Penfield, South Australia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids PenfieldAdelaide, South Australia |
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 Penfield
Location in City of Playford
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| Population | 804 (2016 census) | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 5121 | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | City of Playford | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Taylor | ||||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Spence | ||||||||||||||
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Penfield is a northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, in the City of Playford.
William Penfold, one of the first settlers in the area, subdivided land he had bought in the Hundred of Munno Para in 1856 to create the township of Penfield. The area was commonly known as Peachey Belt or Peachy Belt. The boundaries have changed over the years, the original township being overshadowed by the government acquisition of land immediately south of the early town centre since the 1940s for construction of military facilities such as the Penfield munitions factory. As a result, much of the modern peri-urban locality of Penfield is used for industrial purposes rather than residential and the original town centre is no longer a population centre.
The remaining part of the Zoar Bible Christian Church, built in 1855, is the small cemetery.
History
The area was first settled in 1850 by William Penfield. The boundaries have varied several times before the current precise boundaries were set. A town was laid out in 1856 on section 4057. This small village at the intersection of Penfield and Argent Roads included a shop, blacksmith, school and hotel. The hotel was licensed from 1853 and closed in 1893. Land in the area was compulsorily acquired by the government in 1940 to establish a munitions factory during World War II. That intersection is now surrounded on three sides by RAAF Base Edinburgh.
The Zoar Bible Christian Church opened in 1855 north of the township. It was demolished in 1956, but the cemetery remains, near the Max Fatchen Expressway, accessed from Argent Road or the Stuart O'Grady Bikeway. Sturton Primitive Methodist Church was further south, and the building still stands in the RAAF property, visible from Stanton Road or West Avenue.
Penfield Post Office opened around 1856 and closed in 1951.
