Brighton
Brighton is a coastal suburb of Adelaide, situated between Seacliff and Glenelg and aside Holdfast Bay. Some notable features of the area are the Brighton-Seacliff Yacht Club, the Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club, the Brighton Jetty, and its excellent beach. The Windsor Theatre constructed in 1925 is a long-standing institution, showing cinema to the locals usually two films per night.
Brighton has a large sandy beach which is patrolled by the Brighton Surf Lifesaving Club on Weekends and Public Holidays between November and March. Brighton Beach is popular for Adelaide beach goers as it is relatively safe - currently rated as Least Hazardous by Surf Lifesaving. A sand replenishment program has been in operation for many years resulting in the beach sand dunes gradually increasing through the program of replacing eroded sand and replanting of the dunes with plants and grasses.
In summer, a sandbar normally forms in the water which can produce waves on windy days. Brighton is well known by local surfers for producing messy but fun 'stormy sessions'.
The Esplanade is an area of prime real estate which has been transformed over the years from a street of old cottages to new modern town houses. Brighton's Jetty Road runs perpendicular to the Esplanade and is home to many restaurants, cafes and the local hotel, known as "The Esplanade", or "Espy".
Brighton is the home of the Brighton Jetty Classic, an Open Water Swim made up of the 1500 metre Brighton Jetty Classic Swim and the 400 metre Jetty Swim, aimed at first time open water swimmers. The Brighton Jetty Classic had its first year in 2006 when approximately 800 swimmers successfully completed the event. It is an annual event, being hosted on the first Sunday in February. The event attracts over 1,000 swimmers, making it the largest open water swim in South Australia. The course is around the Brighton Jetty, which makes the Jetty a fantastic viewing platform for spectators.
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Brighton Post Office opened on 27 August 1849. Brighton Jetty Post Office opened on 1 March 1950 and closed in 1979.
The first Brighton Town Hall was built in 1869 and was just the fourth Town Hall built in the colony of South Australia. The architect and builder was George William Highet who arrived in the colony in 1836. G. W. Highet served as a town clerk and Councillor and died in Brighton aged 80 years. The hall was constructed of stone from Ayliffe s quarry in the Adelaide Hills laid on concrete foundations. It was used as the civic centre of the City of Brighton from 1869 until 1936 when it was then leased by the RSL.
Brighton was the home of Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer and academic Sir Douglas Mawson. He was buried at Saint Jude's Anglican church in the town.
The first Brighton Jetty was built in 1886 and weathered the sea and storms for over 100 years. The Brighton jetty was badly damaged by winter storms in the 1994. The jetty was rebuilt using funds supplied by a mobile phone (cell phone) service provider, hence the tower on the end of the jetty.
In 1926 the women of Brighton erected a drinking fountain near the entrance of the jetty to commemorate the death of Kathleen Duncan Whyte, who was fatally attacked by a shark while swimming. Kitty was the daughter of Rev. Maculley and taught swimming at Brighton for many years. In 1919 Kitty saved a swimmer from drowning and was awarded a Grand Diploma by the Royal Life Saving Society.
At the shore end of the jetty is a War Memorial arch. Here, traditional Dawn Services are held annually on Anzac Day to commemorate fallen service men and women.
Kingston Park is home to Kingston House is the oldest building in Holdfast Bay, built in 1840 and set on a three-acre reserve with stunning coastal views. On the foreshore, a striking monument by South Australia sculptor John Dowie marks one of the significant spring sites on the Tjilbruke Trail and a wheelchair-friendly boardwalk heads south to Marino Rocks.
Marino Rocks beach has a steep cliff face and then a low and flat rocky beach, leading out to a reef on the southern end of Seacliff Beach. Fishing and snorkelling are common recreation activities.
The suburb of Marino sits on coastal hills overlooking the Gulf Saint Vincent. The Noarlunga Railway Line passes through the suburb, and there are two railway stations: Marino and Marino Rocks.
Marino Beach
The beaches from Seacliff to Glenelg offer good access, a wide range of facilities and relatively safe swimming, with usually little surf, which makes it South Australia s most popular stretch of beach. Seacliff Beach begins amongst the broad rock flats of Mario Rocks. Several hundred metres north of the rocks, the rock flats thin as the sandy beach increases in extent By Seacliff Surf Life Saving Club and the adjoining Seacliff Sailing Club the beach has almost replaced the rocks and a sandy beach continues to Glenelg. In the south the beach is backed by a park below the old seacliff , then a caravan park and the two club houses, with a car park and boat ramp north of the sailing club. The beach itself consists of a high tide sand beach and fronting rock flats south of the surf club, with a shallow sand bar replacing the rocks to the north. Waves are low in the south, increasing to about 0.5 m past the clubs. The bar is usually continuous and rips present only during bigger seas.
The beaches from Seacliff to Glenelg offer relatively safe swimming owing to the usually low waves and continuous shallow bar. However rips occasionally cross the bar scouring deeper channels. Stay on the inner bar and clear of any deeper troughs. Care must also be taken near the rocks at Seacliff, around the two jetties, at the Patawalonga breakwater where there can be strong currents, and at occasional breaks in the bar where there are deeper holes. The safest swimming is at the four areas patrolled by the Seacliff, Brighton, Somerton and Glenelg Surf Life Saving Clubs.
Surf is usually low and sloppy along the Adelaide beaches. A high swell in the south or a strong westerly is required to produce waves over 1 metre.
The jetties attract most Brighton and Glenelg fishers, while Seacliff rock flats are also popular, as it the Glenelg breakwater. The water off the beaches tend to be shallow, with the best fishing at high tide.
