Port Adelaide and Largs Bay - meeting treasured friends

The ship docked at Adelaide’s Outer Harbour, some 35 km from the city.

We decided to not venture into the city as we have been there often, and instead to explore Port Adelaide and do some shopping to buy all those little things that we forgot or incorrectly assumed would be provided on board.

Our ship in Port Adelaide

For the record, Port Adelaide is home to three museums: a railway one, an aircraft one 

and a maritime one. All good, reportedly, but we had to miss them due to lack of time.

Port Adelaide is also quite close to Largs Bay where our good friends, Sheila and Maurice Corcoran live in their new house.

Port Adelaide Railway station

The Outer Harbour train station was very close to the ship and there were nearly as many guides as passengers, so getting to and onto the platform was a breeze.

In Adelaide, the train driver has the responsibility for assisting passengers with disabilities to board and each train has a ramp on board.

There were about three of four wheelchair spaces in the front carriage, not quite enough for the four or five or us wheelies from the ship, plus a few with limited mobility. But we all got on board, even if it was a bit squashy and John had to sit in the lobby, rather than a wheelchair space.

Port Adelaide ramp

Port Adelaide is about six or so stops from Outer Harbour and the station is way above ground and access up and down to street level is by the longest ramps we’ve ever seen. No problem for John, but Margaret found it a bit of a chore - it really does need a lift.

(PHOTO of station ramp)

Buildings which survived redevelopment in 60s

Port Adelaide was clearly an early settlement with lots of beautiful old buildings – but, now, of course, also lots of modern ones.

Interesting artwork in Port Adelaide

Shopping done, a visit to our bank to officially advise them of our itinerary so our card would not be blocked, a card posted, and arrangements made to meet Maurice near Largs Bay hotel and we set off to catch the train back to Largs.

While waiting for the train we meet a delightful young woman with cerebral palsy who is part way through her TAFE studies to become a teacher’s aide, specialising in supporting children with disabilities. To date, she has not been involved in disability networks or advocacy, so John suggested she contact Margie Charlesworth and Glenda Lee  on Facebook. We hope she does.

The train driver, as with the one on the way out, was very friendly, efficient and obliging, both with boarding and alighting.

And so to Largs Bay past gorgeous bluestone houses, where Maurice and his daughter, Martha, were waiting to meet us and guide us to the house – just a few minutes down the road.

Martha, Tilly, Sheila, Alesia and Margaret at back; Maurice Corcoran and John

We had a lovely afternoon in Sheila and Maurice’s new house – two storeys with a lift to the top floor – large open-plan living area/kitchen, and, of course, fully accessible.

Also sharing lunch with us were Sophie and Martha and Matha’s two beautiful daughters, Tilly (7) and Alesia (3).

A lovely afternoon reminiscing about the early days of disability advocacy (Maurice and I first met in Sydney in the early 1990s when I attended a seminar he ran about accessible public transport – later we were both inaugural members of the Physical Disability Council of Australia which we formed in 1996) – Maurice was the main advocate for accessible transport in Australia and it was his win for accessible buses in Adelaide that got the whole accessible transport movement really rolling along. Others were also involved, but we wheelies in Oz have a lot to thank Maurice for.

Two politicians'' irritants - John and Maurise

Maurice drove us back to the ship – about a 10 minute drive in his new VW van which Maurice drives from his wheelchair.

Back on board, we learned that we are heading int storm conditions and will need to take shelter in Esperence Bay while we wait for the worst of the storm to pass before heading for Fremantle where we will arrive 24 yours late. This means that our scheduled stop in Colombo, Sri Lanks, will be missed and we will head straight to Dubai – 11 days at sea