Marion

Marion is a suburb in the City of Marion, around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south-west of the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia.

Marion is a suburb in the City of Marion, around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south-west of the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Founded as a rural village in 1838 on the banks of the Sturt River, Marion was found to have rich soil and the population expanded rapidly. Colonel William Light laid out the plan for the village, as he had done with the City of Adelaide itself.Marion is bordered on the north by Oaklands Road, on the east by Marion Road, on the south by Sturt Road and on the west by a roughly straight line from Finniss Street in the south to The Parade.

The township of Marion was laid out by William Light and B. T. Finniss in 1838, and was (mis)named for Marianne Fisher (1827–1927), daughter of the Resident Commissioner, James Hurtle Fisher.Vegetables, stone fruits, almonds and grapes were all produced in Marion. Richard Hamilton started the first vineyard in 1838 and his family continues its wine making tradition to this day. By the late 19th century Marion was also home to a number of industries such as a mining and brick making. However, the population at this time was still very small – around 350 people. Gradually the Adelaide sprawl crept up to Marion, and by the 1950s the suburb was well and truly enveloped.

Much of the development was "austerity housing", basic 3- and 4-bedroom dwellings, unfinished and unfurnished, on bare quarter-acre (1000 m2m) blocks. Walls were of cavity construction: variously double brick or brick-Mount Gambier stone and roofs tiled, either cement or terracotta.The properties built for the South Australian Housing Trust and rented or sold at modest cost to working families, many being migrants from overseas or country areas who were attracted to Adelaide by newly developed industries. The tenants would then finish the house in their own time by painting, adding floor coverings and fitting curtains. Many would then add insulation, a garage, sheds, gardens, lawns, trees and so forth.

Many of these places remain, but are being overtaken by "infill" housing: two or three residences where there once was one.