Carols by Candlelight an Adelaide tradition from 1944 first run by Commercial Travellers Association and 5AD
The Carols by Candlelight tradition in Elder Park, Adelaide city, was started in 1944, organised by the Commercial Travellers' Association and The Advertiser radio station 5AD.
Carols by Candlelight in Elder Park, Adelaide city, beside the River Torrens, in 2022, after being interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, resumed a tradition started in 1944.
The event, with entertainment and fireworks added to the carolling, restarted in 2022 with sponsorship by South Australian international transport company Kelsian Group as sponsor under the name of its SeaLink Kangaroo Island ferry. St John Ambulance was the beneficiary charity and the South Australian government gave $250,000 in funding per year for the next four years.
The first Adelaide Carols by Candlelight in 1944 had the Commercial Travellers' Association as its joint organiser. The association, the first in Australia, was formed in 1874 by a group of commercial travellers (now known as sales or customer service reps and managers) who met to discuss difficulties such as poor quality country roads and hotel accommodation in South Australia.
On Christmas Eve 1944, the first Adelaide Carols by Candlelight, jointly organised by the association and The Advertiser radio station 5AD was presented at Elder Park, attracting about 30,000 people. Proceeds were donated to several Adelaide charities.
5AD announcer Richard (Dick)n Moore was seen for decades by many thousands as compere from the start of Carols by Candlelight in Adelaide city’s Elder Park. Police estimated the crowd at the 1954 Carols at just under 100,000 and numbers continued in the 80,000-100,000 range. Moore also organised another Adelaide institution: the annual Good Friday appeal, first on 5AD and then with ADS Channel 7.
That tradition of community service and patronage by the Commercial Travellers Association continued. From 1903, the association had raised money to buy land on the corner of North Terrace and Bank Street, Adelaide city, where a three-storey building opened in 1905. In 1981, the building was sold and the Commercial Travellers' Association and The South Australian Club moved to premises in Wakefield Street, Adelaide city. In 1998, the Commercial Travellers' Association moved its social events to the Police Club and opened new offices in Carrington Street, Adelaide city In 2004, the office moved to Union Street, Dulwich