Oakden is a suburb of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, located to the northeast of the

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

. It was established as a housing estate named ''Regent Gardens'' in 1992 and is located on former Department of Agriculture land.

Geography

The area, which includes land formerly known as Gilles Plains and a small portion of SA Housing Trust properties and land from Hillcrest, was renamed 'Oakden' in 1993, using the

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries and cultures that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" ...

of the wife of

Osmond Gilles __NOTOC__ Osmond Gilles (24 August 1788 – 25 September 1866) was a settler, pastoralist, mine owner and the Colony of South Australia’s first colonial treasurer. Born in London of Huguenot descent, in 1816 he went into partnership with Ph ...

, who was South Australia's first Colonial Treasurer. Gilles married Patience Oakden in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1825, but she died in England in 1833. Her brother, a former business partner of Gilles, was the banker and pastoralist Philip Oakden. Her nephew was the South Australian explorer and pastoralist John Oakden. Suburbs Northgate and Northfield are also right next to Oakden. Its boundary is Lord Howe Avenue, Oxford Street, and Bristol Terrace to the south, Sudholz Road to the east, Grand Junction Road to the north, and Fosters Road to the west.

History

Oakden scandal

Mark and McLeay Nursing Home, a part of the state government's Aged Mental Health Care Service in Oakden, became the subject of ill notoriety in 2016 and 2017 when it was sanctioned by the federal government following allegations (later proved) of mistreatment of residents. Due to enormous public pressure, the facility was effectively closed in April 2017. The following political fallout was known in the media as the 'Oakden scandal'.

Main sights

Its notable buildings include the

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

Corps and Community Centre; the

Christadelphian The Christadelphians () are a restorationist and nontrinitarian (Biblical Unitarian) Christian denomination. The name means 'brothers and sisters in Christ',"The Christadelphians, or brethren in Christ ... The very name 'Christadelphian' was co ...

Church run Heritage College Adelaide; James Nash House, a secure mental health facility; various former Hillcrest Hospital buildings, most of which have been converted for use by other tenants including for student accommodation, small business and nursing home; The Oakden Central, a tavern run by the

Adelaide City FC Adelaide City Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Oakden, a north-eastern suburb of Adelaide. The club was a founding member of the now-defunct National Soccer League (NSL) and currently competes in the National Premier ...

with associated training venue; the Oakden Fire Station; and the remainder of the Strathmont Centre (1971–2017), a

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state government, state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the h ...

institution for those with a severe intellectual disability. Makk and McLeay Nursing Home and Clements House, formerly known as Hillcrest Hospital, which closed in 2017 was also in Oakden at 200 Fosters Road. The facility was a part of the state government's Aged Mental Health Care Service. Oakden has two retail establishments, housed in the same building on Sir Ross Smith Boulevard, consisting of a cafe and hairdresser. It is home to Roy Amer Reserve, a regional park including wetlands that serves as a

storm water Stormwater, also written storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed lan ...

capture and

aquifer recharge Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a Hydrology, hydrologic process, where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the primary method through which water enters an aquifer. This process usually ...

system as well as a native fish sanctuary, which was constructed by the

City of Port Adelaide Enfield The City of Port Adelaide Enfield (PAE),City of Port Adelaide Enfield, PAE Today, Issue 19, Autumn 2024 located across inner north and north-western suburbs of Adelaide, is one of the largest metropolitan councils within South Australia. It was ...

in the early 1990s and won state and national engineering awards.

References

External links