Local Icon: Rising Sun
This year we celebrate 180 years of one of the true icons of my electorate of Dunstan—the Rising Sun Inn in Kensington. To walk into the Rising Sun is to walk into history, but it is also to experience the very best of hospitality and community spirit today.
Built in 1845, the Rising Sun has stood through almost two centuries of South Australia’s history. Much of the original building remains intact. The four fireplaces have warmed generations, and beneath the iron roof the original shingles are still preserved. But it is the bricks that tell the story most vividly. In those early days, travelling from the city to Kensington was a challenge, so the bricks were all handmade locally. Many still bear the fingerprints of the bricklayers who shaped them by hand.
This has always struck a personal chord for me. My father was a bricklayer, and I remember going with him to collect second-hand bricks from old building sites. He would point out the indentations and explain that they came from the side of a man’s hand as he worked. At the Rising Sun, those same marks are still visible—literal handprints of the past. Every time I see them, I think of my father, and of the generations of craftsmen whose skill and effort built the foundations of our community.
The Rising Sun has had many chapters. It was once a busy coaching inn, later a private home, even a motorcycle factory in the 1950s—the only place in South Australia where motorcycles were produced. In the 1990s, three young visual effects specialists held their first meetings there and named their new company after it. Rising Sun Pictures went on to work on some of the biggest films in the world; films that were nominated for and even won Academy Awards. That is quite a legacy for a neighbourhood pub.
Today, thanks to the dedication of owners Grant and Jacqui Goodall, the Rising Sun is both a heritage treasure and vibrant local business. They describe it as a boutique restaurant bar, and that is exactly what it is. Guests can enjoy a drink in front of a roaring fire on a Chesterfield sofa, a modern Australian meal in one of the dining rooms, or one of Adelaide’s most charming high teas, served on vintage crockery with crochet tablecloths. All of which I have done over the years. It is warm, welcoming, and intimate—even when it is full with 120 guests.
And it is not just locals who love it. The Rising Sun has been named Best Pub or Bar at the Eastside Business Awards for two years running. These awards recognise not only excellence in food and service but also the way a venue is woven into its community. Grant and Jacqueline have achieved both. I have very much enjoyed getting to know them, and hearing Grant’s endless supply of stories about the Inn’s long and colourful history. He has a gift for bringing the past alive, and you can’t help but be caught up in his passion for the place.
The Rising Sun is a place where birthdays, engagements, and anniversaries are celebrated, but also a place for everyday meals with friends and family. It is where relationships begin – truly, I’ve heard the stories! And where friends meet. That is what makes it such a rare treasure – it is both a landmark of history and a living part of our community.
On October 26 the 180th anniversary will be celebrated in style, with live music inside and out, giveaways from Coopers Brewery and Paracombe Wines, and prizes for the best period costumes. It will be a chance for the community to gather, to honour the stories of the past and to create new ones together.
I might also note, Honourable Speaker, that the Rising Sun is not only one of my favourite places in the electorate, but is also known to be one of the Premier’s. He has been known to spend time there, and I can hardly blame him. It is, after all, one of the few establishments in South Australia that has managed to outlast more than almost all our state’s governments combined!
So as we raise a figurative glass to the Rising Sun Inn, let us celebrate all that it represents—craftsmanship, community, heritage and continuity, and the joy of gathering together. May it stand for 180 years more, with patrons warmed by its fireplaces with a delicious glass of red, filled with conversation, and cherished as one of the great survivors of South Australian history.