The AFL’s Gather round may have been the centre of attention in Adelaide over the weekend, but there was another standout feature in the state’s CBD catching the eyes of tourists.
More than 220,000 football fans are said to have flocked to stadiums across the South Australian state to celebrate the league’s inaugural four-day festival of footy.
While some crossed the border for the day, others made a holiday out of the event including my family who spent the weekend touring the city’s many attractions.
Coming from Victoria, it was our first time travelling to the neighbouring state and from the moment we crossed the border we noticed some interesting differences.
First, upon arriving in South Australia’s Bordertown, we saw a number of signs asking motorists to dispose of any fruit or vegetables in quarantine bins to avoid bringing fruit flies into the state.
These bins were later replaced with a quarantine station where motorists were randomly pulled over to have their vehicles inspected for the restricted food items.
We later learned Adelaide and neighbouring suburbs West Beach and Port Adelaide were very clean, with more street cleaners in sight than rubbish.
Another difference was the overall busyness of the city and large amount of foot traffic as pedestrians flooded Rundle Mall – Adelaide’s shopping, dining and entertainment precinct.
But one conspicuous feature that inundated the city’s skyline was an abundance of blue and white signs that displayed the word “Polites”.
The same sign appeared on nearly every third building in Hindley Street while other streets had the display littered throughout.
They typically appeared on white, traditional buildings – some of which looked like they were in need of a revamp – including cafes, offices, motels and nightclubs.
One building even sported the sign twice, while others reportedly featured it three times.
A little bit of research into the intriguing statement revealed these signs are a trademark of property tycoon Constantine George Polites.
The rags to riches tale of Mr Polites and his family is well known across Adelaide thanks to the signs which leave a lasting legacy following his death in 2001, aged 82.
Born in 1919, Mr Polites grew up in Port Pirie, a small city located 223km north of Adelaide where his family sold vegetables to make a living.
By the age of 16, Mr Polites made enough money to afford his first deli freehold, before making a number of other career moves.
This included working behind the counter at Woolworths in Rundle Street and managing staff at a factory during World War II, before moving into the taxi, car hire and catering scene.
After spending some time in Sydney, he returned to Adelaide in 1959 where he married his wife Florence. Five years later, his career in real estate took off.
Mr Polites' business plan involved purchasing pre-existing properties and renovating them, before leasing them out to migrants.
He would later sell them when the time was right but still maintained a large property portfolio in Adelaide’s CBD.
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Each time he bought a property, a sign with the Polites name was instantly erected, however the property magnate denied this was out of ego.
“It’s to do with a feeling of satisfaction that one has achieved success … I just feel proud that I have achieved these things … And you let people know that you are around. That’s all,” Mr Polites told The Advertiser in 1992.
While the signs have caused some confusion among tourists – myself included – most Adelaideans cherish the symbols as a nod towards history.
“I used to be a hotel concierge in a couple of Adelaide hotels. Occasionally guests would ask me about the ‘Polite’ signs on many Adelaide buildings,” one person said on a social media post regarding the signs.
“With a wink or a cheeky grin I’d reply that it was a reminder to locals to be nice to visitors!! They always believed it.”
Another person added: “When I was in Adelaide as a backpacker I always thought it was another word for police.”
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“For some bizarre reason as a child I thought the signs were supposed to say ‘politics’ and someone had got the spelling wrong,” a third person said.
Mr Polites is survived by his grandsons Alex and Marcus Polites who are now the managing directors of Polites Property Group Australia.
The twin brothers have taken their family name interstate, establishing a number of high-rise luxury buildings on the Gold Coast as well as properties in South Australia and Brisbane.
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