Thebarton is a suburb of the city of Adelaide, South Australia. The suburb is bounded by the River Torrens

River Torrens

The River Torrens is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains and was one of the reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the Adelaide Hills near Mount Pleasant, across the Adelaide Plains, past the city centre and empties...

 to the north, Port Road and Bonython Park to the east, Kintore Street to the south, and South Road to the west.

Many buildings and landmarks that bear the name of Thebarton are actually in the adjoining suburb of Torrensville, including Thebarton Oval

Thebarton Oval

Thebarton Oval was formerly the home ground of SANFL club West Torrens who played their last game at the ground in on 2 September 1989 ending a run of 68 seasons at Thebby Oval...

, the Thebarton croquet and bowls club, Thebarton Theatre, and Thebarton Senior College

Thebarton Senior College

Thebarton Senior College is an adult re-entry public secondary school located in Torrensville a district of Adelaide, South Australia. The school was established on the site in 1919 as Thebarton Boys Technical High School, with adult re-entry students accepted in 1988 and then formally becoming an...

.

Thebarton has a significant Greek-Australian population and is the suburb with the largest Greek Australian population per capita in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. In fact, according to census data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics

Australian Bureau of Statistics

The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...

 in 2001, the suburbs of Thebarton and neighbouring Torrensville together are home to 4,471 Greek-Australians; i.e., 18.7 per cent of the total population.

History

The suburb of Thebarton was named after the home of Colonel William Light

William Light

Colonel William Light was a British military officer and the first Surveyor-General of the Colony of South Australia...

, the first Surveyor-General of the colony of South Australia. Colonel Light named his home after Theberton Hall of Suffolk, England, where he was educated. The variant spelling is accredited to a typographical error. The area was known as Theberton until approximately 1840.

Prior to European settlement, the areas now known as Thebarton and Hindmarsh

Hindmarsh

Hindmarsh may refer to* John Hindmarsh, the first Governor of South Australia after whom the following places are named** Division of Hindmarsh, an electoral division for the Australian House of Representatives...

 were called Karraundongga (meaning "reg gum spear place") by the Kaurna people, who would craft spears from the red gum

River Red Gum

The River Red Gum is a tree of the genus Eucalyptus. It is one of around 800 in the genus. It is a plantation species in many parts of the world, but is native to Australia, where it is widespread, especially beside inland water courses...

 branches gathered on the banks of the Torrens there [Payne, 1996].

Colonel Light surveyed the town-acre as Section 1 and built Theberton Cottage towards the northern part of the area. The area was first subdivided for housing in February 1839, although it took a number of years for the housing to establish, Thebarton Post Office opening on 24 October 1850. By 1866 the population was estimated at around 450 people.

Government

Thebarton is in the City of West Torrens

City of West Torrens

The City of West Torrens is a Local Government Area in the western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. Since the 1970s the area was mainly home to many open spaces and parks, however after the mid-1990s the LGA became more residential.-Suburbs:...

 local government area, the South Australian House of Assembly

South Australian House of Assembly

The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...

 electoral district of West Torrens

Electoral district of West Torrens

West Torrens is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after the City of West Torrens because of its location on the River Torrens, it is a 26.7 km² urban electorate on Adelaide's western suburbs...

, and the Australian House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

 Division of Adelaide

Division of Adelaide

The Division of Adelaide is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia. The division was created in 1903 and is named for the city of Adelaide, South Australia's capital. The seat has always been based in the inner suburbs of Adelaide...

.

Landmarks

• St. George Greek Orthodox Church
  St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Adelaide
  The Greek Orthodox Church of St. George is a church in the suburb of Mile End, in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is under the auspices of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia and spiritual direction of Archbishop Stylianos of Australia and is the largest Greek Orthodox church...
  
  , Adelaide's largest Greek Orthodox
  Eastern Orthodox Church
  The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
  
   church
• The Ice Arena
  Ice Arena (Adelaide)
  The Ice ArenA, located in Thebarton, Adelaide, South Australia first opened on 17 September 1981 as the Ice Arena. In late 1987, the centre closed for the construction of the world's first indoor ski slope and reopened later that year as Mt Thebarton Snow and Ice. The centre underwent a further...
  
  , home of the Adelaide Adrenaline, who play in the Australian Ice Hockey League
  Australian Ice Hockey League
  The Australian Ice Hockey League is Australia's top-level ice hockey league. It is sanctioned by Ice Hockey Australia and is run by its own Board of Directors....
  
  
• The Adelaide Gaol
  Adelaide Gaol
  Adelaide Gaol was an Australian prison located in Thebarton, South Australia, Australia. The gaol was the first permanent one in South Australia and operated from 1841 until 1988...