Smithfield is a suburb in the northern outskirts 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
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 in the
City of Playford
The City of Playford is a Local government in Australia, local government area of South Australia in Adelaide's northern suburbs. It was named in recognition of Thomas Playford IV, Sir Thomas Playford, who played a part in the development of the ...
.
Geography
Smithfield has
Main North Road
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
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, ...
as its eastern boundary, with service stations, the historic Smithfield Hotel and several other businesses and private residences. Anderson Walk is the southern boundary of the original Township village subdivided by John Smith, which was arranged in a grid with Augusta Square in the centre. West of the older residential area is an industrial zone along the railway line, with
Smithfield railway station on the south side of Anderson Walk. Munno Para Shopping City is on the south side of Smith Creek. There are more residential areas south and west of the railway station, and an
Army Reserve Army Reserve refers to a land-based military reserve force, including:
*Army Reserve (Ireland)
*Army Reserve (United Kingdom)
*Australian Army Reserve
*Canadian Army Reserve
* New Zealand Army Reserve
*United States Army Reserve
*United States Navy ...
depot west of the shopping centre which is home to the
3rd/9th Light Horse (South Australian Mounted Rifles) and 49 ACU
Army Cadets.
History
Early Settlement
Smithfield was an early settlement established between
Salisbury
Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...
and
Gawler
Gawler, established in 1839, is the oldest country town in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the st ...
. Originally named ‘Smith’s Creek’ after John Smith a Scottish pioneer and one of the first european settlers in the area. In 1847 Smith was granted sections 1714, 1715 and 1719 along the Main North Road in the Hundred of Munno Para. The first home Smith built for his family was on Section 1714 with part of the building being used as the first inn in the area. Within six years he had purchased fourteen more sections of land and became the largest land owner in the area. Other early land owners who established farms in the district were also Scottish immigrants including
James Umpherston
James Umpherston (1812 – 28 October 1900) was a farmer and politician, a noted settler of Mount Gambier, South Australia.
Umpherston was born in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland, and worked as a farmer until he emigrated to South Australia on ...
, Gavin Scoular (a nephew of James Umpherston) who established Blair Farm and
Hon. Thomas Hogarth M.P who built a homestead called Blair Place both located to the east on the hills face.

In 1853 Smith again added to his land with the purchase of section 3165. This new section was surveyed and subdivided in 1854 for his new township which he called Smithfield. The site of Township was on land adjacent to were the
main road north intersected with a freshwater course now known as Smith Creek. (or Grant Creek).
Smith built a homestead on his property in 1850 and set up part of it as a hotel to take advantage of traffic passing by on the main road.
Smith planned a town and by 1853 section 3165 of the
Hundred of Munno Para
The Hundred of Munno Para is a cadastral unit of hundred covering the outer northern suburbs of Adelaide north of the Little Para River and the flanking semi-rural areas in South Australia. It is one of the eleven hundreds of the County of Adelai ...
was surveyed and subdivided into town allotments.
He donated land in 1855 to build the Presbyterian church in the centre of the Township on Augusta Square
By the 1880s, the township had a railway station (1857),telegraph station (1859), institute building (1883), school, a store and several other service providers including Joseph Blake senior who established a Blacksmith, Coach building and Undertaker businesses on the lot adjacent to Smith's hotel.
''Gawler Plains'' post office had opened on 12 July 1850 and was renamed ''Smithfield'' in 1855.
Smithfield Recreation Park
A committee under the leadership of Joseph Blake junior was formed to established the Smithfield Recreation Park. The site chosen was on the corner of Main North Road and Anderson Walk which was approximately 12 acres and was purchased by a Trust which was established with Henry Joseph Twelftree, Frank Thomas Judd, William Kelly Adams, Melville Galbraith Smith and Joseph Blake as the Trustees. The sum of £140 was raised by subscriptions, and the balance was supplemented by a sports and fete, which was duly held on Saturday, April 19, 1923. The effort resulted in a return of £145, which after paying the outstanding liabilities, left a balance of £80 to be expended on improvements.
On 10 September 1974 the land was transferred by the Trustees to the
District Council of Munno Para which merged with the
City of Elizabeth
The City of Elizabeth was a local government area located in the northern suburbs of Adelaide and seated at Elizabeth from 1964 to 1997. In 1997, it was merged with the City of Munno Para to create the City of Playford, which governs the area t ...
to form the
City of Playford
The City of Playford is a Local government in Australia, local government area of South Australia in Adelaide's northern suburbs. It was named in recognition of Thomas Playford IV, Sir Thomas Playford, who played a part in the development of the ...
in 1997.
Smithfield Sports & Social Club is the current tenant and the oval is used by the Smithfield Cricket and Smithfield Football Clubs.
