Marion is a

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 separate ...

in the

City of Marion The City of Marion is a local government area in part of the southern and western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. The council offices are in the suburb of Sturt. History The District Council of Brighton was established in 1853, centred ...

, around south-west of the

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

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 ...

, the capital of

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 ...

. Founded as a rural village in 1838 on the banks of the Sturt River, Marion was found to have rich soil and the population expanded rapidly.

Colonel William Light William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839), also known as Colonel Light, was a British- Malayan naval and army officer. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site o ...

laid out the plan for the village, as he had done with the

City of Adelaide The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of South ...

itself. Marion is bordered on the north by Oaklands Road, on the east by Marion Road, on the south by Sturt Road and on the west by a roughly straight line from Finniss Street in the south to The Parade.

History

The township of Marion was laid out by

William Light William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839), also known as Colonel Light, was a British- Malayan naval and army officer. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site o ...

and

B. T. Finniss Boyle Travers Finniss (18 August 1807 – 24 December 1893) was the first premier of South Australia, serving from 24 October 1856 to 20 August 1857. Early life Finniss was born at sea off the Cape of Good Hope, Southern Africa, and lived in ...

in 1838, and was (mis)named for Marianne Fisher (1827–1927), daughter of the Resident Commissioner,

James Hurtle Fisher Sir James Hurtle Fisher (1 May 1790 – 28 January 1875) was a lawyer and prominent South Australian pioneer. He was the first Resident Commissioner of the colony of South Australia, the first Mayor of Adelaide and the first resident Sout ...

. Vegetables, stone fruits, almonds and grapes were all produced in Marion. Richard Hamilton started the first vineyard in 1838 and his family continues its wine making tradition to this day. By the late 19th century Marion was also home to a number of industries such as a mining and brick making. However, the population at this time was still very small – around 350 people. Gradually the Adelaide sprawl crept up to Marion, and by the 1950s the suburb was well and truly enveloped. :Much of the development was "austerity housing", basic 3- and 4-bedroom dwellings, unfinished and unfurnished, on bare quarter-acre (1000 m²m) blocks. Walls were of cavity construction: variously double brick or brick-Mount Gambier stone and roofs tiled, either cement or

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...

. The properties built for the

South Australian Housing Trust The South Australian Housing Trust (SAHT) is an independent statutory authority originally established by the Government of South Australia responsible for providing low-cost rental housing to working people and their families, as a means of s ...

and rented or sold at modest cost to working families, many being migrants from overseas or country areas who were attracted to Adelaide by newly developed industries. The tenants would then finish the house in their own time by painting, adding floor coverings and fitting curtains. Many would then add insulation, a garage, sheds, gardens, lawns, trees and so forth. :Many of these places remain, but are being overtaken by "infill" housing: two or three residences where there once was one.

Amenities

Parkland

Marion is home to a number of parks and reserves. The large sporting complex off Sturt Road contains ovals and a basketball stadium. There are also parks on Norfolk Road, Tilley Crescent, Nicholas Road, Oakleigh Road, George Street and Alison Avenue. Marion also shares the Oaklands Reserve with Oaklands Park. The City of Marion Swimming Centre is situated adjacent to the suburb of Marion, in Park Holme. The Sturt River Linear Park is a trail which follows the Sturt River through the south-western metropolitan area from Marion to Glenelg.

Community facilities

The large co-educational private school,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, is situated on Alison Avenue near the railway line. It caters to all grades from Reception to Year 12, and caters for boarders. Marion High School, situated on York Avenue,

Clovelly Park Clovelly Park is an inner southern suburb of Adelaide in the local government area of the City of Marion. Before becoming an 'advanced' suburb, it was a farm and vineyard. The suburb is bordered by Daws Road to the north, South Road to the eas ...

, served the youth of the area for over forty years until its closure in 1996. The area has now been redeveloped primarily for housing, with just the school hall remaining; named Cosgrove Hall after a long-running headmaster of the school. Churches of various denominations are located Marion. The Marion

Returned and Services League of Australia The Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) is a support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. Mission The RSL's mission is to ensure that programs are in place for the well-being, care ...

Club is located on Norfolk Road. There are two bowling clubs in the suburb of Marion, one on Norfolk Road, near the RSL club and another on Sturt Road adjacent to Sturt Oval. In April 2011 South Australian Premier Mike Rann opened the

South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre The South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre (SAALC), also known as the State Aquatic Centre, is a swimming venue located in the Adelaide suburb of Oaklands Park in South Australia. The centre is managed by the YMCA on behalf of the Governme ...

on Morphett Road in Oaklands Park, the most advanced swimming and diving facilities in Australia. He was joined at the opening by Marion Mayor

Felicity-Ann Lewis Dr Felicity-Ann Lewis (born 1957) is a former mayor of the City of Marion and South Australia's Australian of the Year for 2014. She received a Centenary Medal for service to the community, particularly as Mayor, City of Marion. Lewis has ...

. Lewis and Rann had championed the project for some years to enable Olympic standard aquatic sports to occur in South Australia.ABC News, 26 April 2011

Governance

It is part of the

. The council offices for the whole city are located in nearby Sturt. Marion is split between the state electorates of Elder and

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

and is situated in the Federal

Division of Boothby The Division of Boothby is an Australian federal electoral division in South Australia. The division was one of the seven established when the former Division of South Australia was redistributed on 2 October 1903 and is named after William Boo ...

Transport

There is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in Marion between Minchinbury Terrace and Fairne Terrace, which connects to Adelaide's centre to the north and Noarlunga to the south. There are two major bus routes serving the district: the '
M44
'' from Marion Shopping Centre which runs along Finniss Street and

Marion Road Marion Road is a north–south arterial road through the western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia, named after its traversal through the suburb of Marion and the local government area of City of Marion. It is designated part of route A14. ...

to Adelaide's centre, then via the

O-Bahn Busway The O-Bahn Busway is a guided busway that is part of the bus rapid transit system servicing the northeastern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. The O-Bahn system was conceived by Daimler-Benz to enable buses to avoid traffic congestion by s ...

to Golden Grove. The north of the suburb is served by the '
241
'' bus from Marion Shopping Centre, which runs along Morphett Road, Oaklands Road and Daws Road to the city centre.

References

{{Authority control Suburbs of Adelaide