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The Adelaide UniBar
Obtaining a liquor licence for the Adelaide University Union (AUU) was first raised as a possibility in 1968, but it wasn’t until the lowering the age of majority in South Australia to 18 that a licence became a realistic prospect.[1] In September 1971, a delegation consisting of AUU president John Bannon and his counterparts from Flinders University and the South Australian Institute of Technology unions visited the state attorney-general to present a joint submission requesting licences for their respective campuses. They presented an optimistic vision that as ‘[t]he Universities and the Institute are places of education … [i]t is considered desirable that students who wish, learn to drink in a civilised, natural atmosphere and that other students learn to tolerate liquor as one of our accepted social customs…’.[2]
For Adelaide, it was several years before agreement was reached with the State Government on zoning, land ownership and type of liquor licence. Eventually, in mid-1974, the University Council approved a student bar on campus.[3] The ‘Union Bar’, as it was originally named, was allocated a substantial portion of the fifth level of the newly completed Union House redevelopment. It was opened in 1975 along with other new amenities including a games room, art studios and the Little Theatre.[4]
On opening, Union Bar patrons were warned in student magazine On Dit, ‘[i]f you don’t want to loose [sic] the licence it is necessary to observe the following court rules: 1. Act responsibly, 2. Use the Visitors’ Book correctly, 3. Carry your Union card, 4. Be over 18 years.’[5] The conditions of the liquor licence were reiterated in the following edition by Union warden David Muir who emphasised the likelihood of spot inspections and courteously requested the return of some of the 150 beer mugs ‘souvenired’ in the bar’s first week of operation.[6]
From 1976 the Union Bar was overseen by the Bar Sub-Committee, which reported to the AUU Union House Committee on matters such as adherence to the terms of the liquor licence, area layout and furnishings, pricing and entertainment.[7] On the latter, early discussions included the pros and cons of installing a colour television in the bar and whether, given that ‘bands in the Bar have proved a very popular Union activity’, the $50 fee limit be raised to attract higher-profile performers.[8] The sub-committee was also responsible for the management of instances of theft, vandalism and the use of drugs other than alcohol in and around the bar.
An early undergraduate patron Tim Cooper (MBBS, 1980) remembers ‘many happy hours in the Uni bar, particularly on quieter days ... it was a meeting place to communicate with students from the other faculties.’[9] The Union Bar also quickly became a location for meetings and events hosted by student clubs of various types. In 1979 the Adelaide University Labor Club held a fundraiser called ‘Rock in Opposition’, including Adelaide new wave band U-Bombs.[10] Other nights in 1979 featured musical offerings as contrasting as A Little Free Friday Night Music (‘Jazz, Rock, Blues, Folk and Jug’, advertised in On Dit with a relaxed, countercultural aesthetic) and Nick Cave’s aggressive post-punk band The Boys Next Door.[11][12]
By the 1980s, the ‘Uni Bar’ had become an established site of campus social and cultural life, as indicated by the increasing variety and number of events either promoted or reviewed in On Dit. An article titled ‘Bar Nights Mean Money’ reported, ‘[S]aturday nights in the bar have been a big success, earning participating clubs and groups up to $300 per night … so far this year, the record for a one night attendance is held by Student Radio who managed to pack in 500 people…’.[13] The piece continued that a percentage of bar profits were being reinvested in stage and lighting equipment and general facilities.[14] Other events included a regular disco (‘Music Spectrum’ with DJ Brian Moon - ‘[b]ring your own single or cassette and I’ll play it or bring your own musical instrument and you can play it’), video nights, and ‘after parties’ such as for David Bowie’s 1983 Adelaide Oval concert.[15] Successful Australian pub rock bands of the era including Cold Chisel, the Angels and Midnight Oil played shows, as well international performers with cult followings such as Steve Albini’s band Big Black.[16]
The 1990s through the early 2000s is looked back on by many as a high point for the ‘UniBar’ (as it was now generally styled). In 1991 the ABC’s youth network Triple J began broadcasting in Adelaide, contributing to the mainstreaming of ‘alternative’ music, and in January 1993 the Adelaide leg of the first national Big Day Out was held on various stages across the University’s North Terrace campus. These developments set the cultural tone for the following decade as the UniBar became a significant performance venue for independent music in Adelaide. Whilst remaining a staple for O’Week and Prosh activities, the UniBar saw performances by major Australian bands such as You Am I, Something for Kate, Augie March and Regurgitator.[17] The space was likewise large enough to accommodate international acts including Juliana Hatfield, J Mascis, Bikini Kill, Mudhoney and Stereolab.[18] At the same time, the UniBar’s democratic slant endured with aspiring amateur musicians playing on the same stage in campus band competitions.
