The custodian of two old steam train tunnels on the Adelaide to Melbourne route has a quip about the dark for those brave enough to venture deep inside.
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"I always say I don't like to see the light at the end of the tunnel, because that means someone's broken in," Dave Munro told AAP.
Built in 1880, there are two Sleep's Hill Tunnels in the Adelaide suburb of Panorama, one measuring 170m long and the other 360m.
Munro has owned the land that is home to the tunnels since 2000, and due to their consistent underground temperature of 17C, he uses one for his wine storage business.
The longer tunnel will be open to the public for the first time as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival, and Munro said it's a great opportunity for South Australians to get to know their own heritage.
"I've always tried to do the right thing by the tunnels, I love them so much," he said.
"I just try and do the best for the tunnels so that people can see them, but also preserving them."
The tunnels have had various uses since being decommissioned in 1914, including being used to store state records and to grow mushrooms.
They were built from layers of individual bricks and venturing deep inside them is a tranquil experience, according to Munro, not least because mobile phones don't work down there.
Visitors tend to pause to take in the architecture, rather than rushing to the other end, he said.
"There's something about it I can never explain, people walk in there and they get goosebumps, and some people have to stop and reflect."
The Adelaide Fringe will install 350 metres of projections to tell the story of the Sleep's Hill Tunnels over almost 150 years.
An installation called The World Beneath Our Feet, which was a hit at The Barbican in London in 2022, is part of the exhibition, showing audiences about life in the soil underground.
Artists including renowned photographer Stephen Axford, who has made time lapse videos for BBC's Planet Earth series with David Attenborough, will also provide images of fungi that reference the mushroom farm of the 1960s.
People have always been intrigued by the tunnels and how they were built, said Munro, who is pleased the Adelaide Fringe has devised an exhibition that respects their heritage.
The show is a fusion of history, art and technology, said Fringe director Heather Croall.
"It will be a memorable immersive experience for everyone - especially for those who are fans of tunnels, trains or mushrooms," she said.
Visitors are warned the event is being held in a narrow, dark and enclosed space.
The ticketed exhibition is part of the Adelaide Fringe and runs February 16 to March 17.
Australian Associated Press
