Lockleys, South Australia
Lockleys is an inner western suburb of Adelaide, located on Kaurna land, in the City of West Torrens. Australian Bureau of Statistics data from May 2021 revealed that Adelaide's western suburbs had the lowest unemployment rate in South Australia. History. The area was subject to flooding by the River Torrens, which originally ran into an area named "The Reedbeds" in the upper reaches of the Port River. In the 1930s the Torrens Channel, also named Breakout Creek, was cut through the coastal dunes to Gulf St Vincent, to drain the wetlands and eliminate the flooding. A  large part of Lockleys is within a bend of the River Torrens. Hence, prior to subdivision, the area was renowned for its rich soil, market gardens and greenhouses. The name comes from a property (section 145) owned by Charles Brown Fisher, then Edward Meade Bagot and Gabriel Bennett, who built a course there for amateur horse racing. The property was rented by trainers J. Eden Savill and C. Leslie Macdonald for their Lockleys Stables where many good racehorses were prepared. The area was divided for housing, however the Hank family lived on Torrens Avenue, Lockleys and had established 11 acres  of market garden there after world war I. The Hank brothers (Ray, Bill and Bob) all attended the Lockleys Primary School in Brooklyn Park and would all become footballers for the West Torrens Football Club in the SANFL. Bob Hank would go on to become an AFL Hall of Fame inductee, winning the Magarey Medal in both 1946 and 1947 and winning a record 9 league best and fairest awards for his club. A pavilion in the eastern grandstand at Adelaide Oval is named the Bob Hank Pavilion and the grandstand at Thebarton Oval is named the Hank Brothers Stand  after these Australian Football legends. Bob Hank also famously clean bowled Sir Donald Bradman in a District Cricket final in March 1947 whilst playing for the West Torrens Cricket Club against Bradman's Kensington Cricket Club. The former John Martin's department store had a bulk warehouse on Pierson Street, which was also a storage location for the floats used in the company's annual Christmas Pageant. The warehouse was converted by EDS for a data and call centre, which opened in 1996, and later owned by the Maras Group and operated by Westpac as a mortgage processing centre. In  September 2021 a development application was announced for rezoning the call centre and adjacent child care centre, to allow a medium density residential development to be built on the site. Lockleys was the home of the former Odeon Star cinema, later renamed to Windsor Lockleys Cinema, on Henley Beach Road which ceased operating in August 2012 and was demolished in 2020 after widespread public debate and resistance from organisations who saw its heritage and cultural value to the area. Activities, sport and culture.. Lockleys is home to the Lockleys Football Club, known as the Demons, who play in the South  Australian Amateur Football League. The club was established in 1951 and wear the colours red and blue. The home oval and new 2 story clubhouse is on Rutland Avenue, Lockleys amongst gum trees on the River Torrens. The new 2 story clubhouse won an award for its architecture in 2021. This award recognises the expert use of a quintessentially Australian material for a building that responds to Australian sporting tradition. The club has a large following with an impressive juniors program and fields teams from under 8 to under 16, it has girls and women's teams and senior men 's. The club has produced AFL players such as Jimmy Toumpas and enjoyed the appearance of locals such as Eddie Betts The Kooyonga Golf Course is located in Lockleys and has hosted five Australian Opens and the South Australian Open Golf Championships. Kooyonga was the name of the suburb before it became Lockleys. The South Australian Badminton Association is home in Lockleys. The Lockleys Lawn Bowling Club is in Lockleys as is the Lockleys Tennis Club The West Torrens Baseball Club is also in Lockleys On Henley Beach Road, near Brooklyn Park, Lockleys has two very popular coffee locations that  draw coffee lovers from across the suburbs. Home of the 2018 Australian Brewers Cup Champion The Third Time Lucky Coffee Café with its housemade pastries and donuts and the Coffee by the Beans Coffee House with its locally roasted speciality coffee. The Christ the King Catholic Church is in Lockleys. Government. Lockleys is in the City of West Torrens local government area, split between the South Australian House of Assembly electoral district of Colton and electoral district of West Torrens, and in the Australian House of Representatives Division of Hindmarsh. Education. The suburb has a state primary school Lockleys North  Primary School and a parochial primary school St Francis School. Despite its name, Lockleys Primary School is located in nearby suburb Brooklyn Park. Lockleys North Primary School. Lockleys North primary school is a coeducational grades R-7 school (5–13-year olds) located on Malurus Avenue. Students come from a wide variety of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds due to the demographics of West Torrens area. History. With the expansion of the western suburbs of Adelaide the school was built in 1960. The school celebrated its 50th anniversary with an open day for old scholars and old staff on 14 November 2010 . Lockleys North Primary was one of 20 schools around Australia, (only 2 from South Australia, the other being Charles Campbell Secondary School), invited to participate in the Microsoft Innovative Schools Forum in 2011. Facilities. The school houses the Lockleys North Gymnasium and up to date access to technology. There are sports fields on the grounds of the school and a range of outdoor learning areas. Lockleys North Primary School received $3,200,000 under the National School Pride (NSP) program and Primary Schools for the 21st Century (P21) element of the Building the Education Revolution (BER). In August 2010 Lockleys North  Primary School built two new buildings – "Tirkandi" (Library) and "Torrens" (classrooms for year 6-7's). The library was opened by Steve Georganas, MHR for the seat of Hindmarsh. The school grounds also has a soccer pitch which not only used by the school but also other clubs. The gymnasium is also used for badminton by outside clubs. Bicycle riding is offered in Physical Education classes as there are extensive paths along the River Torrens which is close nearby. Special programs. Specialist programs are offered in science, physical education, music, German and Greek. St Francis School. St Francis School is  a coeducational grades R-6 school (5–12-year olds) located on Henley Beach Road.