When The Old Becomes The New - Bordertown South Australia

The Road To Positivity

When The Old Becomes The New  - Bordertown South Australia

( as published in Good Gabble Newzine August 2010 )

  Today we live in a throw away world. As soon as we buy a piece of technology something better has replaced it so we throw it out and update. If something breaks we throw it out. When a building becomes outdated or no longer in use we knock it down, dump it to landfill and build another. 

  This was not the case in Bordertown South Australia in 1999 when the old police station was given a new lease of life as the Visitors Information Centre and Morning Loaf Bakery.

  You may wonder what is so unusual about taking an old building and using it for a different purpose. In Bordertown it is all about the way you do it.

  Standing in Tolmer Park looking across at the doorway of the Visitors Information Centre you look at what seems an ordinary modern building that is aesthetically pleasing, blending with the surrounding environment. It is not until you are inside and ‘really looking’ that you see how one piece of architecture blends into another.

  Chris Mackerel, of the Visitors Information Centre, soon pointed out that the centre I was standing in was the old police station that was closed in 1964. As she took me through the door into the bakery she suggested I turn around. It was only then I saw something that I had overlooked many times. In front of me was the entrance to the old police station in its original condition. The penny dropped, so to say, and I now looked at the large building from a different perspective. This was not two business's in one building but two buildings in one. A very old, standard built government building had been left as part of history but given a new lease of life.

Inside Morning Loaf Bakery - internal entry into Visitors Information Centre

  

  There was no need for landfill when developing the larger building as the old police station was left complete, with the new being built around it. Chris pointed out that the front counter of the information centre was the lounge room of the police house and that the bathroom is still used as the bathroom.

   When the police station closed a new, more modern building was erected across the road. The old police station was then used as housing for police officers until 1999. In 2000 the new building was officially opened as a bakery and visitors information centre. The bakery is privately owned with the visitors information centre being administered by council.

  Tolmer park, named after police inspector Alexander Tolmer who was in charge of the gold escorts from the Victorian Goldfields to Adelaide, has also been cleverly developed considering all aspects of the environment. A joint venture between local government, private enterprise and state government, the old police cells have been converted to the public toilets and recycled natural timber has been used for tables and chairs.

Old jail cells converted to public toilets

  Throughout the park old wares and bric-a-brac are given a new lease of life as they become pieces of artwork within the environment. The stream that runs through the land has been left and utilised adding appeal to the park. A bridge was built to allow access from a carpark to the information centre. Ducks happily swim about, as visitors enjoy the well needed break sitting on the provided bench seats.

 Bordertown is a town that seems to pride itself on history and its environment, caring for the old, looking after the new and protecting what they have. When the new highway was put through and a large hole was left in the ground, a dam was constructed to form a recreation lake. The Institute hall, built in 1909 was redeveloped in 1982 to form the library and theatre with the seats in the theatre being the original seats from Adelaide's Majestic Theatre. Historic Clayton Farm, 3 kms out of town, is the home of the Bordertown and District Agricultural Museum. Bordertown is also famous as the birthplace of Bob Hawke, former Australian Prime Minister. A bust of Bob Hawke can be seen outside the council offices. Venture indoors and you can view the Bob Hawke gallery.

  If ever in Bordertown I recommend you stop and look around at a town where everything old soon becomes new again.

article Jennifer Deaves

Bob Hawke - Former Australian Prime Minister