The festival centre in Adelaide, Australia's first capital city arts complex, opened in 1973 as bipartisan project
At the Festival Theatre, Connor Whyte, first local winner in 2022 of the international classical guitar competition at the Guitar Festival, one of the festivals hosted by Adelaide Festival Centre. Inset: Opening of the festival centre in 1973 by Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam, with South Australian premier Don Dunstan and Adelaide lord mayor Robert Porter.
Adelaide Festival Theatre, opened on June 2, 1973, by Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam, was the start of the nation’s first capital city performing arts complex. The Playhouse (later Dunstan Theatre), Space and amphitheatre were soon added to complete the Adelaide Festival Centre.
With the Theatre Royal in Hindley Street, Adelaide city, demolished in 1962 and the Adelaide Festival of the Arts outgrowing the city's venues, South Australian Liberal premier Steele Hall enacted legislation for a new performing arts centre. The original proposed site was the Carclew mansion on Montefiore Hill, North Adelaide, that had been bought from the Bonython family by Adelaide city council to build a grand concert hall.
Don Dunstan took over from Frank Walsh as Labor state premier in 1967 and began to consider other theatre sites but he lost office to Steele Hall less than a year later. Hall was keen to pursue the festival centre idea and Dunstan's vision for a flexible theatre that could also be a concert hall. On a trip to London, Hall was convinced by a visit to the Royal Festival Hall on the River Thames that the River Torrens should host the artistic heart of the city. The old city baths would be demolished to make way for the theatre.
Hall, who could only get $100,000 from John Gorton's federal government for the theatre project, was replaced as premier in 1970 by Dunstan who had renewed enthusiasm for the theatre but extended the concept to a centre. Instead of Hall's plan to give control to Adelaide city council, Dunstan created the more independent and representative Adelaide Festival Centre Trust.
Dunstan arranged semi-government funding for the theatre complex but most came from a public appeal launched by lord mayor Robert Porter to establish Adelaide as a significant city in the art world. The appeal raised its target in a week and was soon oversubscribed. The surplus went to creating a world-class collection of artworks.
Dunstan immediately expanded the project by taking adjacent land from the railways and he became personally involved in planning with his knowledge of amateur theatre. Designed by modernist architect John Morphett, Adelaide Festival Centre was officially opened on June 2, 1973, by Dunstan, Australian prime minister Gough Whitlam and lord mayor Porter.
The first performance in the theatre that evening was Act Two, Scene 1, of Beethoven’s opera Fidelio and Beethoven’s Choral Symphony. Adelaide Festival Centre Trust also later took over managing Her Majesty’s Theatre in Grote Street, Adelaide city. Aside from presented many musical shows, concerts, plays and orchestral performances, the festival centre lived up to its name by hosting the Adelaide Festival, DreamBIG Children’s Festival, OzAsia Festival, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Adelaide Guitar Festival and OurMOB festival.
