Athol Park, South Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Athol Park
city = Adelaide
state = sa

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caption = A set of shops on Hanson Road, Athol Park
lga = City of Charles Sturt
postcode = 5012
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pop = 1,307 (2006 census) [Census 2006 AUS|id =SSC41081|name=Athol Park (State Suburb)|accessdate=2008-06-07| quick=on]
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Athol Park is a north-western suburb of Adelaide [cite book|title=2008 Adelaide and Surrounds Street Directory, 46st Edition |publisher=UBD (A Division of Universal Press Pty Ltd) |year=2008 |isbn= 978-0-731-92118-8] 10km from the CBD, in the state of South Australia, Australia and falls under the City of Charles Sturt. The post code for Athol Park is 5012. It is adjacent to Ottoway, Pennington, Woodville North, and Mansfield Park. It is bordered to the west by Glenroy Street, to the east by Hanson Rd, to the south by Hamilton Rd and Park Avenue and to the north by Grand Junction Road.

History

The suburb consists of a residential southern part of the suburb, and a light industrial north, which mainly consists of warehouses. 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 Ferryden Park, Angle Park, Woodville Gardens, and Mansfield Park are also a part. This involved the demolition of many of the HousingSA homes, to be replaced by either private housing, or a lesser number of townhouse-style new housing trust homes. The building began in 2001, but as yet, none of this has occurred in Athol Park.

Facilities

There is no school in the area, but the nearest are the public Ridley Grove Primary School and Pennington Primary School. Currently, the local zone high school is Woodville High School, in Woodville. There are many shops and medical practices on Hanson Road. Fawks Reserve on Hanson Road is the site of an oval which hosts organized cricket and football matches for a local sports club. The closest shopping centre is the Arndale Shopping Centre.

Transport

Hanson Road is served by the 253, 254 and the 253X & 254X express bus services. Park Avenue, Alicia and Annette Streets are served by the 252 service, while the 254, 254X and 361 serves Grand Junction Road. The Finsbury railway line used to run parallel to Glenroy St, mainly to facilitate the industrial activity in the area, but this was removed in 1979 due to industrial decline.

Demographics

Athol 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. 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 [Census 2006 AUS|id=SSC41081|name=Athol Park (State Suburb)|accessdate=2008-06-07| quick=on] .

References