City of Mitcham

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2015}} {{Infobox Australian place | type = lga | name = City of Mitcham |city=Adelaide | state = sa | image = Adelaide-LGA-Mitcham-MJC.png | caption = | pop =  | area = 75.70 | timezone = Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) | density = 893.22 | est = 1853 | seat = Torrens Park | mayor = Heather Holmes-Ross | region = Southern Adelaide<ref>{{cite web |title= Southern Adelaide SA Government region |url= http://www.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/24082/Southern_Adelaide_SA_Government_region.pdf |publisher= The Government of South Australia |access-date= 17 April 2017 |archive-date= 27 March 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190327054812/https://www.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/24082/Southern_Adelaide_SA_Government_region.pdf |url-status= dead }}</ref> | logo = Logo of the City of Mitcham.svg | url = http://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au | stategov = Davenport, Elder, Heysen, Waite, Unley | fedgov = Boothby | fedgov2 = | near-nw = | near-n = City of Unley | near-ne = City of Burnside | near-e = Adelaide Hills Council | near-se = | near-s = City of Onkaparinga | near-sw = | near-w = City of Marion }}

The '''City of Mitcham''' is a local government area in the foothills of southern Adelaide, South Australia. Within its bounds is Flinders University, South Australia's second largest, and the notable, affluent suburb of Springfield which contains some of the city's most expensive properties.

==History==

Before the arrival of European settlers, the Kaurna people lived in the region. The first Europeans to settle in the area were a group of sailors who jumped ship in 1837 and founded a settlement at Coromandel Valley as a hiding place.<ref name="Important Dates">{{cite web|url=https://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/Learn-and-explore/our-history/important-dates-in-mitchams-history|title=Important Dates in Mitcham's History|website=City of Mitcham|access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref> Mitcham village was established on Brown Hill Creek in 1840, named after Mitcham, a village in Surrey.<ref name="Our History">{{cite web|url=https://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/Learn-and-explore/our-history|title=Our History|website=City of Mitcham|access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref>

The council was founded on 10 May 1853 as the '''District Council of Mitcham''' and was the first local government area formally founded in South Australia after the City of Adelaide.<ref name="MarsdenEarlyLgas">{{Cite web |url=https://www.lga.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0025/468511/LGA-89938_-_2011_18_-_FINAL_History_of_SA_Councils.pdf |title=Local Government Association of South Australia: A History of South Australian Councils To 1936 |first=Susan |last=Marsden |date=2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/sa_gazette/1853/19.pdf | title=Thursday, May 12, 1853 | publisher=Government of South Australia | work=The Government Gazette of South Australia | access-date=11 December 2016}}</ref> The council initially covered an area of 108 square kilometres, stretching from the Adelaide Park Lands in the north to Mount Barker Road in the east, with the Sturt River forming the southern boundary.<ref name="Our History"/> It lost the part of the council west of South Road to the District Council of Brighton (later the City of Marion) on 19 December 1854.<ref name="Important Dates"/><ref name="MarsdenEarlyLgas"/> In 1871, Unley and surrounding areas were severed from the Mitcham council to create the Corporate Town of Unley.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unley.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/VL_DN_DPA_1_-_Appendix_3_-_Overview_History_of_the_Unley_District.pdf |title=Overview History of the Unley District |publisher=City of Unley |access-date=15 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706122240/http://www.unley.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/VL_DN_DPA_1_-_Appendix_3_-_Overview_History_of_the_Unley_District.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It lost another area on 25 October 1883, when portions of the council around Stirling were detached to form the new District Council of Stirling.<ref name="MarsdenEarlyLgas"/>

From 1854 to 1869, the council rented offices in the Adelaide City Centre to conduct their business, only relocating to within the council itself in 1870. Its current council chambers in Torrens Park were first built in 1934.<ref name="Our History"/> The District Council become a Corporation in 1944, and it gained city status in 1947, becoming the City of Mitcham.<ref name="Our History"/> The state government planned to dissolve the City of Mitcham in 1989, but the council was able to lobby to prevent its dissolution.<ref name="Our History"/>

