Croydon is an inner western

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

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 ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. It is located in the

City of Charles Sturt The City of Charles Sturt is a local government area in the western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia, stretching to the coast. The council was formed on 1 January 1997 as a result of the amalgamation of the City of Hindmarsh Woodville and ...

. The area is named after

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

History

The land on which the suburb now stands was purchased in 1853 by Alfred Watts and Philip Levi. They laid out the ''Village of Croydon'' in 1855, comprising ''Croydon Farm'' of and lots of up to . The village may have been named after

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, then a part of

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, Now a part of

, the same county in which Levi had been born. In 1904, market gardener and greengrocer John Brooker founded a jams and conserves business on Queen Street, producing "Croydon" branded products. The business prospered, leading to the construction of the Croydon Jam Factory on the corner of Queen Street and Princes Street in 1945. However production was soon moved to Woodville North in 1951. The Croydon factory became a warehouse for Godfreys Ltd., a

whitegoods A major appliance is a non-portable or semi-portable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cooking, washing laundry, or food preservation. Such appliances are sometimes collectively known as white goods, as the products were tradi ...

retailer. One of Croydon's first farm barns, later converted into a home in the 1920s still exists far into a lot on Bedford Street, Croydon. This good example of a Brick and Stone building provide's a direct link to Croydon's history. This Original Barn, now renovated into a family home, is believed to have been built by Richard Day who developed the suburb over 100 years ago. Richard Day developed his own villa-style cottage on the site of 14 St Lawrence Ave in Croydon which could be reached via a long driveway from South Road. It was demolished circa 1970 at which point a retirement village was built in its place. At this time, Croydon was mainly farmland.

Geography

Croydon is situated approximately north-west of Adelaide and directly east from the coast at

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * The Grange (Toronto), Toronto, Ontario, built in 1817 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to ...

Demographics

The 2021 Census by the

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 ...

counted 1,220 persons in Croydon on census night. Of these, 49.7% were male and 50.3% were female. The majority of residents (72.5%) are of Australian birth, with other common census responses being

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(4.3%),

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

(3.9%),

(3.0%),

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

(1.9%) and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(0.8%). Additionally, Aboriginals and/or Torres Strait Islanders contributed to 2.2% of the suburb's population. The age distribution of Croydon residents is broadly similar to that of the greater Australian population. 72.7% of residents were over 25 years in 2021, compared to the Australian average of 69.9%; and 27.3% were younger than 25 years, compared to the Australian average of 30.1%. In terms of religious affiliation, 40.2% of Croydon residents state that they were irreligious in 2021 (up from 33.7% in 2016), 25.2% stated that they were

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, 13.3% stated they were

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

, and 3.4% attributed themselves to being

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

. Within Croydon, 91.3% of the residents aged > 15 years who reported being in the labour force were employed, with 3.6% being unemployed and 4.9% away from work.

Politics

Local government

Croydon is part of Hindmarsh Ward in the

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

, being represented in that council by Councillors Katriona Kinsella and Alice Campbell.

State and federal

Croydon lies in the state

electoral district An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

and the federal

electoral division An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

. The suburb is represented in the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly (also known as the lower house) is one of two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assem ...

by the

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier i ...

, Labor member

Peter Malinauskas Peter Bryden Malinauskas (English: ; ; born 14 August 1980) is an Australian politician serving as the 47th and current premier of South Australia since 2022. He has been the leader of the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party ...

and federally by

Steve Georganas Steven Georganas (; born 13 June 1959) is an Australian politician and is the Australian Labor Party member for the House of Representatives seat of Adelaide in South Australia since the 2019 Australian federal election. Previously, he had been ...

Facilities and attractions

Parks

Two parks are located on Day Terrace beside Croydon railway station. These two parks are known as Croydon Train park and Croydon playground reserve.

Queen Street Music Festival

A free street music festival has previously been held on Elizabeth Street, supported by the Charles Sturt Council. This was last held on Friday 6 April 2019, hosted the local bands Dead Roo, Last Days of Kali, Rex Wonderful & the Silk Sheets, Blush response and David Blumberg & the Maraby Band.

Transportation

Roads

Croydon is bounded by Torrens Road to the north,

South Road South Road and its southern section as Main South Road outside of Adelaide is a major north–south conduit connecting Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula, in South Australia. It is one of Adelaide's most important arterial and bypass roads. A ...

, to the east and Port Road to the south. Day Terrace in Croydon, which runs parallel to the Outer Harbor/Grange Train Line is part of the Outer Harbor Greenway, a bicycle route, which provides a family-friendly bicycle path from the City of Adelaide to Outer Harbor via Port Adelaide.

Public transport

Croydon is well serviced by public transport run by

Adelaide Metro Adelaide Metro is the public transport system of the Adelaide area, around the capital city of South Australia. It is an intermodal passenger transport, intermodal system offering an integrated network of Buses in Adelaide, bus, Glenelg tram, ...

Trains

The

and Outer Harbor railway lines pass through the suburb. The closest station is

Buses

The suburb is serviced by buses run by

References

External links

* {{City of Charles Sturt suburbs Suburbs of Adelaide Populated places established in 1855 1855 establishments in Australia