Smithfield Speedway
A speedway track was built in the Smithfield area in 1926 by the Motorcycle Club of South Australia. The exact location may have been in what is now
Elizabeth Downs. The Smithfield Speedway was believed to be the first in the world to be promoted by a motorcycle club. The first meeting was scheduled for Wednesday 13 October 1926, but postponed to Saturday 16 October due to poor weather. The first race meeting was held before the grandstands were built, and the new track generated a lot of dust. The track was on the east side of the Gawler Road, a little south of Smithfield township, in a paddock of . It appears to have only operated until about 1930.
World War 2
During the Second World war, the government built some munitions/ordinance factory and storage facility here. Parts of it were demolished in later years.
Migrant Hostel
Following World War II, a migrant hostel was established on land no longer required for a munitions depot near the railway line at Smithfield. It was operated by the Commonwealth Government from 1949 until 1971 on the land between the railway line and Coventry Road. Single people were allocated space in a dormitory, families had a section of a larger building with two or three bedrooms and a sitting room. Cooking and eating was in a communal dining hall, and there were shared ablution blocks. It had accommodation for 100 people at the end of January 1949, and housed up to 300 people at a time. There was no charge to live in the hostel until the breadwinner of the family found a job. After that, the family was charged a rate proportional to their income for up to a year while they found a permanent home. The hostel was initially a "camp for
Balts
The Balts or Baltic peoples (, ) are a group of peoples inhabiting the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea who speak Baltic languages. Among the Baltic peoples are modern-day Lithuanians (including Samogitians) and Latvians (including Latgalians ...
", housing displaced people from Europe. By 1951, it was also home to British migrants. The
Girl Guides
Girl Guides (or Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) are organisations within the Scout Movement originally and largely still for girls and women only. The Girl Guides began in 1910 with the formation of Girlguiding, The ...
operated in the hostel.
Transport
Smithfield railway station on the
Gawler railway line
The Gawler line, also known as the Gawler Central line, is a suburban commuter railway line in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. The Gawler Line is the most frequent and heavily patronised line in the Adelaide rail network. It is also the ...
was originally built with a station building and opened in June 1857. The original station building on the eastern platform was demolished in 1987 and has been replaced by shelters which have been incorporated into the Bus Interchange.
Trains to and from Adelaide on the
Gawler railway line
The Gawler line, also known as the Gawler Central line, is a suburban commuter railway line in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. The Gawler Line is the most frequent and heavily patronised line in the Adelaide rail network. It is also the ...
operate from Smithfield station every 15 minutes at peak times on Monday to Friday, and every 30 minutes during off-peak and all day on Saturday and Sunday. In the morning and afternoon/evening peak hours, there are several trains that run express making stops at Smithfield, Elizabeth, Parafield, Salisbury and Mawson Interchanges. These are used by a significant number of passengers who either park their vehicle or transfer from buses at Smithfield Interchange.
Local buses from Smithfield Interchange, scheduled to connect with trains to and from Adelaide, use the Adelaide Metro integrated ticketing system.
Sport
The current Smithfield Football Club was founded in 1965, and joined the
Adelaide Footy League
The Adelaide Footy League (AdFL), formerly known as the South Australian Amateur Football League (SAAFL), is a semi-professional Australian rules football competition based in Adelaide, South Australia. Comprising sixty-seven member clubs play ...
in 1995. The club won the division 7 premiership in 2014 and then the division 6 premiership in 2015.
Notable people
*
James Umpherston
James Umpherston (1812 – 28 October 1900) was a farmer and politician, a noted settler of Mount Gambier, South Australia.
Umpherston was born in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, Scotland, and worked as a farmer until he emigrated to South Australia on ...
(1812-1900), pioneering farmer at Smithfield for over 12 years from 1847 to 1859 before moving to Mount Gambier. One of the original founding Trustee's of Smithfield Presbyterian Church. Became Member for
Electoral district of Victoria
Victoria was an electorate in the South Australian House of Assembly from 1857 until 1902 and from 1915 to 1993.
In 1902 the district was merged with Albert to create Victoria and Albert, but was separated again in 1915, electing candidates of ...
(1866-1868) and a noted settler of
Mount Gambier
Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with a population of 25,591 as of the 2021 census. The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier (volcano), Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about ...
, South Australia.
*
Hon. Thomas Hogarth MP, (1815-1893) pioneering farmer - Blair Place near Smithfield. Member of
South Australian Legislative Council
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the South Australian House of Assembly, H ...
from 1866 until his retirement in 1885.
*
Thomas Charles Richmond Baker, DFC, MM & Bar (1897-1918), an Australian soldier, aviator, and flying ace of the First World War was born in Smithfield.
*
Maxwell Edgar (Max) Fatchen, AM (1920-2012), Australian children's writer, poet and journalist lived in Jane Street from 1952 for 60 years.
See also
*
City of Munno Para
*
City of Playford
The City of Playford is a Local government in Australia, local government area of South Australia in Adelaide's northern suburbs. It was named in recognition of Thomas Playford IV, Sir Thomas Playford, who played a part in the development of the ...
References
{{City of Playford suburbs
Suburbs of Adelaide