Paralowie is a suburb in the north 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 ...
, South Australia, north of the
Adelaide city centre
Adelaide city centre () 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 Adelaide and from the City of Adelaide l ...
. It is predominantly a residential suburb.
History
On November 27, 1980, the suburb was officially named, drawing from the Aboriginal languages "para" signifying river and "owie" representing water, settlement of the area dates from the late 19th century, with land used predominantly for
market garden
A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to s ...
s and farms. Significant development did not occur until the post
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
years. Rapid growth occurred from the 1980s through to the mid-1990s. The population increased marginally between 2001 and 2006, as a result of new dwellings being added to the area.
[City of Salisbury Community Profile (2008).]
Demographics
The 2021
Census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
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 17,816 persons in Paralowie on census night. Of these, 50.3% were male and 49.7% were female.
The most common countries of birth were Australia (65.9%),
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 ...
(3.8%),
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 ...
(3.3%) and
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
(3.2%).
The most common languages used at home in Paralowie were
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
only (64.7%),
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...
(4.7%),
Khmer (4.1%) and
Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabis, Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a ...
(1.5%). Other languages used at home by more than 100 residents were
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
,
Nepali,
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
* Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
and
Tagalog
Tagalog may refer to:
Language
* Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines
** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language
** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language
* Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...
.
527 people (3.0%) identified as
Aboriginal and/or
Torres Strait Islander
Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...
.
At the 2021 Census, the
median age
A population pyramid (age structure diagram) or "age-sex pyramid" is a graphical illustration of the distribution of a population (typically that of a country or region of the world) by age groups and sex; it typically takes the shape of a pyramid ...
of Paralowie residents was 35 years, which is younger than the median age of Australians as a whole (38).
Places of significance
Burton Primitive Methodist Cemetery

Located on
Bolivar Road, Paralowie, the now-closed cemetery is the only reminder of the Burton Methodist Church (used to stand by the side of Burton Road), built-in 1915, closed in 1950 and later demolished, and now marked with a memorial stone. An earlier church built in June 1858 also existed here and was used as a school until the 1950s.
The first burial was that of George Diment, aged 10 years, in December 1866; burials continued until 1957, after which there was a substantial gap until the last burial in April 1971. Attempts have been made to restore the vandalised headstones in the cemetery because it is a site of historical significance.
Settler's Court
The former farmhouse located at 8 Settler's Court, Paralowie is listed as a State Heritage Place 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'' ...
, because the Burdett family who lived on the property, who both developed a cattle stud and influenced local affairs. Also known as Judd's Homestead. It is reported as being "an important example of the larger pastoral properties that characterised the region prior to the urban development after
World War Two
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisi ...
."
Paralowie House and grounds
The villa located at 94 Waterloo Corner Road which was built in 1894, is listed both as a State Heritage Place on the South Australian Heritage Register and on the former
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...
. It is historically representative of the time which Salisbury North had not yet been incorporated into the Adelaide metropolitan area, but instead was home to a number of larger estates in what was still a semi-rural environment. It is an example of popular late 19th century architecture and is still in excellent condition.
[Australian Heritage Database (2008).] The house was often used for bonfires and gatherings during the
Boer war
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...
. The premises is now used for a Commonwealth funded youth homelessness early intervention program run by the UnitingCare Wesley church.
Paralowie R-12 School
Located on Whites Road, Paralowie R-12 School has 1525 students from Reception to Year 12.
Footnotes
References
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{{coord, 34, 45, 25, S, 138, 36, 41, E, type:city_region:AU-SA, display=title
Suburbs of Adelaide