Owen, South Australia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Owen South Australia
Post office and war memorial
Owen Location in South Australia
Population	261 (town centre) (2016 census) 511 (district) (2016 census)
Gazetted	1 May 1879
Postcode(s)	5460
Time zone	ACST (UTC+9:30)
• Summer (DST)	ACDT (UTC+10:30)
Location	80 km (50 mi) N of Adelaide 18 km (11 mi) southeast of Balaklava 22 km (14 mi) north of Mallala 18 km (11 mi) northwest of Hamley Bridge
LGA(s)	Wakefield Regional Council
State electorate(s)	Goyder
Federal Division(s)	Grey
Localities around Owen: Hoskin Corner, Balaklava Halbury Salter Springs Pinery, Erith Owen Alma Grace Plains Barabba Stockyard Creek

Owen is a small country town in South Australia. It is located in the middle of the Adelaide Plains. Owen is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Adelaide. It takes about 40 minutes to drive to Gawler, a larger town nearby. Owen was first settled around 1865. It gets a good amount of rain each year. The town is part of the Wakefield Regional Council.

Town History and Growth

Owen officially became a town on May 1, 1879. This happened when a railway line was being built. The railway connected Hamley Bridge and Balaklava. There was also a smaller railway stop nearby called Woods. This area is now considered part of Owen.

In 2016, about 261 people lived in Owen itself. If you include the farms around the town, the population was 511. The railway station at Stockyard Creek used to be bigger than Owen's. This was because Stockyard Creek was closer to the older town of Alma. However, the railway did not go through Alma. Over time, the main business area in the region moved from Alma to Owen.

Life in Owen

Owen has many important community places. These include a community church, a post office, and a bowling club. There is also a Country Fire Service (CFS) station and a primary school. For fun, Owen has a public swimming pool, a hotel, a children's playground, and a golf course.

Years ago, in the 1950s, Owen was even busier. It had a bank, a police station, a clothing store, and a butcher shop. The land around Owen used to be mainly for raising sheep and cattle. But since the 1990s, farmers in the area grow crops. They plant wheat, barley, canola, beans, and even olives.

A railway line used to run through Owen. You can still see large concrete grain silos from the railway yard. These silos are common in this farming region. Another big landmark in Owen is a tall concrete water tower. It was built in the 1940s and stands about 30 meters (98 feet) high. The railway line closed down in the 2000s.

More young families are moving to Owen now. They are looking for a country lifestyle. New homes are being built each year. This is a big change, as only a few homes were built for almost 40 years. In 1997, the primary school had only 35 students. By 2005, this number grew to over 50. This shows that Owen has a bright future. The town also hosts annual small-horse carriage driving championships. These events happen on the town's oval around Easter time.

Local News

Owen has its own local newspaper called the Plains Producer. It was started in 1903 and is printed in Balaklava. For a short time, Owen also had a newspaper called Owen's Weekly and Dalkey District Courier. It was published in 1908.

Notable People

• Steele Hall was an important politician from Owen. He used to be the premier of South Australia. A premier is like the leader of the state government. Later, he also became a federal politician, working for the national government.

Gallery

• 

  Owen Institute

• 

  War memorial

• 

  Lions Park

• 

  Church

• 

  Community Church

• 

  Methodist Church

• 

  senior citizen Hall

• 

  Silos

• 

  Owen Wetlands