- Distance
- 22.6 km one way
- Duration
- 5-6 hours for whole trail
- Suitable for
- Walking, Wheelchair Accessible, Dog Walking, Jogging, Cycling
- Wheelchair accessible
- Terrain
- Flat
- Region
- Adelaide City & Suburbs
- Download maps & GPS files
- 2 GPS files
- Photos
- 11 photosJump to Photos section
- Travel options
- Car
- Travel time from Adelaide
- 1 hour or less
About the Walking Trail
The Stuart O’Grady Bikeway is a shared use trail the runs parallel to the Northern Expressway, officially the Fatchen Northern Expressway.
Arguably the trail is primarily focused on cycling, but is good for walking short sections for leisure, health or transport. There isn’t much shade, and the trail is flat, although there is a gentle climb heading to Gawler. The path is wide and a bitumen surface, so is suitable for wheelchairs. The trail is good for parents who walk with their small children riding bicycles.
The northern trailhead of the Stuart O’Grady Bikeway is on the corner of Two Wells Road and Weaver Road, Gawler.
The southern trailhead is at the end of a cul-de-sac parallel to Port Wakefield Road, near Calvengrove Road, Waterloo Corner. In May 2020 the southern trailhead has been connected with the new Tapa Martinthi Yala Shared Use Path that runs alongside the Northern Connector motorway. That trail then connects in the south to the Port River Bikeway which also opened in 2020. The total trails network of the three trails is 43km and is a shared-use bitumen trail, connecting Port Adelaide with Gawler.
Highlights along the trail include:
- the former Smithfield Magazines, constructed in 1941 to store munitions and explosives. The magazine buildings were well spaced out and surrounded by earth mounds to drive any potential explosion upwards, to protect the other buildings and their contents. A battery powered electric tramway connected the buildings. Read more of the history at playfordspast.blogspot.com.au
- Zoar Cemetery, which is all that remains of the Zoar bible Christian Chapel which was demolished in the 1956. The cemetery contains many of the early settlers in the district including, Eleanor Penfield, Catherine Way, wife of Rev J. Way (father of Samuel Way). Read more about the cemetery at australiancemeteries.com.au
- Each road interchange is named after a significant military battle involvement of the Australia defence forces.
The Northern Expressway is named the Fatchen Northern Expressway after the late South Australian author and journalist Max Fatchen, who died in 2012 aged 92. His family has strong ties with Gawler, including the family’s old dairy farm, which the expressway passes. Some of the Fatchen family are buried in the Zoar Cemetery.
Trail sections
| Trail | Distance | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
|
7.6km |
Port Adelaide You could start from Lipson St, Port Adelaide, or from the end of St Vincent St East where it meets Perkins Drive |
Salt Pan Junction (Northern Connector Southern Interchange or the South Road / Port River Expressway interchange) You could start from Salt Pan Junction or Magazine Road. |
|
|
Tapa Martinthi Yala Shared Use Path (trail alongside Northern Connector) |
16.7km |
Salt Pan Junction (Northern Connector Southern Interchange or the South Road / Port River Expressway interchange) You could start from Salt Pan Junction or Magazine Road. |
Northern Connector Northern Interchange (where Northern Connector meets Port Wakefield Rd) You could start from the start of the Stuart O’Grady Bikeway off Calvengrove Rd, Waterloo Corner. |
|
Stuart O’Grady Bikeway |
22.6km |
Northern Connector Northern Interchange (where Northern Connector meets Port Wakefield Rd) You could start from the start of the Stuart O’Grady Bikeway off Calvengrove Rd, Waterloo Corner. |
Gawler You could start from the start of the Stuart O’Grady Bikeway off Two Wells Road, Buchfelde (near Gawler). |
Photos
There is a shelter and picnic area near Argent Road, which is 8km from the start of the Stuart O'Grady Bikeway on Port Wakefield Road
The trail includes signs with quotes running along the ground and up the sign, although many are overgrown and hard to read. This one near Argent Road reads "If you are seeking ideas go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk. Raymond Inmon"
Arguably the Stuart O'Grady Bikeway shared use trail is primarily focused on cycling, but is good for walking short sections for leisure, health or transport.
Smithfield Magazines interpretive sign alongside the Stuart O'Grady Bikeway on the Northern Expressway. It reads "Constructed during World War II, this was the largest all-brick explosives magasine in the southern hemisphere. It comprised three 100-tonne magazine buildings storing finished munitions from the nearby Salisbury explosives factory, and 54 50-tonne buildings storing bulk explosives. The buildings all had antistatic floors with wide overhead eaves to reduce the impact of temperature change. Brick walls, lightweight roofs, and five metre high blast mounds around the 100-tonne magazines ensured that any explosion would be directed upwards. Battery powered electric tramways linked the buildings, with each separated from the next by a distance of at least 600 feet (183 metres).
One of the Smithfield Magazines beside the Stuart O'Grady Bikeway (Northern Expressway)
The tramway entrance to one of the Smithfield Magazines beside the Stuart O'Grady Bikeway. A battery powered tramway connected each of the magazine buildings.
The Zoar Cemetery interpretive sign. It reads "The Zoar Bible Christian Chapel was built in 1854, just one of many small chapels which dotted the landscape. Although it was demolished in 1956, the adjoining cemetery remains. It contains the graves of several pioneer settlers, including John Cawrse who lived in the nearby Pise Cottage. The chapel was build at the instigation of Samuel Keen, a zealous minister who arrived in the area in 1853. The name Zoar came from the Bible (Isiah 15:5) where is denotes a place of refuge. In 1857 Keen described those converted at Zoar during the previous year as 'twenty who escaped thither for their life'."
The Zoar Cemetery alongside the Stuart O'Grady Bikeway. The adjacent Zoar Bible Christian Chapel was demolished in 1956.
The Zoar Cemetery ontains the graves of several pioneer settlers from the area
Trailhead sign at the northern end of the Stuart O'Grady Bikeway. The trail is a shared use trail for cyclists and walkers
Arguably the Stuart O'Grady Bikeway shared use trail is primarily focused on cycling, but is good for walking short sections for leisure, health or transport.