Willaston is a northern suburb northeast of the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre (Kaurna language, Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Adelaide, Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaid ...

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 ...

. It is located in the Town of Gawler.

History

William Paxton William Paxton may refer to: Politicians * William F. Paxton (born 1946), American politician from Kentucky * William A. Paxton (1837–1907), American politician and businessman from Nebraska * Sir William Paxton (British businessman) (1744–1 ...

and

Samuel Stocks Samuel Stocks ( – 8 March 1863) and his son Samuel Stocks, jun ( – 3 February 1850) were businessmen in the early days of the Colony of South Australia. Stocks was a citizen of Heaton Mersey, near Manchester, where he was senior partner of th ...

obtained land in the area in 1848 and 1849. After Stocks died in 1850, Paxton laid out the village called Willaston. The village may have been named after Willaston in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

, due to a probable association with the Stocks family. Willaston Post Office opened on 1 November 1864.

Demographics

The 2006 Census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics counted 3,209 persons in Willaston on census night. Of these, 47% were male and 53% were female. The majority of residents (77.4%) are of Australian birth, with an additional 11.3% declaring

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

as their country of birth. The average age of Willaston residents is similar to that of the greater Australian population. 67.2% of residents were over 25 years in 2006, compared to the Australian average of 66.5%; and 32.8% were younger than 25 years, compared to the Australian average of 33.5%.

Attractions

The Willaston Football Club, formed in 1889 and known as the Donnybrooks, plays in the Barossa Light & Gawler Football Association. Gawler Par 3 Golf Course is located on the southern edge of Willaston. The

Willaston General Cemetery The Willaston General Cemetery on Dawkins Avenue, Willaston, South Australia opened on 1 August 1866. to replace the original burial ground on Murray Street, Gawler, South Australia was made in the mid 1850s, with the headstones from the original ...

is in the north of the suburb, alongside the retirement village.

Parks

Elliot Goodger Memorial Park is located between Gawler River Road and Kelly Road. Clonlea Park is located on Murray Road along the banks of the North Para River.

Transportation

Roads

Willaston lies beside the

Sturt Highway Sturt Highway is an Australian national highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight between Sydney and Adelaide and the regions situated adjacent to the ...

( Gawler Bypass) and the southern end of the

Horrocks Highway Main North Road is the major north-south arterial route through the suburbs north of the Adelaide City Centre in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. It continues north through the settled areas of South Australia and is a total of long, fro ...

. Willaston is also serviced by Main North Road, linking the suburb to Gawler.

Public transport

The nearest train station is Gawler Central.

Notable people

Notable people from or who have lived in Willaston include: * Job Harris, operated Willaston Stores, and operated the first Post Office

References

External links

Town of GawlerLocal Government Association of SA – Town of Gawler2006 ABS Census Data by Location
{{Town of Gawler suburbs Suburbs of Adelaide