a quarter of a mile wide. The suburbs commence beyond
these park lands, the oldest and chief one, North Adelaide, being itself
surrounded by a similar belt.

The park lands are indeed the lungs of the city. It is forbidden to erect
any private buildings thereon. No portions of them may be alienated
except for general purposes, such as public institutions, gardens,
exhibitions, racecourses, cricket and football ovals. The rights of the
citizens to their park lands are guarded by impenetrable legal
safeguards. Adelaide has been at times called the "city of the five
squares," also the "city of the twin towers," namely, those of the post
office and Town Hall. In the middle of the centre square marking the
heart of the city stands the statue of Queen Victoria. What city do you
know whose citizens can, after a day of heat, within a few minutes' walk
from their homes be enjoying the advantages of being in the country by
visiting the park lands? I know none other.

Adelaide nestles at the foot of a beautiful range of hills, the highest
point of which, "Mount Lofty," some 2,000 feet high, rises overlooking
the city. Numbers of spurs slope gracefully towards the plain, whose
shores the sea washes--the sea whence the cool breezes blow over the
city. What a glorious sight can be seen from Mount Lofty on a full
moonlight night! Stand on Mount Lofty, look up and revel in the sight of
an Australian summer night's sky, the dark but ethereally clear bluish
dome overhead, myriads of little stars, blinking at the steady brilliant
light of the greater constellations. Look right and left--on all sides
the spurs, covered with misty haze, lose themselves as they merge into
the plains. Look west towards the city and the sea. There beneath the
soft and silvery rays of the moon lies Adelaide and its suburbs, wrapt in
the peace and quiet of the night. Its thousands of street lights shine so
clear that they seem to lie at your feet. You see deep, dark places
amongst the lights; there are the park lands. Then raise your eyes and
look farther west; there is the sea. It shines as a silver mirror. The
soft winds from the west are blowing, and the wavelets, dancing in the
light of the moon, play with her shining rays as they leap on to break
gently on the sandy beach. Many times have I revelled in this sight while
staying with my friend, John Bakewell, whose beautiful home is close to
the top of the mount.

Colonel Light must have also kept in mind