Stretching east to west in Adelaide’s CBD, Rundle Mall is the city’s dedicated pedestrian shopping strip. It’s lined with big-name department stalls and chain brands, together with cafes, juice bars and snack eateries, and boasts a lively mix of street sculpture, live performers and special events throughout the year.
David Jones and Myer both hold prominent positions along the mall with their own shopping centres housing independent retailers. Numerous small lane ways and arcades have radiated into their own shopping precincts as demand for space in this lucrative shopping district exceeds that available on the mall itself. Among Rundle Mall’s most famous landmarks are the "Malls Balls", two stainless steel spheres balanced atop one another and designed by Bert Flugelman in 1977, together with the most recent addition of four life-size bronze pigs.Known as Horatio, Augusta, Oliver and Truffles these bronze pigs can be seen rustling around the rubbish bins. "The Fountain", originally cast in the late 19th century, now bubbles away at the entrance to the mall’s Italianate-inspired Adelaide Arcade, while at its western end stands the impressive Neo-gothic architecture of Beehive Corner, dating to 1896 and named in honour of a draper’s shop that once resided here. On most days, the mall hosts a number of live buskers and street performers, and event booths and stages are often set up during the annual Adelaide Festival and Fringe celebrations. Rundle Mall stretches east to the dining district of Rundle Street which is also home to a handful of independent boutiques, and west to the former red-light district of Hindley Street, still a lively nightlife hub.
Rundle Mall is served by bus stops on both Pulteney Street and King William Street, with the latter also having a tramline running north to south. It’s situated just a short walk from the Adelaide Railway Station and all the sights of North Terrace.
The mall was named in 1837 after John Rundle who was the original director of the South Australian Company, and originally a tramline ran through its centre and along Rundle Street. It wasn’t closed to traffic until 1972 when heavy congestion began competing with pedestrians, and it evolved into the car-free space seen today.