Birkenhead is a north-western suburb of Adelaide 14 km from the CBD, on the Lefevre Peninsula, in the state of South Australia, Australia, and lies within the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. It is adjacent to Peterhead, Exeter and Glanville. It is bounded to the south by the Gawler Reach of the Port River, to the north by Hargrave Street and in the west and east by the Outer Harbor railway line and the Port River respectively.
It was laid out on section 700, Hundred of Port Adelaide by Thomas Elder and John Hart. Birkenhead Post Office opened around 1884.
Birkenhead is essentially a residential suburb, with industrial harbourside development on the southern and eastern shores of the suburb. It is notable for the Birkenhead Bridge, which formerly opened on a regular basis so that boats could pass along the Port River. It is also the site of a third Port River crossing, the Port River Expressway. It includes the opening Tom "Diver" Derrick bridge, designed to ease traffic congestion in the area and opened in August 2008, adjacent to the opening Mary MacKillop railway bridge.
Facilities
The suburb is served by a primary school, Lefevre Peninsula Primary School, and the local high school is Lefevre High School, in nearby Semaphore South. There is little commercial activity in the area, as this is plentiful south of the river in Port Adelaide.
The eastern side of the suburb, by the Port riverside is the location of the Adelaide Brighton Cement company, and a berth for the Shell Oil Company. Its southern shore was formerly the location of a naval yard (now TS Adelaide), the Bureau of Customs, the Fletcher Dock, DMH Dockyard, the Jenkins Street boatyards and the Port Adelaide Sailing Club, however these have mostly been closed or relocated. The area was earmarked for residential development as part of the "Newport Quays" redevelopment project, but the site remains vacant (2015) following the loss of development rights by the Newport Quays consortium in 2011. The former Port Adelaide Sailing Club building, renamed "Gallery Yampu", is currently used by a community group, the Port Adelaide Artists Forum, as well as Dragon Boat SA.
Politics
Birkenhead is part of the state electoral district of Lee. Since 2014 Lee's member of South Australia's House of Assembly has been Stephen Mullighan. Stephen is a member of the Australian Labor Party. His electoral office is at Shop 4, 173-177 Tapleys Hill Road, Seaton.
Birkenhead is part of the federal division of Port Adelaide. Since 1997 Port Adelaide's member of the Commonwealth of Australia's House of Representatives has been Mark Butler. Mark is a member of the Australian Labor Party. His electoral office is at 15 Semaphore Road, Semaphore.
Transport
The 150 bus services Semaphore and Fletcher Roads, while the 352 and 353 serves Semaphore and Fletcher Roads and Hargrave Street. The 333 and the N254 After Midnight Bus serve Semaphore Road. The suburb also is serviced by a train station on the Outer Harbor railway line, the Peterhead railway station, which is actually not in Peterhead.