Despite an inauspicious start as a dumping ground for waste, the East Parklands gradually developed as an attractive centre for recreation in the city.
Located in the south-east of Adelaide on the Kaurna peoples land of Tandayangga (place of the Red Kangaroo Dreaming), Hurtle Square was one of the six squares designed by Colonel William Light in his 1837 plan of Adelaide.
Opening in 1933, inheriting the place of a cinema which had existed on the spot since 1910, the Rex Theatre was a popular cinema on Rundle Street that was demolished in 1961.