In February 2021 the City of Mitcham became the first local council in South Australia to officially oppose the date of Australia Day.<ref>{{cite news |date=3 March 2021 |title='Mitcham Council backs mayor's push to join 'change the date of Australia Day' movement |publisher=The Advertiser |url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/messenger/east-hills/mitcham-council-backs-mayors-push-to-join-change-the-date-movement/news-story/cf67b937f4cfd9f7c95efefbad83780d |access-date=5 March 2021| url-access=subscription}}</ref> It generally no longer holds Australia Day celebrations on the official date.<ref>{{Cite web |title=City of Mitcham Australia Day Celebrations 2024 |url=https://yoursay.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/australia-day-2024 |access-date=2026-01-08 |website=Your Say Mitcham |language=en}}</ref>

===Colebrook===

Colebrook Home, first established in Quorn in the Flinders Ranges in 1927, moved to Eden Hills in the 1940s to secure better water supply.<ref name="clan">{{cite web|url=https://clan.org.au/orphanages/colebrook-home/|title=Colebrook Home|access-date=12 October 2022|website=CLAN}}</ref><ref name="Colebrook">{{cite web|url=https://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/Learn-and-explore/places-to-visit/colebrook-home-memorial|title=Colebrook Reconciliation Park|website=City of Mitcham|access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref> The home was an institution for Aboriginal children, with the intention of removing them from the influence of their Aboriginal families so they could be better assimilated into white society as part of the Stolen Generations.<ref name="clan"/> In 1972 the children were relocated to Blackwood due to low numbers and Colebrook Home was demolished in 1973.<ref name="Important Dates"/><ref name="clan"/> It was officially closed in 1981.<ref name="clan"/>

The former location of Colebrook Home is now the Colebrook Reconciliation Park, a memorial to the children and families impacted by Colebrook Home. The Blackwood Reconciliation Group and the Colebrook Tji Tji Tjuta (a number of former residents of Colebrook Home) combined to organise community gatherings on the site starting in 1997.<ref name="clan"/><ref name="Colebrook"/> Two statues have been sculpted to commemorate the Stolen Generations (the 'Fountain of Tears' in 1998 and the 'Grieving Mother' in 1999).<ref name="Colebrook"/>

==Environment== Mitcham is one of three suburban Adelaide councils to be awarded a "Tree Cities of the World" designation from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Arbor Day Foundation, along with the City of Burnside and the City of Unley, and {{as of|lc=ye|July 2020}} the only three in Australia.<ref>{{cite web | title=Recognized Communities for Australia| website=Tree Cities of the World | url=https://treecitiesoftheworld.org/tree-cities.cfm?chosen=AUS | access-date=27 July 2020}}</ref>

==Council== The council as of January 2026, and the councillors' registered interests as of December 2022, are:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Results |url=https://result.ecsa.sa.gov.au/lgeresults |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=result.ecsa.sa.gov.au}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" !Ward ! colspan="2" |Party !Councillor |- | rowspan="1" |Mayor | {{Australian party style|Independent}}|  |Independent |Heather Holmes-Ross |- | rowspan="2" |Babbage | {{Australian party style|Independent}}|  |Independent |Yvonne Todd |- | {{Australian party style|Labor}}|  |Labor |Aidan Greenshields |- | rowspan="2" |Boorman |{{Australian party style|Independent}}|  |Independent |Andrew Tilley |- | {{Australian party style|Greens}}|  |Greens |Joanna Wells{{efn|Ran as the Greens candidate for Boothby in the 2025 Federal Election.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=House of Representatives division information |url=https://results.aec.gov.au/31496/Website/HouseDivisionPage-31496-182.htm |access-date=2025-08-10 |website=Australian Electoral Commission |language=en-AU}}</ref>}} |- | rowspan="2" |Craigburn | {{Australian party style|Independent}}|  |Independent |Darren Kruse |- | {{Australian party style|Independent}}|  |Independent |Karen Hockley |- | rowspan="2" |Gault | {{Australian party style|Liberal}}|  |Liberal |Pia George |- | {{Australian party style|Independent}}|  |Independent |Rod Moss |- | rowspan="2" |Overton | {{Australian party style|Independent}}|  |Independent |Kamal Bhagat |- | {{Australian party style|Greens}}|  |Greens |Jane Bange |- | rowspan="2" |The Park | {{Australian party style|Independent}}|  |Independent |Tom Morrison |- | {{Australian party style|Independent}}|  |Independent |Corin McCarthy |}

==Suburbs==

The City of Mitcham includes all or part of 32 suburbs:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://profile.id.com.au/mitcham/about|title=City of Mitcham community profile|website=.idcommunity|access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref>

