TheCity of Mitcham is alocal government area in the foothills of southernAdelaide,South Australia. Within its bounds isFlinders University, South Australia's third largest, and the notable, affluent suburb ofSpringfield which contains some of the city's most expensive properties.

City of Mitcham Adelaide, South Australia
• Density	893,22/km2 (231,340/sq mi)
Established	1853
Area	75.70 km2 (29.2 sq mi)
Time zone	Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) (UTC)
Mayor	Heather Holmes-Ross
Council seat	Torrens Park
Region	Southern Adelaide[1]
State electorate(s)	Davenport,Elder,Heysen,Waite
Federal division(s)	Boothby
Website	City of Mitcham
LGAs around City of Mitcham: City of Unley City of Burnside City of Marion City of Mitcham Adelaide Hills Council City of Onkaparinga

Before the arrival of European settlers, theKaurna 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 atCoromandel Valley as a hiding place.^[2]Mitcham village was established onBrown Hill Creek in 1840, named afterMitcham, a village inSurrey.^[3]

The council was founded on 10 May 1853 as theDistrict Council of Mitcham and was the first local government area formally founded in South Australia after theCity of Adelaide.^[4][5] The council initially covered an area of 108 square kilometres, stretching from theAdelaide Park Lands in the north toMount Barker Road in the east, with theSturt River forming the southern boundary.^[3] It lost the part of the council west ofSouth Road to theDistrict Council of Brighton (later theCity of Marion) on 19 December 1854.^[2][4] In 1871,Unley and surrounding areas were severed from the Mitcham council to create theCorporate Town of Unley.^[6] It lost another area on 25 October 1883, when portions of the council aroundStirling were detached to form the newDistrict Council of Stirling.^[4]

From 1854 to 1869, the council rented offices in theAdelaide City Centre to conduct their business, only relocating to within the council itself in 1870. Its current council chambers inTorrens Park were first built in 1934.^[3] The District Council become a Corporation in 1944, and it gained city status in 1947, becoming the City of Mitcham.^[3] The state government planned to dissolve the City of Mitcham in 1989, but the council was able to lobby to prevent its dissolution.^[3]

Colebrook Home, first established inQuorn in theFlinders Ranges in 1927, moved toEden Hills in the 1940s to secure better water supply.^[7][8] 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 theStolen Generations.^[7] In 1972 the children were relocated toBlackwood due to low numbers and Colebrook Home was demolished in 1973.^[2][7] It was officially closed in 1981.^[7]

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.^[7][8] Two statues have been sculpted to commemorate the Stolen Generations (the 'Fountain of Tears' in 1998 and the 'Grieving Mother' in 1999).^[8]

Mitcham is one of three suburban Adelaide councils to be awarded a "Tree Cities of the World" designation from theFood and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations (FAO) andArbor Day Foundation, along with theCity of Burnside and theCity of Unley, and as of July 2020^[update] the only three in Australia.^[9]

The City of Mitcham includes all or part of 32 suburbs:^[10]

The City of Mitcham is divided into 6 wards, each of which elect 2 or 3 representatives to the Council.^[11] They cover suburbs roughly as follows.^[12]

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.^[13]

The City of Mitcham is currently serviced by theBelair railway line, which runs via theAdelaide–Wolseley railway line that connects Adelaide toMelbourne. 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 theMitcham,Torrens Park,Lynton,Eden Hills,Coromandel,Blackwood,Glenalta,Pinera, andBelair railway stations, as well as the formerClapham railway station.^[14]

In addition to bus services operated byAdelaide 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.^[15]

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.^[16] The City of Mitcham has invested in six electric vehicle charging stations (four inTorrens Park and two inBlackwood) to assist the transition away from fossil fuels.^[17]

• Local Government Areas of South Australia
• List of Adelaide suburbs
• List of Adelaide parks and gardens

• City of Mitcham website
• City of Mitcham community profile
• Mitcham City Brass band website

35°1′S138°38′E / 35.017°S 138.633°E /-35.017; 138.633