Thebarton ( ), formerly Theberton, on

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. Kau ...

land, is an inner-western suburb of

Adelaide, South Australia 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 West Torrens. The suburb is bounded by 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 ...

to the north, Port Road and Bonython Park to the east, Kintore Street to the south, and South Road to the west. Many buildings and landmarks that bear the name of Thebarton were in the history municipality, the Town of Thebarton, which included most of the adjoining suburb of Torrensville. These include the Thebarton Oval, the Thebarton croquet and bowls club, Thebarton Theatre, and Thebarton Senior College. The historic Adelaide Gaol, nominally shown as being in Thebarton, and the adjacent Thebarton Barracks of the

South Australia Police South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Po ...

actually lie within the northwestern

Adelaide Park Lands The Adelaide Park Lands comprise the figure-eight configuration of land, spanning both banks of the River Torrens between Hackney and Thebarton, which encloses and separates the City of Adelaide area (including both the Adelaide city centre and ...

. A part of Thebarton adjacent to the

, later the site of the

South Australian Brewing Company The South Australian Brewing Company, Limited was a brewery located in Thebarton, South Australia, Thebarton, an inner-west suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Lion (Australasian company), Lion, which in turn is owned by ...

, was originally known as Southwark (). Hemmington, Hemmington West and West Thebarton were also suburbs later incorporated into current-day Thebarton. On 14 January 2025, a new suburb was announced within Thebarton, reverting to the name Southwark within its historical boundaries laid out in 1881. This is the site of new housing being developed by Renewal SA on the site of the old brewery.

History

Prior to European settlement of South Australia, the areas now known as Thebarton and Hindmarsh were called ''Karraundongga'' (meaning "red gum spear place") by the Kaurna people, who would craft spears from the red gum branches gathered on the banks of the Torrens there. The suburb of Thebarton includes the first section of land surveyed outside 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 ...

(then known as South Adelaide) and

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct (Australia), precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. Laid out in a grid plan in three section ...

. Preliminary section 1 was granted to

Colonel William Light William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839) was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site of the colony's capi ...

of Adelaide on 12 May 1838. It was named after the home of Light, the first Surveyor-General of the colony of South Australia, where he lived with his de facto wife Maria Gandy and her brothers. Light named his home after '' Theberton Hall'' of Suffolk, England, where he was educated. The area was known as Theberton until approximately 1840, with the variant spelling now accredited to a typographical error, rather than a corruption of "The Barton", based on the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

''bere-tun'', meaning "barley farm", as was thought for some time. Colonel Light surveyed the town-acre as Section 1 and built Theberton Cottage towards the northern part of the area. The area was first subdivided for housing in February 1839, although it took a number of years for the housing to establish, Thebarton Post Office opening on 24 October 1850. By 1866 the population was estimated at 450 people. Thebarton Racecourse, which operated from as early as 1838 to 1869, was formed on grazing land in the area now known as

Mile End Mile End is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is east of Charing Cross. Situated on the part of the London-to-Colchester road ...

, and later subdivided and completely built over. The foundation stone of the original Thebarton Town Hall, designed by Alfred Wells and Latham Withall and built by James King, was laid in 1885. However it was gutted by fire in 1948, with its rebuilding and restoration described as "thoroughly horrible" in 1999. The Torrenside Brewery, next to the Torrens on Port Road, was founded in 1886 by A. W. & T. L. Ware, in the then suburb of Southwark. After acquisition by the Walkerville Co-operative Brewing Company Ltd, and its subsequent acquisition by the

in 1939, it was renamed from Walkerville Brewery to Southwark Brewery in 1949 and the company's Walkerville Nathan beer was renamed Southwark beer in 1951. The brewery closed on 17 June 2021, with its landmark chimney tower heritage-listed, to be preserved when the site is redeveloped. The artefacts in its on-site museum are being donated to the

State Library of South Australia The State Library of South Australia, or SLSA, formerly known as the Public Library of South Australia, located on North Terrace, Adelaide, is the official library of the Australian state of South Australia. It is the largest public research li ...

and other local institutions. In September 2023 the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state government, state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the h ...

under

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 ...

bought the brewery site from Lion, to redevelop into housing under Renewal SA. , 1300 homes are planned for the site, with some ready for habitation by the end of 2026. The state heritage-listed brewery tower and Light's cottage, will remain within the new development. On 14 January 2025 the government announced the restoration of the Southwark suburb within its historical boundaries laid out in 1881, being the extent of the current redevelopment. Consultation would take place with around 420 homes and businesses within a larger area south of the development, with a decision expected by the end of 2025.

