Adelaide Plains Council | |||||||||||||
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 Location of the Adelaide Plains Council | |||||||||||||
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| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | South Australia | ||||||||||||
| Region | Barossa Light and Lower North[1] | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1935, renamed 15 April 1937 | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Mallala | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • Mayor | Mark Wasley[2] | ||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 932.1 km2 (359.9 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Website | Adelaide Plains Council | ||||||||||||
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TheAdelaide Plains Council (formerly theDistrict Council of Mallala) is alocal government area inSouth Australia. It consists of a largely rural region along theGulf St Vincent, covering a total area of approximately 926 km2.[3] The council seat lies atMallala, but it also maintains a service centre atTwo Wells.[4]
Both theLight River and theGawler River pass through the district and the rich fertile plains are ideal for vegetable production, the majority of which is sent to the nearby Adelaide markets. As well as the general agricultural pursuits of grain growing and storage and running livestock, other major industries in the region include the livestock market / sale yards, metal fabrication and manufacture of industrial equipment.
TheDistrict Council of Light was proclaimed on 21 March 1935, having stemmed from the amalgamation of theDistrict Council of Grace, theDistrict Council of Dublin and theDistrict Council of Port Gawler. It is unrelated to either theearlier orlater councils also named District Council of Light, both of which were predecessors of the adjacentLight Regional Council.[5]
In 1936, the council petitioned the state government to have its name changed citing an existing problem with correspondence intended for the Council being addressed to towns situated outside its boundaries in the cadastral unit of theHundred of Light and that the recent creation of theelectoral district of Light which was also outside of its boundaries would “cause further confusion.” The change was granted and the renaming of the council as theDistrict Council of Mallala was gazetted on 15 April 1937.[6][7]
The first white settlement of the area dates back to the Port GawlerSpecial Survey in 1839. Originally the land was inhabited by theKaurna people whose territory extended in a narrow corridor along the eastern shore of Gulf St Vincent; Cape Jervis to Port Wakefield; inland to near Crystal Brook, Snowtown, Blyth, Hoyleton, Hamley Bridge, Clarendon, Gawler, and Myponga; from the east side of the Hummock Range to Red Hill. Inland the stringy bark forests of the Mount Lofty Ranges marked their boundary.
Throughout the district large tracts of surveyed land were allotted to pastoralists who farmed mostly grain and sheep. The early produce of the area was often shipped out on ketches from the Ports of Gawler and Parham.
In 1986, the council was reported as having an area of 926.7 square kilometres (357.8 sq mi) and a population of about 3940 with most population growth occurring in the southern part of the council area around the town ofTwo Wells. The principal industries were agriculture andsalt mining with the former consisting ofmarket gardening in the vicinity of the Gawler River with the remainder of the district being used for cereal growing, stock grazing and dairying, and with the latter being concerned with salt extraction via evaporation at sites along the coastline.[8]
In September 2016, the council's name was changed to be Adelaide Plains Council,[9] reflecting its extent and location on the northernAdelaide Plains.
The Adelaide Plains Council includes the towns and localities ofCalomba,Dublin,Fischer,Korunye,Lewiston,Lower Light,Mallala,Middle Beach,Parham,Port Gawler,Redbanks,Thompson Beach,Two Wells,Webb Beach andWindsor, and parts ofBarabba,Grace Plains,Long Plains,Reeves Plains andWild Horse Plains.[10]
| Ward | Councillor | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor[2] | Mark Wasley | ||
| Area Councillors[11] | Marcus Strudwicke | ||
| Alana Bombardieri | |||
| Kay Boon | |||
| Terry-Anne Keen | |||
| Dante Mazzeo | |||
| Margherita Panella | |||
| David Paton Deputy Mayor | |||
| Eddie Stubing | |||
| John Lush (Former) | On 5 October 2023, Councillor John Lush formally resigned from his position as an elected member.[12] | ||
The Adelaide Plains Council has a directly-elected mayor.[13]
On 9 December 2021 a Government Gazette announced that a review of the Adelaide Plains Council's composition and elector representation arrangements had occurred and been certified, the following arrangements took effect from polling day of the periodic Local Government Elections held in November 2022.
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The following persons were elected to serve as chairman of the council for the following terms:[15]
34°26′16″S138°30′45″E / 34.43790306°S 138.51247°E /-34.43790306; 138.51247