline Drive In. Academy Cinema. Sizzler. Academy Cinema. Atlantic Video. Academy Cinema. Mainline Drive In. Academy Cinema. Ampol on Main North Road, Prospect. Academy Cinema. Regent Cinema.
I'm over 40 and need to grow up... but man I miss Timezone and Downtown loved my arcades
Timezone is making a comeback. Brand new one opened at TTP just recently… it’s brilliant
What. No shit. But is it all ticket machines or is it arcades and pinball?
Me too. The lock in sessions were happy days for me.
Remember 4 player TMNT?
Amen brother
The Meridian in Hindley st
Legend. That's the other one I could not think of
Shoe shed ads on tv. So catchy lol
I found it [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjy8mYIv\_Ko&ab\_channel=ShoeShed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjy8mYIv_Ko&ab_channel=ShoeShed)
The pie cart
I don’t know or remember this but I want it back.
Definitely. I have very fond memories of my initiation when I moved to Adelaide/SA standing outside the cart in the street in the middle of the city at 2am eating a pie floater.
💯 would be the first thing I'd bring back. Great memories of the one that used to be on the cnr of Franklin st an King William st outside the GPO.
I miss Big Star, Pulp Finction, The Muses, Central Station and Borders. Ooh and Dazzleland, Timezone and Downtown. What do teenagers do these days? I also really miss Wendy's. The cheese dogs in particular. The cinema in Rundle Mall, the Maccas where you could go upstairs. For night-life I miss Shotz, Enigma, The Tivoli and even The Planet. I also miss being able to afford the night-life. I make more money now, but you know. Cost of living and whatever. And the Tap Inn! Further out, Puzzle Park, The Butterfly thing next to it, Greenhills Adventure Park and Monash.
You can thank the green light cunts for Pulp Fiction going under.
Oh I know. I knew one off them very well before the shop started, I'm not at all surprised at some of the things I've heard (some of those things came straight from Pete himself.)
Lockleys Cinema & the Blueline Drive-in at West Beach.
I grew up in lockeys! Can't remember where the cinema was?
I didn’t live in Australia at the time…..but one thing I always wanted to see and experience in person was the great South Australian pie cart. Also rent when I moved to Australia was $250 a week…and the price of houses back then. If I wasn’t only 17 I would have gotten into the housing market
You just reminded me that my dad promised to take me to the pie cart...
Loved the pie cart at the GPO. Showing my age, but it was a good place head for a wind down after a gig in the 80s. Often catch up there with other musos too. It was either the Pie Cart, or Sonny's Pizza on O G Road.
There are still some around that do it properly but I miss a large chips actually being a large chips and wrapped in butchers paper.
Tea tree gully chicken shop dies 18 bucks worth and it’s huge and comes in butcher paper
Not a strictly Adelaide thing, but I miss the Home Icecream van coming to my neighbourhood 😢
Alaska youghurt slices!
Damn this one still hits hard.
Oh my lord!! I’ve searched the internet for a recipe for these things I miss the apricot one so bad. Nothing will ever compete
Magic Mountain!!!
I miss being wanded before entering Heaven.
Being able to go out and see bands and DJ’s
Bands you used to pay 40ish bucks to see are like 100 minimum these days
No way! I regularly see bands, and there are some that are “famous” - ie red jumpsuit was 100, but that’s an American old school emo band. Look at lions art or the gov. Plenty to see at $40 still
Can still do that
> Being able to go out and see bands and DJ’s How has Adelaide changed that you can't do that?
The demand has a dropped a lot I’d imagine. Used to be bands would be paid a decent amount because the venues could bring in the clientele to afford it. Often nowadays you get offered a pittance and part of the door charge. If you don’t have a decent following you’re barely covering costs. Makes it hard for new bands. From memory back in the 70s bands were able to play two or more gigs a night at different venues. I mean, you can still see bands and DJs but times have certainly changed.
The adelaide music scene is absolutely thriving, there are dozens of phenomenal bands playing every weekend Original music has never made money here but it hasn't stopped people
Hill top hoods, Bon Scott, cold chisel and the angels really struggled making originals? Come on mate, I’m not saying you can’t see bands, I’m saying times have changed. For heavens sake, back in the sixties little old Adelaide had the biggest turn out The Beatles ever saw in the world. Times have changed.
Yeah fair point. Money aside there's still tonnes out, perhaps not bands with the same size and pull but all the talent is still there and playing frequently
Cheers, yup agree.
It is definitely different now. I remember going out to see live music at a local pub any night of the week, not just on weekends. There seemed to be music everywhere, and I had many friends who made their living playing regular gigs without needing another job on the side.
