Gilberton, South Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Gilberton
city = Adelaide
state = South Australia


caption =
lga = Town of Walkerville
postcode = 5081
est = 1840s [Lewis J (1988,p.33-34) shows a plan for the southern section of the suburb dated 1847 and a complete 1871 town plan but does not note an establishment date. ]
pop =
area =
propval = $695,000 (Q1 2007) [cite web| url=http://wic003lc.server-web.com/~admin417/uploads/Documents/Median_house_Mar07.pdf |author=Real Estate Institute of South Australia|year=2007| title=State median house price cracks $300,000 mark |month=March|accessdate=2007-09-10]
stategov =
fedgov =
near-nw = Medindie Gardens
near-n = Collinswood
near-ne = Walkerville
near-w = Medindie
near-e = St Peters
near-sw = North Adelaide
near-s = Hackney
near-se = College Park
dist1 = 2
location1= Adelaide GPO

Gilberton is a suburb in Adelaide, South Australia on the northern bank of the River Torrens a short distance from Adelaide’s city centre. It is bounded by the river, Park terrace, Stephen Terrace and Northcote Terrace. The suburb is largely residential with some large and ornate Victorian homes and approximately convert|2|km|mi|0 of the Torrens Linear Park as it’s southern boundary. The large homes in the suburb's northern section give it a historic character that is protected by Government planning regulations. [cite web |url=http://www.planning.sa.gov.au/edp/pdf/walk.pdf |pages=p.54 |title=Development Act 1993, Walkerville (CT) |date=15 February 2007 |accessdate=2007-09-10]

The area of Gilberton was first purchased in 1839 by a Richard Blundell as "Section 475" of the survey of Adelaide. Blundell, who lived in England, was declared bankrupt later that year and the section subsequently sold by his creditors. Joseph Gilbert of Pewsey Vale England purchased the convert|134|acre|kmsq|0section for £600.5s in 1846, naming it "Gilbert Town" and dividing into 43 lots for sale or lease in 1852. Early activities in the area included a brickworks, farms and gardens and an abattoir. By 1847 the southern part of the town was planned, the plan completed by 1871 and extensive housing completed by the 1890s.cite book |title= The Walkerville Story, 150 years | last=Lewis |first=John |publisher=The corporation of the town of Walkerville | location=Walkerville, South Australia |year=1988 |isbn=0-7316-3067 |pages=pp.32-35]

The suburb is largely flat from the river north to Walkerville Terrace, then slopes upwards to its northern extent. Due to the elevation of, and subsequent views from, the northern section this land attracted wealthier purchasers. Some of their ornate Victorian homes, sited on large grounds, remain today. At a large bend in the River, the location of the today’s St Peters river park, gravel extraction, sand washing and a rubbish dumping have all been commercial activities. Sand washing was replaced by a dump in 1961, leading to complaints from the neighbouring suburb of St Peters about fumes from the burning rubbish. After the land was purchasing by St Peters, the bend was straightened and the dump reclaimed.

See also

*List of Adelaide suburbs

References