{{columns-list|colwidth=15em| * Bedford Park (part) * Belair (part) * Bellevue Heights * Blackwood * Brown Hill Creek * Clapham * Clarence Gardens * Colonel Light Gardens * Coromandel Valley (part) * Crafers West (part) * Craigburn Farm * Cumberland Park * Daw Park * Eden Hills * Glenalta * Hawthorn * Hawthorndene * Kingswood * Leawood Gardens (part) * Lower Mitcham * Lynton * Melrose Park * Mitcham * Netherby * Panorama * Pasadena * Springfield * St. Marys * Torrens Park * Upper Sturt (part) * Urrbrae * Westbourne Park }}

==Wards== The City of Mitcham is divided into 6 wards, each of which elect 2 representatives to the Council.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-04 |title=Meet your Council Members |url=https://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/Our-city-and-council/your-council/meet-your-council-members |access-date=2026-01-08 |website=City of Mitcham |language=en}}</ref> They cover suburbs roughly as follows.<ref>{{cite web | title=Ward Map | url=http://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=1169 | publisher=City of Mitcham | access-date=2011-05-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605062352/http://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=1169 | archive-date=5 June 2011 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" |- ! Ward ! Suburbs |- | Overton | Clarence Gardens, Cumberland Park, Melrose Park, Daw Park, (part of) Colonel Light Gardens |- | Gault | Westbourne Park, Hawthorn, (most of) Colonel Light Gardens, Lower Mitcham, (part of) Clapham |- | Boorman | Kingswood, Netherby, Urrbrae, Torrens Park, Mitcham, Springfield, Brownhill Creek, Leawood Gardens, Lynton |- | Babbage | St Marys, Pasadena, Panorama, (part of) Clapham, Bedford Park |- | The Park | (most of) Belair, Glenalta, (part of) Crafers West, (part of) Blackwood, Hawthorndene, (part of) Upper Sturt |- | Craigburn | Eden Hills, (part of) Belair, (most of) Blackwood, Bellevue Heights, Craigburn Farm, (part of) Coromandel Valley |}

==Transport==

The first rail service in the City Mitcham was a horse-tram track, first opened in 1879. The line was converted to electricity in 1911, and further tram lines were opened in the council in the early 20th century. From 1958, these tram lines were shut down and replaced with bus services.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0026/90287/tram_lines_around_mitcham_-_chronology.pdf|title=Tram Lines around Mitcham — Chronology|access-date=12 October 2022|website=City of Mitcham}}</ref>

The City of Mitcham is currently serviced by the Belair railway line, which runs via the Adelaide–Wolseley railway line that connects Adelaide to Melbourne. This railway line was constructed from 1879 to 1887, and expanded from a single track to a double track in 1919 to manage increasing traffic. The council area includes the Mitcham, Torrens Park, Lynton, Eden Hills, Coromandel, Blackwood, Glenalta, Pinera, and Belair railway stations, as well as the former Clapham railway station.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/90447/a_hills_rail_history_by_train_3.pdf|title=A Hills Railway History by Train|website=City of Mitcham|access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref>

In addition to bus services operated by Adelaide Metro, the City of Mitcham operates a door-to-door community bus service for the elderly and people living with a disability. The council has two which that travel weekly to local shopping centres.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/our-services/support-for-older-people/transport-and-social-programs|title=Transport Services|website=City of Mitcham|access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref>

In 2018/19, transport accounted for 26% of the City of Mitcham's greenhouse gas emissions, with 23% coming from cars alone, making automobile transport the second-biggest contributor to the council area's emissions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://snapshotclimate.com.au/locality/municipality/australia/south-australia/mitcham/2018/fy|title=Mitcham 2018/19 municipal emissions snapshot|website=snapshot|access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref> The City of Mitcham has invested in six electric vehicle charging stations (four in Torrens Park and two in Blackwood) to assist the transition away from fossil fuels.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/our-services/Traffic,-Vehicles-and-Parking/ev-charging-stations|title=EV charging stations|website=City of Mitcham|access-date=12 October 2022}}</ref>

==Notes== {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

== References == {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au City of Mitcham website] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235648/http://www.id.com.au/mitcham/commprofile/default.asp?id=104&gid=10&pg=1 City of Mitcham community profile] *[http://www.mitchamcitybrass.org/ Mitcham City Brass band website]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitcham}} Category:Local government areas in Adelaide Category:Local government areas of South Australia Category:1853 establishments in Australia