Bedford Park

Bedford Park is a southern suburb of Adelaide in South Australia.

Bedford Park is a southern suburb of Adelaide in South Australia.

The Hancock family established a homestead and farm 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, 400 acres (1.6 km2) of the property was purchased by the South Australian Government and a tuberculosis sanatorium was built. Initially housing World War I soldiers the sanatorium was expanded until, by 1924, it had 74 beds and was a self-supporting farm with pigs, 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. The greater part of the suburb lies within the City of Mitcham, but the north west corner lies within the City of Marion where the Warriparinga wetlands and Living Kaurna Cultural Centre are located beside the Sturt River.

The suburb is also split across the state electorates of Mitchell and Davenport. It is in the federal Division of Boothby.