Semaphore, South Australia

Semaphore was an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia from 1938 to 1993.Semaphore was abolished in a boundary redistribution in 1993 and became the new seat of Hart. The suburb of Semaphore is currently located in the marginal Labor seat of Lee.

The Semaphore Library is a heritage-listed library and former town hall and cinema at 14 Semaphore Road, Semaphore, South Australia. It was formerly the Semaphore Institute, Semaphore Town Hall, Ozone Theatre and Semaphore Cinema. It was listed on the South Australian Heritage Register on 1 September 1983, and was also listed on the Register of the National Estate.It was built as the Semaphore Institute, an early mechanics institute, and opened on 15 March 1884. It was designed by architects Wright and Reed, and built by Williams & Cleave. It was a stone building with an iron roof, with a main hall and stage, entrance room, library and reading room on the ground floor, and offices for the local municipality, the Corporate Town of Semaphore, and a gallery on the second floor. In 1889, it was sold to the municipality to be used as the Semaphore Town Hall. The municipality merged with the adjacent Corporate Town of Port Adelaide in 1900, but it continued to be rented out for community events by the Port Adelaide council. From 1910, the hall was used as a temporary cinema by a number of organisers, while continuing to be used for other community functions. In 1929, Ozone Amusements leased the hall from the Corporate Town of Port Adelaide and converted the hall into a permanent cinema to a design by Chris A. Smith, adopting a range of Art Deco features. Smith was a prominent architect of the period, designing many theatres and cinemas, and a number of public buildings including a refurbishment of the Brighton Town Hall. The company later became Ozone Theatres, and would become one of the two major movie chains in South Australia. In 1951, Hoyts bought out the Ozone company, and in 1952 undertook a complete refurbishment of the Semaphore cinema, reopening on 20 November. However, box office takings suffered from the introduction of television, and Hoyts closed the cinema on 21 May 1960.The ground floor was used by the Semaphore Youth Club from 1966 to 1978, and in 1977 a smaller cinema, the Semaphore Cinema, was opened in what had been the upstairs dress circle by Alan and Fran Hall, operating until its closure in 1985. The building was vacant from 1985 to 1993, when the City of Port Adelaide restored the building as the Semaphore Library, which it has operated as ever since. The building remains substantially intact from its previous uses, and its state heritage listing notes that "enough interior elements of both periods [as a cinema] remain for it to be quite a significant representative of suburban cinemas in their heyday."

The corporate town of Semaphore was a local government area in South Australia. It was created on 20 December 1883, and re-gazetted on 17 January 1884, from areas which had been part of the District Council of Lefevre's Peninsula and District Council of Glanville. The separation of Semaphore would make both its former municipalities unviable, with Lefevre's Peninsula subsequently merging into the District Council of Birkenhead and Glanville with the District Council of Woodville. In 1889, the municipality acquired the Semaphore Institute building for use as the Semaphore Town Hall; the building survives today as the heritage-listed Semaphore Library.Wards of Semaphore included Clairville, Exeter, Glanville, Largs and Scarborough, several being recognisable as the names of present-day suburbs Largs Bay, Glanville and Exeter. It amalgamated with the corporate town of Port Adelaide on 11 November 1900.

The Odeon Star Semaphore Cinemas, usually referred to as the Odeon Star, is an independent multiplex cinema in the beachside Adelaide suburb of Semaphore, South Australia. It is the oldest purpose-built cinema in Adelaide, opened on 22 May 1920 as the Wondergraph Picture Palace.

Glanville is a north western suburb of Adelaide, in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield.

The District Council of Lefevre's Peninsula was a local government area in South Australia centred on the Lefevre Peninsula from 1872 to 1884.

Semaphore South is a beachside suburb of Adelaide, in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. The Semaphore South Post Office opened on 3 November 1947 and closed in 1978.

Peterhead railway station is located on the Outer Harbor line. Situated in the north-western Adelaide suburb of Peterhead, it is 14.6 kilometres from Adelaide station.

St Francis House was a home for inland Aboriginal Australian boys from 1946 to 1959 at Glanville Hall in Semaphore South, Adelaide, South Australia. Father Percy Smith purchased Glanville Hall on behalf of the Anglican Church to provide accommodation for young Aboriginal boys from remote areas who were attending school in the local area. He founded the St Francis Boys' Home in order to bring boys down (including several from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory) for education and employment.In a time when it was commonly believed that Aboriginal children were unable to be educated beyond Grade 3, Smith saw the home as a way of providing a family environment for the children to pursue a higher level of education without losing their Aboriginal identity. He described the hostel as “not one of fostering, but rather a boarding establishment to which boys came with their mothers' consent for the school year, and in that respect it was no different from children being sent by their parents to a boarding school".The manor became known as "St Francis House: A Home for Inland Children" and over the next 14 years, more than 50 children found at home at St Francis on their way to greatness. Former residents include Charles Perkins , Gordon Briscoe , John Moriarty , Les Nayda , and Bill Espie (Queen's Medal for Bravery) and the artist Harold Thomas (activist) (Bundoo) who signed a $20m agreement with the Australian Government to secure the rights to the Aboriginal flag, meaning it can now be reproduced without a fee. Some notable sporting identities included Vincent Copley, Richie Bray and Ken Hampton went on to play football for Port Adelaide, while Wally McArthur became an accomplished track and field athlete as well as rugby player. Many other residents went on to lead successful and fulfilled lives.Moriarty has said that St Francis House was an exceptional home. At St Francis House, the boys formed a strong, life-long bond with Smith and his wife, and with each other.A history of St Francis House is being written by former Australian test cricketer Ashley Mallett.The St Francis House Project was established in 2018 to document the history of the home.

The District Council of Glanville was a local government area in South Australia from 1864 to 1888.

Glanville railway station is located on the Outer Harbor line. Situated in the north-western Adelaide suburb of Glanville, it is 13.8 kilometres from Adelaide station.

Lefevre Peninsula Primary School is a coeducational R-7 school (5-12 year olds) located in the Adelaide suburb of Birkenhead.