Birkenhead is a north-western
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separat ...
of
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
14 km from the
CBD, on the
Lefevre Peninsula, in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, and lies within the
City of Port Adelaide Enfield
The City of Port Adelaide Enfield, located across inner north and north-western suburbs of Adelaide, is one of the largest metropolitan councils within South Australia. It was established on 26 March 1996 by the amalgamation of the City of Por ...
. It is adjacent to
Peterhead
Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...
,
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal c ...
and
Glanville. It is bounded to the south by the Gawler Reach of the
Port River
The Port River (officially known as the Port Adelaide River) is part of a tidal estuary located north of the Adelaide city centre in the Australian state of South Australia. It has been used as a shipping channel since the beginning of European ...
, to the north by Hargrave Street and in the west and east by the
Outer Harbor railway line
The Outer Harbor railway line is a suburban branch line in Adelaide, South Australia. It runs from Adelaide station through the north western suburbs to Port Adelaide and Outer Harbor. It is 21.9 kilometres in length, and shares part of its r ...
and the Port River respectively.
It was laid out on section 700,
Hundred of Port Adelaide
The Hundred of Port Adelaide is a cadastral hundred covering the vicinity of Port Adelaide, Lefevre Peninsula and the coast of the central Adelaide Plains south of Gawler River and west of Port Wakefield Road. It is one of the eleven hundreds ...
by
Thomas Elder
Sir Thomas Elder, (5 August 1818 – 6 March 1897), was a Scottish-Australian pastoralist, highly successful businessman, philanthropist, politician, race-horse owner and breeder, and public figure. Amongst many other things, he is notable fo ...
and
John Hart.
Birkenhead Post Office opened around 1884.
Birkenhead is essentially a residential suburb, with industrial harbourside development on the southern and eastern shores of the suburb. It is notable for the
Birkenhead Bridge, which formerly opened on a regular basis so that boats could pass along the Port River. It is also the site of a third Port River crossing, the
Port River Expressway. It includes the opening
Tom 'Diver' Derrick Bridge, designed to ease traffic congestion in the area and opened in August 2008, adjacent to the opening
Mary MacKillop Bridge.
The Birkenhead Bridge and the former
HMAS Encounter Naval Drill Hall are listed on the
South Australian Heritage Register
The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...
.
Facilities
The suburb is served by a primary school,
Lefevre Peninsula Primary School, and the local high school is
Lefevre High School, in nearby
Semaphore South. There is little commercial activity in the area, as this is plentiful south of the river in
Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...
.
The eastern side of the suburb, by the Port riverside is the location of the
Adelaide Brighton Cement
Adbri, formerly Adelaide Brighton Cement, is an Australian manufacturer of cement, lime and dry blended products.
Adbri operates manufacturing and distribution facilities in South Australia, the Northern Territory, and New South Wales. Associat ...
company, and a berth for the
Shell Oil Company
Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,0 ...
. Its southern shore was formerly the location of a naval yard (now TS Adelaide), the Bureau of Customs, Fletcher's Dock and Fletcher's Slip, DMH Dockyard, the Jenkins Street boatyards and the Port Adelaide Sailing Club, however these have mostly been closed or relocated.
The area was earmarked for residential development as part of the "Newport Quays" redevelopment project, but the site remains vacant (2015) following the loss of development rights by the Newport Quays consortium in 2011.
The former Port Adelaide Sailing Club building, renamed Gallery Yampu, is currently used by the not-for-profit Port Adelaide Artists Forum to host occasional art exhibitions and community events. It also houses Dragon Boat SA.
[Home for dragon boats ''Portside Messenger'' 8 June 2011]
Governance
Birkenhead is located in the federal division of
Hindmarsh, the state electoral district of
Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...
and the local government area of the
City of Port Adelaide Enfield
The City of Port Adelaide Enfield, located across inner north and north-western suburbs of Adelaide, is one of the largest metropolitan councils within South Australia. It was established on 26 March 1996 by the amalgamation of the City of Por ...
.
[
]
Transport
Adelaide Metro
Adelaide Metro is the public transport system of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is an intermodal system offering an integrated network of bus, tram, and train service throughout the metropolitan area. The network has an ann ...
route 150 bus services operate along Semaphore and Fletcher Roads, while routes 352 and 353 serves Semaphore and Fletcher Roads and Hargrave Street. Routes 333 and N254 serve Semaphore Road. The suburb also is serviced by Peterhead railway station on the Outer Harbor railway line
The Outer Harbor railway line is a suburban branch line in Adelaide, South Australia. It runs from Adelaide station through the north western suburbs to Port Adelaide and Outer Harbor. It is 21.9 kilometres in length, and shares part of its r ...
.
Notable residents
* A number of Port Adelaide Football Club
Port Adelaide Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Alberton, South Australia, Alberton, South Australia. The club's senior men's team plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), where they are nicknamed ...
players were born or have lived in Birkenhead, including dual Magarey Medal
The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willi ...
and Bob Quinn.
* John Turner (naval officer)
References
See also
* District Council of Birkenhead
{{City of Port Adelaide Enfield suburbs
Suburbs of Adelaide
Lefevre Peninsula