Fancy a ‘ghost tour’ for Halloween? Old ports in colonial cities retain the ghoulish and sinister stories of times past and the Port of Adelaide is no exception, according to a new study by Flinders University experts published in the International Journal of ‘Tourism Space, Place and Environment’. Researchers assessed the ‘Ghosts of Port Adelaide’ self-guided walking tour, starting in the empty, sometimes eerie streets of Port Adelaide at dusk and covered the harbour-side, hospitality locations to the dingy, industrial back streets where ghostly, spectral imaginings can help to fill the space.
Dr Gerti Szili, Flinders University Senior Lecturer in Geography, says reviving the Port’s rich history spanning more than 180 years is part of the long-term plan to revitalise the picturesque part of Adelaide. “Unlike some dark tourism attractions such as dungeons, prisons and cemeteries, ghost walks do not restrict movement and can cover large areas of a town or city, and offer a wider range of experiences,” she says. “Through stories and myths that are interwoven with historical fact, ghost walks can ‘impart and enliven’ places and provide visitors with a greater sense of meaning and understanding. Launched in 2016, the City of PAE included 13 different sites in our ‘Ghosts of the Port’ self-guided walking tour.
The tour aims to share stories to entertain and ‘contribute to the rich fabric of the community’ and ‘evoke the history and mystery of the Port’. Go on a spooky adventure yourself this Halloween.
Download a copy of the Ghosts of the Port book here.
From Port Misery to Post-Misery? Spectral-geographies and exorcising ‘ghosts’ in Port Adelaide (2024) by Gerti Szili, Gareth Butler and Bailey Ashton Adie (PhD University of Oulu, Finland), has been published in Tourism Geographies. DOI: 10.1080/14616688.2024.2417861.