Hilton is an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of West Torrens, for which it is the council seat.
| Hilton Adelaide, South Australia | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Residential street in Hilton | |||||||||||||||
| Population | 908 (SAL 2021)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Established | c. 1849[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 5033[3] | ||||||||||||||
| Location | 2.8 km (2 mi) W of Adelaide city centre[3] | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | City of West Torrens | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Ashford (2011)[4] | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Adelaide | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
History
editThe Kaurna people occupied the land of the present suburb, before British colonisation of South Australia in 1836.[5]
The land now covering the suburb of Hilton was received by Matthew Davenport Hill in 1839. About ten years later, The "Village of Hilton" was laid out by his attorney, George Milner Stephen.[2]
The 1935 West Torrens Council Chambers are listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.[6]
Geography
editHilton is a rectangular suburb, lying across Sir Donald Bradman Drive.[7]
Demographics
editIn the 2021 Australian census, there were 908 people in Hilton. Of these, 59.7% of people were born in Australia and 58.5% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were "No Religion" at 38.4%, and Catholic at 15.2%.[8]
Media
editThe local newspaper was the Weekly Times Messenger. Other regional and national newspapers such as The Advertiser and The Australian are also available.[9]
Facilities and attractions
editThe West Torrens Civic Centre (council offices) are on the corner of Sir Donald Bradman Drive and Brooker Terrace. The Hamra Centre Library is located next door.[7]
Hilton Plaza shopping centre is located on the corner of Sir Donald Bradman Drive and Bagot Avenue.[7]
The Hilton RSL has served the public since 1930 and overseas a large annual ANZAC Day dawn service. [10]
Star Theatres
editThe Star Theatres One and Two are located on a corner block at 145 Sir Donald Bradman Drive. The building incorporates three performance spaces, two theatres and a studio.[11]
The first building on the site was a tin shed, erected in 1923 for soldiers returning from war, and known as the Soldiers Memorial Institute. This was replaced by a stone and brick building in 1928, which forms the basis of the current building. In the early 1930s, it catered for activities such as dances, roller skating, and "electric light cricket".[11]
In 1937 an entrance foyer, "ladies retiring room", and a projection room was added to convert the hall into a cinema,[11] which opened on 7 April 1937 as the Lyric Theatre.[12][13] When the Windsor cinema chain took it over[11] in February 1948, it became the Windsor Theatre,[12] but by 1949 the lease had been acquired by Ozone Theatres Ltd.[14]
In 1956, the rear of the theatre was enlarged and a larger screen installed, but films were only shown on Saturdays and the hall was leased out for other uses during the week. Its name was changed to Star Theatres (indicating ownership by D. Clifford Theatres), but audiences dwindled around 1959 as drive-in theatres became more popular. the Windsor chain relinquished its lease in 1961.[11] In its later years as a cinema, it showed Greek films.[12]
In 1962, the building was leased to John Edmund and Donald Grey, who started mounting live theatre productions in a theatre in the round formation, adopting the name Theatre 62, marking the year of its establishment. The library was finally moved out of the theatre in 1970, the Soldiers Memorial Institute was disbanded, and the local council took over management of the venue.[11]
In 1981 the council purchased the old Baptist church next door and joined the two buildings, creating "Theatre 62 and The Chapel". Carclew Youth Theatre were based at the venue. In 1985 the council refurbished the building, and Mighty Good Entertainment became a partner in the management team.[11]
In 2002 it changed its name to Star Theatres One and Two.[12] Theatre One is the larger venue, seating up to 336, while Theatre Two (in the refurbished chapel[11]) is an intimate theatre, with a seating capacity of 72.[15]
In 2023, Mighty Good Productions celebrates its 30th anniversary of holding the lease on the theatre, during this time producing at least 75 original productions. The theatres have also hosted many different productions by other groups of all kinds, including annual performances for primary, secondary schools, dance, drama and singing schools,[11] as well as Adelaide Fringe performances in March.[15] The Mighty Good Talent School is in its 44th year of teaching in 2023.[11]
The establishment was the victim of three burglaries over three months in early 2024, with cash, musical instruments, and other equipment stolen. Insurance coverage left a shortfall of A$10,000, so longtime Star employee Luke Bartholomew set up a GoFundMe page to help cover the gap.[16]
Transport
editRoad transport uses Sir Donald Bradman Drive, connecting the suburb to Adelaide City Centre.[7]
Hilton is serviced by public transport buses run by the Adelaide Metro. As of 2022[update] the bus routes that serve Hilton are 163; 720; the Adelaide Airport routes J1 and J2; and school services 652 and 653.[17]
Until 1929, the Holdfast Bay railway line ran through Hilton.[citation needed]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Hilton (SA) (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Place Names of South Australia". The Manning Index of South Australian History. State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
- ^ a b "Hilton, South Australia (Adelaide)". Postcodes-Australia. Postcodes-Australia.com. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
- ^ "Electoral Districts – Electoral District for the 2010 Election". Electoral Commission SA. Archived from the original on 22 August 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
- ^ Horton, David R. (1996). "Map of Indigenous Australia". AIATSIS. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "West Torrens Council Chambers (1935 Building only)". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
- ^ a b c d Adelaide and surrounds street directory (47th ed.). UBD. 2009. ISBN 978-0-7319-2336-6.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Hilton (SA)". 2021 Census QuickStats.
Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
- ^ "South Australian Newspapers". Newspapers.com.au. Australia G'day. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
- ^ "Hilton RSL". Hilton RSL. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "History". Star Theatres. 11 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d Coppock, David. "Star Theatre 1 & 2 in Hilton, AU". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ Hennessy, Antoinette (2016). Entertaining the Classes: An archaeological investigation of historic cinemas in Metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia, and their development in relation to social class, 1896-1949 (MA). Flinders University. p. 16, 96. Retrieved 18 December 2022.PDF
- ^ "Hugh Waterman and sons extend the Ozone cinema chain from Adelaide's Semaphore in 1911 to eastern states". AdelaideAZ. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Star Theatres - 17 February - 19 March 2023". Adelaide Fringe. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "Green Room: Unique perspectives and dream opportunities". InReview. 17 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
- ^ "Timetables". Adelaide Metro. 12 May 2022. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
External links
edit- "City of West Torrens". Official website. City of West Torrens. Retrieved 20 April 2011.