Eden Hills, South Australia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Eden HillsAdelaide, South Australia |
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 Eden Hills
Location in South Australia
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| Established | 1883 | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 5050 | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | City of Mitcham | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Waite | ||||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Boothby | ||||||||||||||
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Eden Hills is a suburb in the foothills of Adelaide, South Australia. It's located in the south-eastern part of the city. This area is managed by the City of Mitcham local government.
History of Eden Hills
No one is completely sure how Eden Hills got its name. But the first landowner there was William Detmar Cook in 1839. He was the captain of a ship called the Eden.
Early Settlement and Railway Impact
Not many people lived in Eden Hills until the 1880s. That's when a railway line opened, connecting Adelaide to Nairne. This was the first step to link Adelaide with Melbourne.
In 1883, a group of people bought land in the area. They surveyed it and divided it into smaller blocks for homes. This helped the suburb grow.
Around this time, Edwin Ashby moved to Eden Hills. He and another land agent, Ernest Saunders, helped develop much of the area from 1890 onwards. Ashby also created the property called Wittunga, which is now the Wittunga Botanic Garden.
Growth and Community Buildings
The opening of the Eden Hills railway station in 1911 made the area grow even faster. A post office and a store opened in 1912. The Eden Hills Primary School welcomed its first students in 1916. The school's original stone classroom is still used today as a reception area.
In 1912, the Ashby family helped build a Friends meeting house. This building was used by different religious groups and for community events. It was taken down in 1956. Later, an Anglican hall was built in 1927. A Methodist church started in 1937 and moved to its current spot in 1957. It is now the Eden Hills Uniting Church.
Local Industries and Oldest Home
A brickworks factory opened near the railway line in 1881. It made bricks for building railway tunnels and operated until 1933. A smaller brickyard also worked nearby from 1884 to 1930.
The oldest known house in Eden Hills is called Seaview. It was built in 1849 and is located on Wade Road.
Places to Visit in Eden Hills
Eden Hills is home to several schools, including Blackwood High School and Eden Hills Primary School. The Eden Hills railway station is on the Belair railway line. The suburb also has a Country Fire Service Station, which started in 1951.
Eden Hills Scout Group
The Eden Hills Scout Group is part of Scouts SA and the worldwide Scouting Movement. It helps young people explore the outdoors and learn leadership skills. The group has helped the community with projects like cleaning up land near the railway station. They also raise money for important causes and teach kids to be good global citizens.
Watiparinga Reserve
Watiparinga Reserve is a special natural area in Eden Hills. It was added to the Register of the National Estate in 1996. The reserve is about 32 hectares (79 acres) in size. It has many different types of plants and shows early efforts to protect nature in South Australia from the 1950s.
The reserve also contains parts of the original railway line from the 1880s. This includes an old single-track tunnel and concrete supports for a bridge. The first plaque from the National Trust of South Australia was placed here in 1959.
History of Watiparinga Reserve
Watiparinga Reserve was first used as farmland in 1850–51. The South Australian Railways bought some of the land in 1880 for the railway line. In 1911, Ernest Saunders and Edwin Ashby bought the farmland.
During World War II, the old railway tunnel in the reserve was used to safely store valuable South Australian art. Today, it's used to grow mushrooms! Edwin Ashby took over the property in 1922 and farmed it as part of his Wittunga property. In the late 1950s, his daughter, Alison Marjorie Ashby, started planting thousands of Australian plants in Watiparinga. She later gave the reserve to the National Trust of South Australia in 1957.
Wittunga Botanic Garden
The Wittunga Botanic Garden is partly in Eden Hills and partly in Blackwood. It was once part of Edwin Ashby's Wittunga property. It started as a formal English garden around Ashby's home. Later, his son, Arthur Keith Ashby, added plants from South Africa and native Australian plants.
The garden was given to the state in 1965. It is now one of three Botanic Gardens in Adelaide. The others are the Adelaide Botanic Garden and the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden.
Colebrook Reconciliation Park
Colebrook Reconciliation Park in Eden Hills is a memorial. It was created in 1998 to remember children who were taken from their families. These children lived at Colebrook Home, which was a mission. The home moved to Eden Hills in 1942.
Colebrook Home continued to house children, including the famous Aboriginal Australian health worker Lowitja O'Donoghue. The home closed in 1972 and was taken down in 1973.
Memorial Works at the Park
The Reconciliation Park was created after meetings in the 1990s. A local group and former residents of Colebrook Home worked together. This led to memorial artworks like Fountain of Tears, made in 1998 by Silvio Apponyi. Another artwork, Grieving Mother, was created in 1999.
