Woodville Road Streetscape Upgrade: The Journey to Completion
The transformation of the Woodville Road precinct has been a journey of ongoing community engagement and development, beginning with a comprehensive consultation in 2010. This initial phase focused on enhancing the area's vibrancy and accessibility, laying the groundwork for future improvements.
Following the 2010 initiatives, which included re-establishing the Woodville Town Hall and the construction of the St Clair Recreation Centre, we embarked on a second major project. In 2019, focused consultations for the Woodville Road Streetscape Upgrade Project shaped a vision to further enhance the precinct. This vision aimed at:
- Promoting traffic efficiency and pedestrian safety
- Encouraging environmental sustainability
- Supporting social interaction through public art, smart technology, and green spaces
The streetscape upgrade was a $8.4 million project that significantly enhanced Woodville Road. This project not only emphasised the area's heritage but also improved the urban space with better safety measures, integrated public art, and increased green spaces. Mayor Angela Evans marked this as a pivotal moment in achieving a long-envisioned goal for the Woodville precinct.
Your feedback was instrumental in shaping this project, reflecting a collaborative effort between the council, local artists, First Nations organisations, and the community. Together, these projects have transformed the Woodville Road precinct into a shared urban landscape that reflects the community's spirit, values, and history.
| City of Charles Sturt | $8.2 million | This includes $850,000 for detailed design and initial work like moving SA Power Networks infrastructure underground and relocating SA Water's main water pipe. $7.35 million was allocated for constructing new paths, resurfacing roads, installing new lighting, improving landscaping and road safety, adding artwork, trees, plants, irrigation systems, street furniture, and a new Pedestrian Activated Crossing on Port Road. |
| Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) | $200,000 | For upgrades to their systems. |
| Total Project Cost | $8.4 million | The total cost of the Woodville Road Streetscape Upgrade. |
November 2020 to December 2020
Power Line Environment Committee (PLEC) works commenced.
January 2021 to July 2021
Power Line Environment Committee (PLEC) works on power cabling and connection to properties, installation of new lighting and removal of old lighting by SA Power Networks.
August 2021 to September 2021
SA water undertook works.
July 2022 to November 2023
Streetscape construction commenced.
Official Opening February 2024
Construction completed and an official opening was held on Thursday 8 February 2024.
For more information on the background of the project, including feedback from consultation and designs, please visit our dedicated community engagement website - Your Say.
Acknowledging local artists
Quentin Gore, Gregg Mitchell, and Nicholas Folland are the talented artists behind the terrazzo artwork, which beautifully showcases native plants. Their work brings the local flora to life, celebrating the natural beauty and botanical diversity of the area.
History behind Monana & The Spear
Dreaming Story – Monana & The Spear
Kaurna Artist – Corey Turner
This artwork is inspired by a unique story passed down by Captain Jack, a Kaurna elder. It tells of Monana, a creator ancestor, who threw spears into the sky. Each spear he threw stuck fast, one after another, until one finally stuck in the ground. Using these spears, Monana climbed to the sky world.
This tale, recorded in the Kaurna language by Captain Jack to Dr. William Wyatt in the 1830s, is a precious piece of Kaurna heritage. It symbolises the journey to the sky world, reflecting the Kaurna's deep understanding of life, death, and the natural and celestial cycles. They believed in a strong connection with their creator ancestors, who guided how all life should coexist and move between worlds.
Learn more about the Kaurna artworks
Woodville Road Streetscape Artwork
We worked alongside Corey Turner from Southern Cultural Immersion and Kaurna Elders to understand and combine Kaurna culture into the landscape design and artwork features.
Storytelling of the land gave inspiration for character to the precinct as being a meeting and gathering place. The story of the importance of the Karrawirraparri (River Torrens) within the country to provide and connect with others. This direct connection was explored within the streetscape by the gathering of food, knowledge, leadership, medicinal and passage.
The storytelling within the landscape expands this relationship of the Karrawirraparri to the heaven. The telling of ‘Monana’ throwing his spears up into the sky to climb and creating the Wodliparri (Milky Way), the river of the night sky was inspiration. The use of light within the landscaping was important to complement the duality of these plains within the landscape. Overlayed onto the streetscape is a section of Karrawirraparri with the use of pavers. As the river bends and flows over each side of the street, giving resting places along the riverbanks. The understory plantings are the reeds and grasses along the river.
The use of light was also used to connect with the landscape, in particular uplighting to the trees at night is to direct the focus upward to the Wodliparri. There is a use of art to tell this story of Monana throwing his spear and backing light giving the rising into the night sky.
Using the narrative of the riverbanks and native plants. Local artists Nicholas Folland, Gregg Mitchell and Quentin Gore created feature pieces to the forecourt of the Civic Centre. With continuation of the story of the streetscape, the artworks are an abstraction of native food plants found and used in the Adelaide plains, such as Pelargonium, Acacia pycnantha and Billardiera cymose.
The Woodville Road Streetscape Upgrade has been a successful outcome that has brought a connection to country along with a vibrant streetscape design.
“My father’s great-grandfather (or ancestor) said – Monana threw many spears, here threw, here threw, by and by a spear upwards threw, the spear above stuck fast, again stuck fast, again spear stuck fast, by and by in the ground stuck fast, Monana (by the) spears climbed, above went.”
This statement is in the words of Monaicha wonweetpeena konoocha or “Captain Jack”
The is the only extant Dreaming story ever recorded in the Kaurna language and was spoken by Kadlipinna (Captain Jack) to Dr William Wyatt, the Protector of Aborigines from 1837 to 1839.
It is a powerful story as it tells of the ascension of one of the creator ancestors to the sky world.
"MASH" - Organic terrazzo forms that celebrate indigenous food plant species of the Adelaide plains and the diverse multicultural of the City of Charles Sturt.