Local government

Thebarton was part of the then largely rural District of West Torrens until 1883, when the residents of the more urban suburbs of Thebarton, Mile End and Torrensville successfully petitioned to become the Corporation of the Town of Thebarton. In 1997 the Town of Thebarton re-amalgamated with the City of West Torrens.

Demographics

Thebarton has a significant Greek-Australian population and has been the suburb with the largest Greek Australian population per capita in Australia.

Facilities and entertainment

The Thebarton campus of the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

, also known as Adelaide University Research Park, occupies a complex of former industrial buildings in the northeastern corner of the suburb. The Wheatsheaf Hotel in George Street is a popular pub and music venue. It offers

craft beer Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...

s and wine from small producers, and also brews its own beers. Apart from regularly showcasing live music, "the Wheaty" also hosts book clubs, Morris dancers, knitting groups, and roller-derby parties. In 2017, the Wheaty Brewing Corps was named Australia's best small brewery at the national Craft Beer Awards, and it has been inducted into the SA Music Hall of Fame. In 2021 it started selling its own beers in cans, to take away.

Landmarks

* St George Greek Orthodox Church on Rose Street, Adelaide's largest

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

church * The Ice Arena, home of the Adelaide Adrenalines, who play in the

Australian Ice Hockey League The Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL) is Australia's top-level men's ice hockey league. Established in 2000, the AIHL is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia (a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation). The AIHL is a Semi-professional ...

* Thebarton Oval, former home of the

West Torrens Football Club West Torrens Football Club was an Australian rules football club that competed in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) from 1895 to 1990. In 1991, the club merged with neighbouring Woodville Football Club to form the Woodville- ...

in the

South Australian National Football League The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's sports governing body, governing body for the sport. ...

; now home to the Adelaide Footy League. * The Thebarton Incinerator on West Thebarton Road was designed by

Walter Burley Griffin Walter Burley Griffin (November 24, 1876February 11, 1937) was an American architect and landscape architect. He designed Canberra, Australia's capital city, the New South Wales towns of Griffith, New South Wales, Griffith and Leeton, New So ...

in 1935, completed in 1937, and decommissioned in 1964. It is one of two Burley Griffin buildings listed among the 120 nationally significant 20th-century buildings in South Australia, the other being the Hindmarsh Incinerator at Brompton. * The West End Brewery at 107 Port Road (closed June 2021). *The well-known Thebarton Theatre (originally built as the

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

) is actually in the neighbouring suburb of Torrensville. *The Adelaide Gaol is easterly-adjacent to Thebarton in the western

Adelaide parklands The Adelaide Park Lands comprise the figure-eight configuration of land, spanning both banks of the River Torrens between Hackney and Thebarton, which encloses and separates the City of Adelaide area (including both the Adelaide city centre and ...

. *A rectangular memorial on the corner of Albert and Maria Streets, dedicated to Maria Gandy, William Light's partner, was unveiled on the 200th anniversary of her birth on 23 November 2011. On each of four sides is an inscription celebrating her roles as pioneer, settler, carer and mother.

Heritage listings

Thebarton has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * 39A Dew Street: Lady Gowrie Child Centre * 1 George Street: Squatters Arms Hotel * 42 and 42A Phillips Street: Thebarton Baptist Church and Hall * 77 Port Road: Southwark Hotel (pronounced ) * 107 Port Road, site of the West End Brewery: ** Plaque only – Site of Colonel Light's Cottage (13 December 2001) **Remains of `Theberton Hall' Colonel William Light's House (including Underground Room, Underground Tank and Well) (provisionally added 20 May 2021) **Walkerville Brewhouse Tower, built 1886, enlarged 1898–1899, doubled in size 1901–1903, one of a few remaining and one of the largest examples of a brewhouse tower in South Australia (provisionally added 20 May 2021) ** Electric Supply Company Transformer (13 December 2001) * 35-37 Stirling Street: Faulding's Eucalyptus Oil Distillery * 34-36 West Thebarton Road: Thebarton Incinerator

Tram stop

Thebarton is also the location of a stop on the Glenelg tram line.Glenelg Tram Timetable (2018)
,

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, ...