Lonsdale, South Australia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lonsdale Adelaide, South Australia
O'Sullivan Beach Road
Lonsdale Location in South Australia
Postcode(s)	5160
LGA(s)	City of Onkaparinga
Region	Southern Adelaide
County	Adelaide
State electorate(s)	Reynell
Federal Division(s)	Kingston
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 21.7 °C 71 °F 12.8 °C 55 °F 448.7 mm 17.7 in
Suburbs around Lonsdale: Gulf St Vincent Hallett Cove Reynella Gulf St Vincent Lonsdale Morphett Vale O'Sullivan Beach Christies Beach Christie Downs Morphett Vale
Footnotes	Climate Adjoining suburbs

Lonsdale is a busy area in South Australia, just south of Adelaide. It is known for its many factories and businesses. Lonsdale is part of the City of Onkaparinga.

For a long time, Lonsdale was mostly farmland. But in the 1950s, the government bought much of the land. They wanted to turn it into a place for industries and factories.

Big companies like Mobil (an oil refinery) and Chrysler (a car engine factory) moved in. Many other businesses followed, making Lonsdale an important industrial hub. As more people moved to nearby suburbs, Lonsdale also grew with shops and services.

Some of the big factories, like the oil refinery and the car engine plant, closed down in 2004. In 2007, the South Australian Government decided to build a special plant there. This plant, called the Adelaide Desalination Plant, turns seawater into fresh drinking water for Adelaide. It started working in 2013.

Getting Around Lonsdale

Lonsdale has its own train station, called Lonsdale railway station. This makes it easy for people to travel to and from the area.

It also has a very large bus depot for SouthLink buses. This depot helps connect people in the southern suburbs of Adelaide.

Lonsdale's Past

Lonsdale was first settled in the early 1840s. This was when many European colonists moved into the Morphett Vale area.

One of the early settlers came from a town in England called Kirkby Lonsdale. A local farmer named his property "Lonsdale." Over time, this name was given to a local train stop and eventually to the whole suburb.

Farming continued in Lonsdale until the 1970s. The government bought a lot of land in the area. Parts of this land were set aside for factories and businesses. Big companies like Chrysler and Sola Optical, along with the Port Stanvac Oil refinery, moved in. By the 1980s, farming in the area was no longer making much money.