Marleston Places

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MARLESTON

(+ former suburbs of Galway Gardens, Kurralta, South Richmond)

Marleston is situated on Section 50 and was taken up by John Marles Snr. The first subdivision was undertaken in 1879 when the extension of new public transport services encouraged the establishment of new townships and Marleston was located along the line of the Holdfast Bay Railway Company which intended to take a line to the Bay from the North Terrace Station through Thebarton, Richmond, Plympton and Camden, diagonally through West Torrens. In Marleston the original location of this railway line can be seen in the diagonal alignment of Ritchie Terrace and Moss Avenue.

Further subdivision took place in Marleston in the early 1920s when Charles Reade planned Galway Garden Suburb in the triangle between South Road,  Richmond Road and the railway line. This suburb exemplified Reade's town planning principles as it included curved streets and substantial areas of land set aside for public recreation and reserves.  Street planting was also an important part of the garden suburb principles and Anstey Crescent and Coneybeer Street are important physical evidence of this significant subdivision within Marleston. 

Apart from residential use, the location of the Marleston Tertiary and Further Education College on Richmond Road [was] an important element within the suburb. This was created in 1962 using the warehouses and land previously owned by the Australian Independent Distributors. The Building and Furnishing Trade School was transferred to these buildings at that time. In 1976 it became Marleston College of Further Education, [and later the] Marleston Campus of the Douglas Mawson Institute of TAFE.

The overall residential character of Marleston is that of bungalows and little evidence remains of the earlier 191 h century subdivision in terms of houses or buildings. [From 1998 Heritage Review - UPDATED]