Athelstone, South Australia
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Athelstone is a suburb of
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
in the City of Campbelltown. It was established in the 19th century but only became part of suburban Adelaide in the second half of the 20th century. It is approximately 10 km northeast of Adelaide's central business district. The main arterial road, Gorge Road, runs through this suburb in a west–east direction. The
River Torrens The River Torrens (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the Ad ...
, one of Adelaide's major water supplies, borders the suburb. This water source runs its way from Mount Pleasant to the sea. Gorge Road leads up into the
Adelaide Hills The Adelaide Hills region is located in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. The largest town in the area, Mount Barker, South Australia, Mount Barker, is one of Australia's fastest-growi ...
, joining the gorge of the Kangaroo Creek Dam, and the Torrens' source. Fifth Creek (a tributary to the River Torrens) also runs through the suburb as an intermittent stream, prone to flooding in late Spring (October–December). Athelstone is bounded by the River Torrens, Black Hill Conservation Park, Montacute Road, Stradbroke Road, Hamilton Terrace, Schulze Road and River Drive. It is known as the last eastern suburb or the leafy suburb.


History

The first Europeans known to have visited Athelstone were the explorers John Hill and Dr
George Imlay George Imlay (1794–1846), together with his brothers Alexander (1794–1847) and Peter (1797–1881), was a Scottish-born pioneer settler in southern New South Wales. All three reached Australia as military surgeons serving on convict ships. T ...
. They camped overnight beside the Torrens on 23 January 1838, en route to the
Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...
. Due to the high fertility of the alluvial river soils, the district was soon being farmed by incoming European migrants. Athelstone's name comes from Athelstone house and mill, built by Charles Dinham circa 1843 to 1845. John Coulls from
Helston Helston () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the The Lizard, Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: ...
in
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
bought the mill in 1855, converting it for grape crushing. The suburb (lower Athelstone) began as a village along the River Torrens. The shopping centre or village centre began from these settlements. Athelstone Post Office opened on 19 March 1863. The Addison and Ryan families held possession of land sold to the
Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
in the 1960s to build Saint Ignatius' College senior campus around the Upper Athelstone site. Smaller subdivisions have been created. For example, Foxfield Estate in the east, was a development of the Hickinbotham Group during the late 1970s. Other subdevelopments have also occurred. Land has also been preserved in the process. Wadmore Park, adjoining Athelstone Oval and Black Hill Conservation Park were established as recreational and nature reserves, in the mid 1900s. Black Hill Conservation Park was claimed in 1975, under the National Parks and Wildlife Act. Market gardening was a big part of Athelstone's development. Families such as the Tunno family migrated from Italy in the 1950s and grew a variety of bunched vegetables on a small acreage for 30 years selling it to various retailers and wholesale markets throughout Adelaide. Much of the produce grown was European in origin such as
endive Endive () is a leaf vegetable belonging to the genus ''Cichorium'', which includes several similar bitter-leafed vegetables. Species include ''Cichorium endivia'' (also called endive), ''Cichorium pumilum'' (also called wild endive), and ''Cicho ...
, spinach,
chicory Common chicory (''Cichorium intybus'') is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant of the family Asteraceae, usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Native to Europe, it has been introduced to the Americas and Australia. M ...
, and
fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...
. As at 1 December 2014 only one market garden is left in Athelstone, located on Maryvale Road.


Geography

Athelstone Recreation Reserve is a reserve in the suburb of Athelstone. Athelstone is home to one of the oldest football clubs in South Australia the Athelstone Football Club. It is also home to the Athelstone Soccer Club and Eastern United Soccer Club. It is the largest reserve in the suburb of Athelstone.


Demography

The 2016
Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, Natural environment, environmental, and social issues to advi ...
data indicates Athelstone's population to be predominantly
middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...
and totalling just over 9,150 people, as it has been for the last 15 years. There is an even spread of both genders. Over 48% of the population comprises married couples with a skew to the 35- to 74-year-old age range. Less than 15% of the entire population of Athelstone is over 65 years old. Some 63% of the population was born in Australia. About 36% of the population speaks other languages. Approximately 40% of the people living in Athelstone have both parents born overseas. More than 13% of Athelstone speaks Italian, over 4% speaks Greek, and just over 2% speaks Chinese. Athelstone residents work primarily in the retail, manufacturing, health, medical, law, property / business services, education and construction sectors (in descending order) with over 66% of its workers employed in those industries.


Housing

The predominantly contemporary housing style is echoed throughout the suburb. There have been different stages in the suburb's development. Dwellings from the first half of the twentieth century housing still predominate in some sections of the suburb, with corrugated iron cladding or stone exteriors (mostly Californian bungalows). The first contemporary housing was built in the area during the 1970s. Many of these styles have emerged as the area still has some market gardening holdings yet to be released as housing allotments. Some blocks have been subdivided for high density housing arrangements.


References

Suburbs of Adelaide {{More categories, date=October 2024