Gilles Plains, South Australia

Gilles Plains
Suburb
Looking east along Grand Junction Road. Gilles Plains is on the right.
Looking east along Grand Junction Road. Gilles Plains is on the right.
Gilles Plains is located in inner Adelaide
Gilles Plains
Gilles Plains
Location in greater metropolitan Adelaide
CountryAustralia
StateSouth Australia
CityAdelaide
LGA
Government
 • State electorate
 • Federal division
Population
 • Total4,101 (SAL 2021)[1]
Postcode
5086
Suburbs around Gilles Plains
Walkley Heights Valley View
Oakden Gilles Plains Holden Hill
Hillcrest Windsor Gardens

Gilles Plains /ˈɡɪləs/ is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It lies approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) north-east of the Adelaide central business district.

History

The suburb is named after the first Colonial Treasurer, Osmond Gilles, who owned a sheep station adjoining the Torrens River.[2] In early 1838, this was the furthest station from the city of Adelaide in the Colony of South Australia. Gilles was a major investor in the new colony, and imported Saxony and merino sheep for the first time.[3]

The suburb was created by carving off part of Hillcrest.

The area was predominantly a hay-growing area through its early years. In 1874, it had the largest hay farm in South Australia, which was owned by the German-born Johann Wilhelm Albrecht Sudholz (1821–1903), who arrived in the colony in 1846. He was a very successful farmer, and was the first to grow wheat for fodder, binding it in sheaves when green, and then cutting it into chaff. He was a co-founder of the Lutheran Church in Flinders Street in the city.[4]

Location and government

Aerial image of western part of Gilles Plains, looking north. Grand Junction Road is the east–west road at the top; Sudholz Road, the north–south road at left; Valley View to the north; Oakden to the west. The green and concrete rectangle to the top right is St Paul's College. The white-roofed complex to the south is a TAFE complex, and the blue and white part further down is the Royal Society for the Blind. The white complex at the bottom is a shopping centre.

Gilles Plains lies approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) north-east of the Adelaide central business district. It is bordered on the eastern side by Sudholz Road, which was named after J. W. A. Sudholz.[5] Grand Junction Road forms its northern border, with North East Road to the south. Surrounding suburbs are Walkley Heights, Valley View, Oakden, Holden Hill, Hillcrest, and Windsor Gardens.[6]

Gilles Plains is in both the City of Port Adelaide Enfield and City of Tea Tree Gully local government areas, and is in both the South Australian House of Assembly electoral districts of Florey and Torrens.

It is also in the Australian House of Representatives Division of Sturt.

Education

Pinnacle College is a non-denominational R-12 private school on Wandana Avenue.[7] It was established at this location as Burc College in 2005 by the McYess Foundation, opening with 25 students. A second campus opened in Elizabeth East in 2010, and the school changed its name to Pinnacle College in 2016. in January 2019 a third campus opened in Golden Grove.[8]

St Paul's College is a private R-12 Catholic school on Grand Junction Road.[9]

Wandana Primary School is a state primary school (preschool to year 6) on Cowra Avenue.[10]

Note: The former Gilles Plains Primary School, founded in 1901,[11] was located at 489B North East Road in Hillcrest.[12] Gilles Plains High School was founded in Windsor Gardens in 1960.[13] The two schools were merged to form Avenues College on the site of the high school, with new building work completed in 2020; its official opening took place in January 2023.[14]

There is a TAFE SA college at 33 Blacks Road in Gilles Plains that offers a range of vocational courses, including aged care, veterinary nursing, childcare, nursing, and laboratory skills.[15][16]

References

  1. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Gilles Plains (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
  2. ↑ Ian Auhl (August 1993). "Gilles Plains". Archived from the original on 5 June 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
  3. ↑ "Gilles Plains". City of Tea Tree Gully. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009.
  4. ↑ Observer (September 1903). "Obituary". Archived from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2009 – via SLSA.
  5. ↑ "Wesleyan Cemetery: a cemetery guide" (PDF). Town of Walkerville. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2025. Sudholz Place, along the side of the church, commemorated his name; Sudholz Road at Holden Hill is also named after him
  6. ↑ Gilles Plains on Google Maps
  7. ↑ "Home". Pinnacle College. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "About us". Pinnacle College. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "Welcome to St Paul's College". St Paul's College. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "Contact". Wandana Primary School. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  11. ↑ "School Context Statement" (PDF). Avenues College. 2026. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  12. ↑ "489B North East Road HILLCREST". South Australia Heritage Places database. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Gilles Plains High School". National Redress Scheme. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  14. ↑ "A new chapter for Avenues College". Department for Education. 1 January 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "Gilles Plains Campus". TAFE SA. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
  16. ↑ "Gilles Plains Campus Courses". TAFE SA. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
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