Hilton is an inner 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 separate ...

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 ...

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

City of West Torrens The City of West Torrens is a local government area in the western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. Since the 1970s the area was mainly home to many open spaces and parks, however after the mid-1990s (1993-1995) the LGA became more resident ...

, for which it is the council seat.

History

The

Kaurna The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurn ...

people occupied the land of the present suburb, before

British colonisation of South Australia British colonisation of South Australia describes the planning and establishment of the colony of South Australia by the British government, covering the period from 1829, when the idea was raised by the then-imprisoned Edward Gibbon Wakefield ...

in 1836. The land now covering the suburb of Hilton was received by Matthew Davenport Hill in 1839. About ten years later, The "Village of Hilton" was laid out by his attorney, George Milner Stephen. The 1935 West Torrens Council Chambers 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'' ...

Geography

Hilton is a rectangular suburb, lying across

Sir Donald Bradman Drive Sir Donald Bradman Drive (and its western section as Burbridge Road) is a major arterial road that travels east–west through the western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the main route from the Adelaide city centre to the Adelaide A ...

Demographics

In the

2016 Australian census The 2016 Australian census was the 17th national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was counted as – an incre ...

, there were 839 people in Hilton. Of these, 62.9% of people were born in Australia and 61.7% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were "No Religion" at 38.4%, and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

17.1%.

Media

The local newspaper was the ''

Weekly Times Messenger ''Weekly Times Messenger'' was a weekly suburban newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, part of the Messenger Newspapers group. The ''Weekly Times area stretched from Woodville in the north, through to Adelaide Airport in the south, and cove ...

''. Other regional and national newspapers such as '' The Advertiser'' and ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' are also available.

Facilities and attractions

The West Torrens Civic Centre (council offices) are on the corner of Sir Donald Bradman Drive and Brooker Terrace. The Hamra Centre Library is located next door. Hilton Plaza shopping centre is located on the corner of Sir Donald Bradman Drive and Bagot Avenue.

Star Theatres

The Star Theatres One and Two are located on a corner block at 145 Sir Donald Bradman Drive. The building incorporates three performance spaces, two theatres and a studio. The first building on the site was a tin shed, erected in 1923 for soldiers returning from war, and known as the Soldiers Memorial Institute. This was replaced by a stone and brick building in 1928, which forms the basis of the current building. In the early 1930s, it catered for activities such as dances, roller skating, and "indoor cricket, electric light cricket". In 1937 an entrance foyer, "ladies retiring room", and a film projector, projection room was added to convert the hall into a movie theater, cinema, which opened on 7 April 1937 as the Lyric Theatre.PDF
/ref> When the Windsor cinema chain took it over in February 1948, it became the Windsor Theatre, but by 1949 the lease had been acquired by Ozone Theatres Ltd. In 1956, the rear of the theatre was enlarged and a larger screen installed, but films were only shown on Saturdays and the hall was leased out for other uses during the week. Its name was changed to Star Theatres (indicating ownership by D. Clifford Theatres), but audiences dwindled around 1959 as drive-in theatres became more popular. the Windsor chain relinquished its lease in 1961. In its later years as a cinema, it showed Greek films. In 1962, the building was leased to John Edmund and Donald Grey, who started mounting live theatre productions in a theatre in the round formation, adopting the name Theatre 62, marking the year of its establishment. The library was finally moved out of the theatre in 1970, the Soldiers Memorial Institute was disbanded, and the local council took over management of the venue. In 1981 the council purchased the old Baptist church next door and joined the two buildings, creating "Theatre 62 and The Chapel". Carclew, North Adelaide#Youth arts centre, Carclew Youth Theatre were based at the venue. In 1985 the council refurbished the building, and Mighty Good Entertainment became a partner in the management team. In 2002 it changed its name to Star Theatres One and Two. Theatre One is the larger venue, seating up to 336, while Theatre Two (in the refurbished chapel) is an intimate theatre, with a seating capacity of 72. In 2023, Mighty Good Productions celebrates its 30th anniversary of holding the lease on the theatre, during this time producing at least 75 original productions. The theatres have also hosted many different productions by other groups of all kinds, including annual performances for primary, secondary schools, dance, drama and singing schools, as well as Adelaide Fringe performances in March. The Mighty Good Talent School is in its 44th year of teaching in 2023.

Transport

Road transport uses

, connecting the suburb to Adelaide City Centre. Hilton is serviced by public transport buses run by the Adelaide Metro. the bus routes that serve Hilton are 163; 720; the Adelaide Airport routes J1 and J2; and school services 652 and 653.

References

External links

* {{City of West Torrens suburbs Suburbs of Adelaide Populated places established in 1849 1849 establishments in Australia