The News Hub

Windback Wednesday

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  Windback Wednesday - Albert South MM

  Published: 20 April 2026. In honour of ANZAC Day this weekend, today’s Windback Wednesday honours the service and sacrifice of Albert Carl Schmelzkopf, commemorated at the Burnside District Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial at Tree Number 87. Born in East Adelaide in 1896, Albert was among the first South Australians to enlist at the outbreak of the First World War. Serving with the 3rd Light Horse Regiment, he was deployed to Gallipoli in 1915 and later to the Middle East, where he took part in the Ba...

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  Windback Wednesday - Debney Drive

  Published: 8 April 2026. Debney Drive in Burnside is named after George Debney, a prominent early settler and highly skilled cabinet maker. In the early 1850s, George’s parents Robert and Margaret Debney purchase a large property north of Secon Creek, which later became known as Undelcarra, where they built three houses. Their main home was a substantial ten‑room, single‑storey house, parts of which have been incorporated into the grand two-storey residence on Undelcarra Drive. The property was...

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  Windback Wednesday - Coopers Avenue, Leabrook

  Published: 1 April 2026. Coopers Avenue Coopers Avenue is a relatively new street in Burnside, created during redevelopment of the former Coopers Brewery land in Leabrook, from which it takes its name. The site fronting Statenborough Avenue was home to the brewery between 1881 and 2001, when it moved to Regency Park. The brewery was founded by shoemaker Thomas Cooper (1826-1897) who began brewing in 1862 using his wife’s family recipe. His early successes led him to the site in 1881 where he bo...

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  Windback Wednesday - Beatty Street, Linden Park

  Published 25 March 2026. Beatty Street, Linden Park Do you know how Beatty Street in Linden Park got its name? The street was established in the early 1920s when the South Australian Company subdivided this area and patriotically named several of the streets after British World War I Admirals (Beatty, Jellicoe, Hood, Keyes, Sturdee and Cradock), and after the naval battle of Jutland (the former name of Torrens Street). Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty (1871-1936) had a...

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  Windback Wednesday - George Bolton Swimming Centre

  Published: 18 March 2026 On 19 March 1966, the then Mayor of the City of Burnside, George Bolton, laid the foundation stone for the Burnside Swimming Centre—now known as the George Bolton Swimming Centre. Set beneath the shady gums of Hazelwood Park, the pool has been a cherished community destination for local families for nearly 60 years. It officially opened in October 1966, with the inaugural lap swum by Olympian Dawn Fraser. Photographs: Mayor George Bolton lays the foundation stone, Mar...

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  Windback Wednesday - Aviator Lane

  Published 11 March 2026. Our next Windback Wednesday series explores the history behind some of the City of Burnside’s street names from A to Z, drawing on research from the Burnside Historical Society’s Burnside Street Names and Their Origins. This week we look at Aviator Lane in Rose Park, which is named after pioneer aviator William F. E. Smith. Smith lived in Watson Avenue and kept his Avro bi‑plane Skylark in a hangar on his property. Although his flying career was brief, he was well known...

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  Windback Wednesday - Glenunga International High School

  Published: 25 February 2026. Did you know Glenunga International High School used to be known as Adelaide Technical High School, which was the first technical high school in South Australia? Founded on the corner of North Terrace and Frome Street as the South Australian School of Mines in 1903, the school wanted entrants to be better qualified in chemistry, physics and maths than the usual high school to assist boys undergoing diploma courses in engineering and mining. Classes were also taught ...

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  Windback Wednesday - Pembroke School

  Publisehd: 18 February 2026. Did you know that Pembroke School was formed through the combination of two single-sex schools: Girton Girls’ and King’s College? Following Girton Girls’ relocation to Kensington Park in 1927, the two schools shared social functions, and occasionally combined classes. This past collaboration, as well as the schools’ physical proximity meant that, when low enrolment numbers hit both Girton and King’s in the 1970s, a merger seemed like the logical choice. The proposed...

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  Windback Wednesday - King's College

  Published: 11 February 2026 King’s College was an all-boy’s school which was founded in a collaborative effort between South Australia’s Baptist and Congregational Churches. Originally hoping for a location in Glenelg or Brighton, the school’s founder’s eventually settled on a location in Kensington Park, purchasing the historic home “Gwent”, situated on the corner of Shipsters Road and the Parade, in December 1923. The home was renovated in preparation for students: toilets and changerooms wer...

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  Windback Wednesday - Girton Girls' School

  Published: 4 February 2026 Did you know that Pembroke School was originally founded through the combination of two separate single-sex schools merging into a single co-educational college? One of these schools was Girton Girls’ School, which was founded by Lillie Smith in 1915. The school was originally located on Angas Street, Kent Town, but in 1925 it was relocated to the former home of James Holden in Kensington Gardens. At the time of the relocation, no purpose-built school buildings existe...

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