Bedford Park is a southern suburb of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. The Hancock family established a homestead and

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used f ...

at the foot of the Adelaide Hills in the mid 19th century. A family name from an earlier generation lent its name to the property of ''Bedford'' which was later changed to ''Bedford Park''. In 1917, of the property was purchased by the

South Australian Government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

and a tuberculosis sanatorium was built. Initially housing World War I

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

s the sanatorium was expanded until, by 1924, it had 74 beds and was a self-supporting farm with

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

s, chickens, orchards and grain production. The sanatorium was demolished and Flinders University built in its place in the 1960s. ''Burbank'' Post Office opened on 26 September 1961 and was renamed ''Bedford Park'' in 1966, before closing in 1980. Bedford Park is the home of Flinders University and the

Flinders Medical Centre Flinders Medical Centre (FMC) is a major public tertiary hospital and teaching school, co-located with Flinders University and the 130 bed Flinders Private Hospital located at Bedford Park, South Australia. It opened in 1976. It serves as the ...

. The greater part of the suburb lies within the

City of Mitcham The City of Mitcham is a local government area in the foothills of southern Adelaide, South Australia. Within its bounds is Flinders University, South Australia's third largest, and the notable, affluent suburb of Springfield which contains som ...

, but the north west corner lies within the

City of Marion The City of Marion is a local government area in part of the southern and western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. The council offices are in the suburb of Sturt. History The District Council of Brighton was established in 1853, centred ...

where the

Warriparinga Warriparinga, also spelt Warriparingga, (meaning ''Windy Place'' in the local Kaurna language) is a nature reserve comprising in the metropolitan suburb of Bedford Park, in the southern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. Also known as Fairfo ...

wetlands and Living Kaurna Cultural Centre are located beside the

Sturt River The Sturt River, also known as the Sturt Creek and ''Warri Parri'' (''Warriparri'') in the Kaurna language, is a river located in the Adelaide region of the Australian state of South Australia. Course and features The Sturt River rises in Uppe ...

. The suburb is in the state electorate of

Davenport Davenport may refer to: Places Australia *Davenport, Northern Territory, a locality *Hundred of Davenport, cadastral unit in South Australia **Davenport, South Australia, suburb of Port Augusta ** District Council of Davenport, former local govern ...

. It is in the federal

Division of Boothby The Division of Boothby is an Australian federal electoral division in South Australia. The division was one of the seven established when the former Division of South Australia was redistributed on 2 October 1903 and is named after William Bo ...

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 1,836 people in Bedford Park. 46.2% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were China 6.7% and Indonesia 5.5%. 50.4% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 10.6% and Indonesian 5.6%. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 38.1%, Catholic 15.1% and Islam 8.6%.

References

Suburbs of Adelaide {{Adelaide-geo-stub