In 2005 the Higher Education Support Amendment Bill (Voluntary Student Unionism) was passed by the Australian Federal Government.[19] The subsequent reduction in available funding for services and facilities traditionally provided by the AUU, among them the UniBar, was considerable and as a result management of the UniBar was transferred from the AUU to the University itself.[20][21] During the following decade, the UniBar was leased to various independent operators and whilst retaining its essential character – ‘its infamously drink-stained carpets and grungy interior’ – it struggled to remain profitable amidst changes to student culture and demographics.[22]
There was much nostalgia in 2018 upon the news that the original UniBar on Level 5 of Union House was to be closed and replaced with a more visible and contemporary looking space off the Union Cloisters.[23] The relocated UniBar was opened in April 2019 as ‘part of a wider project to refurbish areas of the University's North Terrace campus to create more vibrant social spaces for the benefit of the University community.’[24] Having survived Covid-related shutdowns, the Adelaide UniBar was in 2022 inducted into the South Australian Music Hall of Fame in recognition of its ‘immense contribution to live music culture in South Australia’ over nearly five decades.[25]
1. Age of Majority (Reduction) Act 1971. (South Australia).
2. University of Adelaide file 1971/2577, ‘Application for liquor licence for Union. Approach by Liquor and Allied Trades Union’.
3. University of Adelaide file 1971/2577, ‘Application for liquor licence for Union. Approach by Liquor and Allied Trades Union’.
4. Linn, R 2011, The Spirit of Knowledge: A Social History of the University of Adelaide North Terrace Campus, University of Adelaide Press, p 149.
5. ‘Union bar’, On Dit, vol. 43, no. 4, April 1975, p 23.
6. ‘Union Bar Facilities’, On Dit, vol. 43, no. 5, April 1975, p 9.
7. UAA S-0064, Minutes - Adelaide University Union and Committees, January 1976, p 3.
8. UAA S-0064, Minutes - Adelaide University Union and Committees, March 1976, p 15.
9. Cooper, T 2014, ‘Dr Tim Cooper AM: Medical studies inspire future brewer’, Lumen, Winter 2014, p 18.
10. ‘Rock in Opposition’, On Dit, vol. 47, no. 23, October 1979, p 21.
11. ‘Union Activities Present: A Little Free Friday Night Music’, On Dit, vol. 47, no. 22, October 1979, p 14.
12. Craig, A 2022, ‘Gig Listing for UniBar’ [Unpublished research].
13. ‘Bar Nights Mean Money’, On Dit, vol. 48, no. 22, July 1980, p 5.
14. ‘Bar Nights Mean Money’, On Dit, vol. 48, no. 22, July 1980, p 5.
15. ‘Adelaide University Union Presents: Music Spectrum’ On Dit, vol. 53, no. 14, July 1985, p 14.
16. Craig, A 2022, ‘Gig Listing for UniBar’ [Unpublished research].
17. Craig, A 2022, ‘Gig Listing for UniBar’ [Unpublished research].
18. Craig, A 2022, ‘Gig Listing for UniBar’ [Unpublished research].
19. Higher Education Support Amendment (Abolition of Compulsory Up-front Student Union Fees) Bill 2005 (Parliament of Australia).
20. University of Adelaide file 2006/3092, ‘Adelaide University Union [AUU] Funding Agreement – 2007-2010’.
21. University of Adelaide 2007, ‘UniBar set for an upgrade in 2008’, University of Adelaide, News & Events, viewed 1 June 2024, <https://www.adelaide.edu.au/news/news23541.html>
22. Sutton, M 2018, ‘Adelaide UniBar faces closure after more than 40 years of live music and sticky carpets’, ABC News, 24 Oct 2018, viewed 1 June 2024, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-24/adelaide-unibar-faces-closure-ahead-of-2019-adelaide-fringe/10423436>
23. ‘The real sad news coming out of Adelaide Uni today’, [online forum post], Reddit, viewed 1 June 2024, <https://www.reddit.com/r/Adelaide/comments/9qnmqs/the_real_sad_news_coming_out_of_adelaide_uni_today/?sort=old>
24. University of Adelaide 2019, ‘New UniBar opens on campus’, University of Adelaide, Industry & Government, viewed 1 June 2024, <https://www.adelaide.edu.au/industrygovernment/news/list/2019/04/17/new-unibar-opens-on-campus>
25. Danenberg, E. 2022, 'Five decades of rock ‘n’ roll: UniBar joins Hall of Fame', Newsroom, The University of Adelaide, viewed 15 December 2025, <https://www.adelaide.edu.au/newsroom/news/list/2022/10/31/five-decades-of-rock-n-roll-unibar-joins-hall-of-fame>
