Unley, South Australia
Suburb of Adelaide, South Australia
Unley is an inner-southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, within the City of Unley. The suburb is the home of the Sturt Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Unley neighbours Adelaide Park Lands, Fullarton, Hyde Park, Malvern, Parkside and Wayville.
The boundaries of Unley are Greenhill Road (north), Unley Road, Maud Street and Windsor Street (east), Cremorne Street and Opey Avenue (south) and King William Road (west).
Unley is the family name of the wife of Thomas Whistler, owner of land in Unley which was laid out around 1857.
01History
Prior to British colonisation of South Australia, Unley was home to the Aboriginal nation known as the Kaurna, or Adelaide Plains tribe. Settlement by colonists began in the mid-19th century, with arrivals predominantly from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and to a small extent German speaking lands. At this time a small number of other ethnic groups also appeared. The land was cleared of native forest to farm sheep and cattle and to plant vineyards and orchards.
Unley Post Office opened on 17 January 1850.
North Unley refers to an obsolete suburb name which was officially discontinued before 1994.
The Glenelg tram line passes the northwest corner of the suburb and another line went along Unley Road until the 1950s.
Historic buildings
The Goodwood Institute was built in 1928, and now houses the Goodwood Theatre & Studios, a multi-purpose venue for the performing arts and music. Independent Theatre, an amateur theatre company run by Rob Croser, uses the venue for many of its performances. In 2020 the building was bought by Chris Iley, who had managed the venue since 2014, and his partner Simone Avramidis, after a potential buyer had wanted to convert the building into apartments. In July 2026, they sold the building to new buyers, under a contract specifying that it would be used for community use for 99 years.
The Ikaros Hall, formerly a Masonic Temple erected in 1927, is situated in Arthur Street, and home of the Pan-Ikarian Brotherhood of Australia, a Greek Australian diaspora community organisation founded by migrants from the island of Ikaria.
02Contemporary Unley
Unley has developed into a commercial hub just south of Adelaide's city centre. The suburb also has a significant Greek Australian population, while the Roman Catholic Church of the Resurrection, in the north of the suburb, conducts services in English and Polish.
03Demographics
| Population | 2016 | % | 2021 | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 4,006 | 3,997 | - 0.2% | ||
| by Gender | |||||
| Females | 2,045 | 51.0% | 2,066 | 51.8% | + 1.0% |
| Males | 1,965 | 49.0% | 1,924 | 48.2% | - 2.1% |
| by Age Group | |||||
| 0-4 | 206 | 5.1% | 163 | 4.1% | -20.9% |
| 5-14 | 390 | 9.8% | 435 | 10.9% | +11.5% |
| 15-24 | 523 | 13.1% | 433 | 10.9% | -17.2% |
| 25-54 | 1,751 | 43.7% | 1,684 | 42.2% | - 3.8% |
| 55-64 | 472 | 11.8% | 484 | 12.1% | + 2.5% |
| 65+ | 660 | 16.5% | 723 | 18.1% | + 9.5% |
| by Country of Birth | |||||
| Australia | 2,752 | 68.7% | 2,802 | 70.1% | + 1.8% |
| England | 176 | 4.4% | 181 | 4.5% | + 2.8% |
| China | 148 | 3.7% | 130 | 3.3% | -12.2% |
| Greece | 103 | 2.6% | 78 | 2.0% | -24.3% |
| Italy | 88 | 2.2% | 75 | 1.9% | -14.8% |
| India | 64 | 1.6% | 82 | 2.1% | +28.1% |
| Dwellings | 2016 | % | 2021 | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total dwellings | 1,969 | 1,953 | - 0.8% | ||
| Occupied dwellings | 1,678 | 1,735 | + 3.4% | ||
| by Dwelling Type | |||||
| Separate house | 879 | 52.4% | 903 | 52.0% | + 2.7% |
| Semi-detached, row | 358 | 21.3% | 350 | 20.2% | - 2.2% |
| Flat, unit, etc. | 438 | 26.1% | 471 | 27.1% | + 7.5% |
| by Ownership | |||||
| Fully owned | 581 | 34.5% | 604 | 34.8% | + 4.0% |
| Purchasing | 452 | 26.8% | 471 | 27.1% | + 4.2% |
| Rented | 617 | 36.6% | 617 | 35.6% | + 0.0% |
04Notable residents
- Greg Chappell was born in Unley.
- Ian Chappell was born in Unley.
- Seth Ferry had racing stables and fox hunting kennels at the corner of Unley Road and Commercial Road.
- John Lorenzo Young had his school and adjacent residence on Young Street.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Unley, South Australia”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- OIC unley duthy st shops.jpg by User:Orderinchaos, CC BY-SA 3.0
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