Alberton, South Australia Facts for Kids

Alberton is a metropolitan suburb in the west of Adelaide, South Australia, about 20 minutes drive from the city. Part of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, it is bordered by the suburbs of Rosewater, Queenstown, Cheltenham and Port Adelaide.

History
Landmarks
Transport
Sport

History

Alberton, like Port Adelaide, is rich in historical significance. On 7 March 1839, the South Australian Company was granted private subdivision of preliminary section 423. Section 423 was sold as 'The Town of Albert' and subsequently became 'Albert Town' after Prince Albert, Prince Consort of Queen Victoria. Eventually, 'Alberton' became commonly used and around the turn of the century was officially adopted as the suburb's name.

With demand for workers at the Port and homes for these workers needed, late in 1840 there were already 61 houses and 235 residents in Alberton. The layout of 'Albert Town' originally had provisions for four public squares, two of which still exist. St Georges' Square became the site for the Anglican Church while St Andrew's Square was later subdivided and became the site of the Trinity Uniting Church. St Patrick's Square and Company Square are today still used as public recreation areas (Couper-Smartt, 2003).

Many of the streets in Alberton took the names of the original purchasers while others, such as 'Prince', 'Queen' and 'King' Streets reflect their English heritage.

Alberton Post Office opened on 1 January 1855.

Landmarks

Alberton Oval

Alberton Oval is located on Queen Street. The ground is used for Australian rules football and cricket and has a capacity of 15,000 people with seated grandstands holding 2,000.

Alberton Oval is the training and administration base for the Port Adelaide Football Club.

Alberton Hotel

First licensed in 1848, the Alberton Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in South Australia. For the past 60 years, it has been owned and operated by the Brien family. The old bluestone structure still stands at the same spot on the corner of Port Road and Sussex Street.

Former Alberton Cemetery

Located on Parker Street, the former Alberton Cemetery was opened in 1847 and officially closed in 1874, with the last burial being conducted in 1922. In 1994, the land on which the former cemetery was located was converted into a park by the City of Port Adelaide.

Transport

TransAdelaide's railcars nos. 3109/3110 at Alberton with 13.15 Outer Harbor – Adelaide service on 26 May 2005.

Alberton railway station was one of the first local stations to open in South Australia. The railway from Adelaide to Port Adelaide was constructed in 1856 and was the first line to be built in South Australia. Alberton was one of the original stops, the others being Woodville and Bowden.

The stone and brick building on the Port Adelaide-bound platform is the original station building dating from 1856.

There is still a regular train service from Alberton station to Adelaide and Outer Harbor. Unfortunately the ticket office has been closed for the past twenty years and this contributes to the station buildings being a frequent target for vandalism and graffiti.

Sport

Alberton is home to Australian rules football club Port Adelaide, who participate in the national Australian Football League (AFL) and the Adelaide-based South Australian National Football League (SANFL). The Alberton Lawn Bowls Club was opened in 1903 at the Alberton Oval as the second oldest lawn bowls club in Adelaide. It leased part of the Alberton Oval from the Port Adelaide Council until 1997 when it became an Underlessee of the Port Adelaide Football Club.

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Alberton, South Australia facts for kids

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