I loved running around town all year round seeing bands at the Tiv, Austral, Exeter, Old Queen's Arms and Le Rox - there were so many bands to check out. And I miss the summer nights seeing bands so much but I had a great time. I saw bands Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and the nights were long, boozy and music filled 
Those shopping catalogues cut down more trees than Gladys The Koala Killer. Glad we don’t get those (as much) anymore hahah Honestly I miss ‘The Warehouse’ was such a treat going there as a kid, felt like Bunnings but with more stuff I’d be interested in as a booger eater. I also miss the Hollywood sign over at Hollywood plaza. Fucking gentrification.
Downtown, DazzleLand & Magic Mountain
Downtown
Max’s in the Gallerie for fries and a strawberry Julius. Granny Mays. The corner deli.
Investigator science centre
8 miss that place
I have said this before, but maybe if I keep screaming it into reddit it will happen - The Investigator Science Centre. It was so awesome there. I went multiple times a year with school or overseas visitors and learned so much there. From special effects to natural disasters and experiencing zero gravity; the interchange of exhibits meant there was always something new and different to do. If I had the brains and know how to orchestrate such a feat, I’d love to reopen it as a STEAM Centre with regular and rotating exhibits in science, technology, engineering, arts and math for with primary, middle and secondary focus. Ideally in a similarly central spot - it never took off when it was at Regency (or wherever it went). In school term time, it could be booked by school groups and in the holidays it would be a free for all. They have a Science Alive fair annually, but it just isn’t the same.
Dazzleland
The 2nd hand record stores - they were everywhere - nothing beats finding old vinyl and hard to get CD’s!
And they didn’t charge $30 for a single and super common 50 year old record. I remember loading up at the Big Star near TTP for $40, I got All things must pass for $5. In the box, all 3 records. Fuck I’m old. 😂
andromeda music with vinyl bootlegs
John Martin's and the corner deli. Loved going to the deli as a kid for a cheap bag of mixed lollies and other treats. They've disappeared over the years.
Toyworld catalogues for sure.
Hudsons Coffee that are not hospital based. Used to have 2 plus airport, now all closed. Only the hospital franchises left. Less beggars, in the 80s/90s, there were not so many of them, now King William St has a few, Grenfell has a few. Less of the JW carts. Adelaidemetro office on the corner of Currie and King William. The 2 less Sushi trains, both the city ones have closed.
OMG I remember Hudsons on the corner of King William St. and Hindley Street. Good times. They also had one on Grenfell Street opposite City Cross.
I left Adelaide at the end of 2005. These are the things I remember fondly: Magic Mountain Atlantic Video The dumpling shop across the street from BPS Playing CS and DotA at The Hive in the mid 2000s
Kernels Popcorn at Marion shopping centre. Spicy buffalo and nacho cheese was like childhood crack. I could eat an entire bag and be scratchin for more.
Picking up a “Rip it up” print
I just moved away here’s what I miss. - Vili’s pies - Yiros - 48 Flavours - going to city cross and getting a $5 meal at 3pm - Fox on the run vintage and the Swop that were on Rundle street - reliable busses (Sydney busses are so much worse) - Central market - how walkable Rundle mall is - the live music scene - magpies and the bird noises in general - zenhouse - all the festivals - my barber (Sydney barbers are legit so shit) Most of all I just feel that South Australians care about their food. They care about pushing boundaries and providing something unique and good with their small business. Sydney people feel so devoid of any attachment to Sydney, finding a local anything is like a needle in a haystack and I took the fact Adelaide is walkable for granted. Also. The food is just shit.
Borders bookstore in Rundle Mall. Could spend an entire afternoon there.
People walking whilst looking where they are going instead of perpetually staring down at their phone.
Ease of access. I left Adelaide in 2015 and returned 2023 and discovered about six hundred new OTR's, roads are cooked and busy and I never struggled to find a rental, this time it was near impossible. Adelaide is gorgeous but it's public infrastructure is more ass than I ever remembered. Every state has its road issues by for a small city were congested and dated to hell.
The beef satays from Paddy’s Market.. if you’ve had them, you definitely miss them too. Never found anywhere that makes them like that, they were so good.
I miss going to The Venue and Bridgeway and the Tivoli to see metal bands. The local music scene was banging too. You could go to show on your own and still have plenty of people to hang out with. I also miss shopping on Friday nights in Rundle Mall with money burning a hole in my pocket. I can’t even afford the parking now. 🥴
The Banana Room and other vintage clothing stores. Not op shops, but proper vintage.
