Ferryden Park, South Australia

Ferryden Park is a north-western suburb of Adelaide 10km from the CBD, in the state of South Australia, Australia and falls under the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. It is adjacent to Kilkenny, Angle Park, Woodville Gardens, Croydon Park, and Regency Park. The post code for Ferryden Park is 5010. It is bounded to the north by Murray Street, west by Liberty Grove and Hassell Street, south by Regency Road and to the east by Days Road.

History

Prior to the Second World War, Ferryden Park mainly consisted of pastures, and open land. Its development as a residential area coincided with the post-war boom in the 1950s. It is home to a large number of houses owned by the South Australian Housing Trust. In the 1990s, plans were made for the "Westwood Urban Renewal Project", of which Angle Park, Mansfield Park, Woodville Gardens, and Athol Park are also a part. This involved the demolition of many of the Housing Trust homes, to be replaced by either private housing, or a lesser number of newer, townhouse-style housing trust homes. The building began in 2001, and Ferryden Park was the first area to be rejuvenated.

Facilities

There is one primary school in the suburb, being the public Ferryden Park Primary School, established in the 1950s with around 300-400 students. There is a small shopping complex along Ridley Grove, and the Parks Community Centre in adjoining South Australia, provides a library, health centre, gym and fitness centre, swimming complex, council office, and a few other community services. It was also site of the Parks High School, the local zoned high school, which was closed at the end of 1996, due to declining enrolments. Til 2006, the local zone high school was Croydon High School, in Croydon. However, a large number of the families in the area choose to send their children to other schools, mainly in the city centre and Woodville High School. Croyden suffered the same way as the Parks High School and was forced to close.

Transport

Liberty Grove is served by the 252 service, while the 233 and 234 serves Coker Street and Days Road. The 100 Circle Line serves Regency Road.

Demographics

Ferryden Park is home to a large immigrant population. The initial settlement of the suburb coincided with a large wave of immigrants from Eastern Europe arriving in Australia, following the Second World War. Although most of their children have moved on, a large number of immigrant retirees still live in the area. This is reflected in the peak enrolment at Ferryden PArk Primary School of 639 students, in 1959. Another wave of immigration occurred in the 1980s, when Vietnamese immigrants arrived after the Vietnam War. Currently, more than 50% of the population is from a non-English speaking background.

Politics

Ferryden Park is located within the federal seat of Port Adelaide. It is the second most pro-Australian Labor Party area in South Australia, recording the second highest two-party-preferred vote in the state for the ALP at the Ferryden Park Primary School booth at the 1998, 2001 and 2004 federal elections, garnering more than 75% on each occasion.

Famous residents

*Charlie Walsh, previous long-serving coach of the Australian Olympic track cycling team, grew up in Ferryden Park
*Bruce McAvaney, Olympics and horseracing commentator on the Seven Network, grew up in Ferryden Park

References

Lewis, H.J., "Enfield and the northern villages", Corporation of the City of Enfield, 1985