CHOOSING A CONSULTANT FOR THE PLANNING STUDY

There is considerable political background to the choice of George Clarke & Urban Systems Corporation (USC) as the consultants to prepare the City of Adelaide Planning Study. For example, Clarke attended the RAPI Conference in Brisbane in September 1972 and met with Premier Don Dunstan when Dunstan was critical of the SPA and advised that he was considering a different planning approach for Adelaide.

Darrel Conybeare was working in the Sydney office of USC when the ACC was seeking consultants for the Adelaide Planning Study. Clarke gave Conybeare the job of going to Adelaide to talk to Hugh Stretton as Conybeare's father was a close friend of Professor George Duncan at the University of Adelaide's History Department where Stretton was based. Conybeare and Stretton had many discussions, and Conybeare gained some very useful insights in terms of pitching the response to the consultant brief. Stretton's influence is clear, as he advised Conybeare to address three issues. First, the importance of housing, especially low cost housing as provided by the SAHT. Second, the importance of the Park Lands and how to minimise the inroads into them by eliminating unnecessary pathways and roads to create larger broad sweeps of open Park Lands. Third, there was a need to reinforce the heritage of Light's plan for Adelaide.