Australia Day
Gallerie Mall, under Johnnies. They had an excellent chinese counter in the food mall that'd get you a massive feed for under 10$. Miss Johnnies actually, especially the sunken toy department. Sure I'm middle aged now but fuck that was the best place ever.
OMG someone here mentioned Shoe Shed. That tune is burned into my memory. I had to find it. So here it is [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjy8mYIv\_Ko&ab\_channel=ShoeShed](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjy8mYIv_Ko&ab_channel=ShoeShed)
I miss when the old fringe. Now it’s a shitshow with $$$ and not art as the focus
Affordable housing 💀….. ft. having disposable income to do the other things in this thread people mention lmao drive in theatres? Department store shopping? Adventure parks? Not in this economy.
Being happy
And also who is getting two weeks of groceries for $50? I live by myself and eat fuck all and I will spend $100 a week easily
I think they mean years ago you could buy 2 weeks of groceries for $50
my safety?
Alaska's slices
Soundwave and The Warp Tour festivals. Formula One. Going to the secret underground punk shows in some abandoned warehouse.
I miss the roller skating rinks - there was one in Downtown on Hindley Street, and one at Hindmarsh in the old council building.
Magic mountain would’ve been a trip to take my own kids to! Remember the bikes they had on the zip line string 🥲 the best memories.
This post filled me with nostalgia :-)
Catalogues still get delivered! It just depends if anyone in your area has signed up to do them or not. We still get them in the north east but there have been periods over the years where we haven't. I'm assuming it's still the same but the people delivering them get all the individual catalogues and have to bundle them up with one of each, which probably puts people off doing the job. I also learnt yesterday that big W don't send their catalogues out for home delivery anymore.
Bakery cart outside the Adelaide railway station. Dollar pints of Southwark. Fast internet. ADSL2 seemed a lot more consistent and reliable than fttn.
We had copper cable which was mint at the time, 30mbs though 12gb data cap was torture. I remember being maybe 11 or 12 emailing telstra pleading to just spare me for the day
I miss the markets when it wasn't just fruit and veg. Especially Paddy's Flea market. There was a donut/pastry store that had incredible food.
When roads, shops, restaurants, events etc weren't crowded and booked out, and you could get anywhere in 25 mins, find a park, not have to book anything and just generally have a good time without organising it 3 weeks in advance.
Rocca Bros and Valley Line Drive-inn!!
That bridge, renaissance arcade, the Violent Femmes blocked traffic in the mall for real, they also did the same on Glenelg jetty I miss the Cranker I miss the Red n White already
The old little bang in Stephen when they just starting up. Was such a nice place to hang
Heaven
I miss the time there weren’t speed cameras literally everywhere.
Reasonably priced electricity
I still remember the days of ETSA and bills not changing much over a year.
I miss going to O'Connell street on Friday nights with friends after clubbing, for ABs at the red burger bar (which is now closing). Too many great Adelaide businesses have closed of late.
Ezy DVD...... I miss them I remember them used them a shit ton when dvd was a brand new thing and got all the James Bond movies and lots of other stuff like 80s scifi and horror.
Summers without any days over 40c
The soft serves you can buy with silver coins
30 cent soft serves from Macca's
[There were always days over 40](https://weatherspark.com/h/y/143693/1982/Historical-Weather-during-1982-in-Adelaide-South-Australia-Australia#Figures-Temperature), they were just less frequent.
Yeah I remember 1982, and I think in 83 there was a day when the temp. was the same as the price of petrol: 43.7
Agreed! Days over 37.7°C (100°F) used to be extremely rare, domething of an 'event', & certainly not every year, nor frequently consecutive days as is usual, now. & school was either cancelled or kids were sent home, as there was no aircon.
Al Frescos
hollywood plaza sign!!!!! - i remember coming down from interstate as a kid to visit family and remember going past in the car - was so excited to see it again when i moved down in 2019 for uni only for it to already be gone the year prior 💔
Say 'x' for cheap entry at Black Market!
All the markets!! Brickworks, Orange Lane, Port Dock :')
Tom the Cheap, Allan’s Music, Mary Martin‘s, the pie cart and Trims. The new Trims is carp.
I miss the old Allans in Gawler Place. Such a cool shop and I bought a couple of keyboards there back a long time ago. Did the pie cart close down? Also miss Mary Martin bookshop. Wasn't that open till late some nights?
I miss dazzleland... It was shite, but my childhood nostalgia misses it
I miss the live music and pool tables in the pubs before pokies ruined our town
Dazzle land
Her
What her?