The Reedbeds (Adelaide)
The Reedbeds was in the 19th and early 20th centuries the generally recognised name for an area of seasonal freshwater wetlands to the west of Adelaide, South Australia comprising the floodplains of the River Torrens, and drained to Gulf St Vincent by the tidal estuaries of the Port River and the Patawalonga River. The wetlands were inundated annually by the winter flows of the River Torrens, and supported an abundance of wildlife which was utilised by the Kaurna people during their summer camps along the coastal barrier dunes.
The area of the Reedbeds is roughly congruent with the present-day suburbs of Cowandilla, Fulham, Lockleys, Underdale and West Beach, including the Adelaide Airport.
An early settler in the area was John White, who founded "Fulham Farm", followed by his son Samuel White, and grandson Samuel Albert White
A typical settler in the area may have been James Leason, an undistinguished but hard-working and enterprising farmer who took over "St James farm" in 1859, and when he left the area in 1877 his lease of had 236 acres under wheat, and was running 27 horses and 36 fat cattle.
Charles Fisher and his brother Hurtle, and William Blackler were noted horse breeders in the area.
The Reedbeds Cavalry was a short-lived unit of the South Australian Militia of which Gabriel Bennett and W. H. Gray of "Frogmore" were prominent officers.
