by Carla Caruso

We love featuring parkgoers who, in turn, LOVE your Park Lands.

This month, we’re chatting to data officer Tully Haines, who enjoys nothing more than taking photos in your parks, checking out live music and sports, and hanging out with his pet cats.

Hi, Tully. Why do you love capturing images of our city, in particular the Adelaide Park Lands?

I lived in the west end of the city for many years and was always amazed to find so many places and streets I’d never seen before.

I’d always come into town to do something rather than just exploring the area, as you do when you live somewhere.

The Park Lands [can be] just something you pass on your way to somewhere else. But by living nearby, I started to actually use the Park Lands and was constantly amazed to keep finding somewhere new.

As for why I enjoy capturing the Park Lands, I think it has a lot to do with wanting to show others how amazing they are.

I’m no [professional] photographer. I don’t go out to take photos. I just can’t help getting the phone out to do some shots when I’m out.

Sadly, for a long time, there was a view that the Park Lands were somehow wasted space. But as you start exploring them more, you realise how much of that space is actually used and the vast number of different uses they have.

*Denise Norton Park / Pardipardinyilla (****Park 2****) at night. Photo: Tully Haines.*

How often do you frequent the Park Lands, and why?

When my partner and I decided to buy a house, we couldn’t afford to stay in town. But we couldn’t imagine not being near the city, so we made sure we could stay as close as possible [in Ridleyton].

I tend to visit the Park Lands at least once a fortnight, usually just as part of a walk. Like most of Adelaide, we are in the Park Lands much more often during the Fringe [in parks like Rundle Park / Kadlitpina (Park 13) and Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka (Park 14)] or at other events.

Over the last few years, perhaps my favourite reason to spend time in the Park Lands is to watch the Sheffield Shield cricket at Karen Rolton Oval [in Gladys Elphick Park / Narnungga (Park 25)].

I love cricket, and while it’s been free to watch the Sheffield for years, after the redevelopment of Adelaide Oval [in Tarntanya Wama / Park 26], it was a bit depressing watching it in an empty stadium.

Now, you can sit in a park and watch first-class cricket. Even my partner comes with me. She hates cricket but loves sitting in a park in summer.

*Tully’s much-loved Karen Rolton Oval in Gladys Elphick Park / Narnungga (Park 25).*

Which is your favourite park in the Park Lands?

That’s a really hard question. Obviously, I now love Karen Rolton Oval. But I remember, years ago, seeing a festival opening in Victoria Park [Pakapakanthi / Park 16] and being amazed at just how big it was. It reminded me of Hyde Park in London, although I dislike the racetrack running through it.

I recently walked through Park 5 [Bragg Park / Ngampa Yarta] and loved how it feels like being in the country rather than the city. I really like all the parks that have been left to be bushland rather than playing fields.

I love the western side of Parks 23 and 24 [G.S. Kingston Park / Wirrarninthi and Ellis Park / Tampawardli]. Being bordered by the trainline makes it feel like a hidden corner of the Park Lands, and the [West Tce] cemetery is amazing.

But my absolute favourite is on the northern side of Bonython Park [Tulya Wardli / Park 27], between the river and the trainline – the old equestrian park [in John E. Brown Park / Park 27a]. It’s like a hidden oasis for bike riders and walkers.

It is an incredible way to enter the city, along the path lined with huge gum trees, and the old equestrian park is so big!

And then you, of course, have the Torrens [Linear] Path, the old red railway bridge, and the old [Adelaide] Gaol — all so hidden away.

*Along the trainline. Photo: Tully Haines.*

What keeps you busy when you’re not meandering the parks?

I love the arts, especially live music and seeing films, and I go to so many of our festivals.

And I love watching live sports, especially the ones that take me to our other great Park Lands, like the Tour Down Under. Recently, I’ve also fallen back in love with the SANFL [football].

I think what I really love about the SANFL is the incredible suburban ovals – so much history, and they are all tucked away off the main roads.

*This scene in Lefevre Park / Nantu Wama (****Park 6****) was captured by Tully.*

Please tell us a little about your cats (from a fellow feline fan).

I have two amazing cats, Tito and Mo [below]. They are siblings, rescued from a farm as kittens. They are now indoor cats.

Like most cat lovers, I think my partner and I spend more time looking at the cats than the TV!

What do you consider the most pressing issue for the Adelaide Park Lands?

Sadly, the same issue that we have had for decades – and that’s that the government thinks that the Park Lands are ‘free land’ to develop.

We are losing so much all the time and it seems to be getting worse. A lot too is land that I think people forget was supposed to be parks.

Like the new developments at the two high schools, and the casino and office block at Elder Park [Tarntanya Wama / Park 26] – and now the [new] Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and apartments at the old hospital, and a [bigger] swimming centre [for Park 2].

It’s especially sad when you see sites, like Bowden and the old [West End] brewery, that could have been used for schools and swim centres, recently being available for development.