Electra House, a very late Victorian classical addition to Adelaide; the nation's cables link centre in 1920s/40s
As home to Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Co., Electra House in King William Street, Adelaide city, became an important communication hub.
A very late Victorian building with classical elements was approved for 131-133 King William Street, Adelaide city, by the city council in 1900. The building, later known as Electra House, was built originally for the Citizen’s Life Assurance company.
Architects John Quinton Bruce, William Cumming and Ernest Bayer did its design. Bruce was behind other important city buildings, including Carclew in North Adelaide, the freemasons building on North Terrace, Adelaide city, and the Woodville Institute.
The new three-storey the Citizen’s Life Assurance building, opened in 1901, with its ornate external pillars, described in the local press as “one of the finest suites of offices that Adelaide would possess”. It also had the city’s first electric lift operated with hemp ropes, installed in 1905.
The building took on more historical significance in 1921 when the Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Co. Ltd moved into it. In 1872, this company had provided telegraphic communication from Europe to South Australia’s overland telegraph. Before that, letters sent between the Australian colonies could take weeks to reach their intended destination by mail coach, and letters for overseas travelled for several months by ship.
The Morse telegraph in the 1840s dramatically changed the speed and ease of communication between colonies, countries and continents. South Australia established the overland telegraph line that connected Australia to the rest of the world.
As home to Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph, that still controlled the overseas telegraph cable links between Australia and the world, the King William Street building became an important communication hub. In 1940, it became Electra House, named after the Greek mythological figure Electra: the bright one.
In 1949, the federal government bought Electra House, ending its time as a cable station. From there it changed hands several times, serving as the Post Master General’s technicians’ school and the home to a telecommunications museum. For 20 years, the once-busy city building was empty and neglected, other than briefly serving as an art space and the Fringe Festival’s Tuxedo Cat venue in 2011.
After a $10 million renovation by Studio 9 Architects and interior designer Danielle Elia, the building was given a new life in 2015. Electra House became the home of bar and the Greek restaurant Olea, and also included private functions spaces and a beer garden. Original features of the heritage-listed building were sensitively retained during the renovations, including the electric lift, pillars and high internal ceilings.
