Cowandilla

Cowandilla is a western suburb in Adelaide, South Australia, in the City of West Torrens.

Cowandilla is a western suburb in Adelaide, South Australia, in the City of West Torrens. It is located a few kilometres west of the CBD, close to Adelaide Airport. Sir Donald Bradman Drive crosses the middle of the suburb.Australian Bureau of Statistics data from May 2021 identified Adelaide's Western Suburbs as having the lowest unemployment rate in South Australia.

Its name is derived from the Kaurna name Kawandilla (Kawantilla), meaning "in the north". Kauwanta is the Kaurna word for north, and the suffix -illa means "in". However it does not reflect a place known by the Kaurna as Kawandilla (whose location is somewhat vague and possibly non-existent); when the village was established in the present location of the suburb in 1840, the developers gave it this name because they thought it meant something to do with "water" (the word kauwi) (hence also "Kauwantilla"). The whole of Greater Adelaide lies on the traditional lands of the Kaurna people.

Cowandilla is home to the renowned Western Youth Centre (established in 1956) which provides a well maintained Oval, Tennis Courts and large clubhouse to a number of sporting teams and societies.Sports such as cricket, soccer, tennis, judo, gymnastics, marching and table tennis are all played at the venue. The Centre is home to the well supported Western Youth Centre Cricket Club, which was established in 1961 and fields teams in both senior and junior grades. The Oval also has adjoining, well maintained cricket practice nets that are available for public use everyday.

Cricket in Cowandilla is fitting as it is where cricket under lights was birthed in 1930 by returned serviceman and tram dispatcher Alf Stone at his Cowandilla home during the depression.Up to 50 youths were attending his property every night to play under light globes.The Western Youth Centre Tennis Club also uses the well maintained tennis courts alongside the Oval.The Western Districts Angling Club (established in 1938) also resides at the Western Youth Centre.The Cactus and Succulent Society of South Australia (established in 1964) is based at the Western Youth Centre, where it holds all its meetings and gatherings. Sophie Thomson, a presenter on the national weekly television show Gardening Australia, is the society's patron.The Unley United Football Club is home at the Western Youth Centre, where it trains and plays.

Cowandilla is also home of the Cowandilla Primary School and the Orthodox Coptic Church in South Australia.Cowandilla is home to the Calvary Flora McDonald Retirement Community. A modern facility that caters for residents from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. Two new wings were opened in June 2017.The intersection of Marion Road and Sir Donald Bradman Drive (Western end of Cowandilla) has been awarded 45 million dollars by the Federal and State Governments for upgrades in 2022