Adelaide County is one of South Australia’s 49 cadastral counties. Governor Grey proclaimed it on 2 June 1842. It covers the Adelaide Plains and Adelaide Hills, including the city of Adelaide, and contains 11 hundreds.
Key Facts
| State | South Australia |
|---|---|
| Region | Adelaide Plains and Adelaide Hills |
| Proclaimed | 2 June 1842 |
| Named after | The city of Adelaide |
| Area | 2,960 km² |
| Principal towns | Adelaide, Gawler, Willunga |
Hundreds in Adelaide County
The county is divided into 11 hundreds, the cadastral units used for land titles.
- Hundred of Adelaide
- Hundred of Barossa
- Hundred of Kuitpo
- Hundred of Munno Para
- Hundred of Noarlunga
- Hundred of Onkaparinga
- Hundred of Para Wirra
- Hundred of Port Adelaide
- Hundred of Talunga
- Hundred of Willunga
- Hundred of Yatala
Towns and Localities Today
Adelaide County contains almost all of metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia’s capital, plus outer towns such as Gawler in the north and Willunga in the south. The greater Adelaide metropolitan area, most of it inside the county, recorded a population of about 1.3 million at the 2021 census. Land within the county is almost entirely urban or peri-urban today, a sharp contrast with South Australia’s other 48 cadastral counties, most of which remain rural or pastoral.
The Hundred of Adelaide itself takes in the city centre and inner suburbs, while Onkaparinga and Noarlunga cover the growing southern suburbs, and Munno Para and Yatala the northern ones. Barossa and Para Wirra, in the county’s north-east, reach into the Adelaide Hills wine country.
Geography
The county is bounded on the north by the Gawler River and North Para River, on the east by the Mount Lofty Ranges, and on the west by Gulf St Vincent. Its southern boundary runs from Aldinga Bay to Willunga South and Mount Magnificent. This combination of coastal plain, sheltering ranges, and river frontage was the main reason colonial surveyors chose the site for the capital in 1836.
History
Adelaide County has held the bulk of South Australia’s population since the colony’s early decades: at least 60% between 1855 and 1921, rising to 70.6% by 1966. Its 11 hundreds were proclaimed progressively through the 19th century as the colony’s capital and its surrounding farmland were surveyed. Colonel William Light laid out the city’s grid and parklands within the Hundred of Adelaide the same year the colony was founded, a plan that still shapes the county’s built-up hundreds today.
FAQ
What does Adelaide County cover?
It covers metropolitan Adelaide and the surrounding Adelaide Plains and Adelaide Hills, bounded by the Gawler River, the Mount Lofty Ranges, Gulf St Vincent, and the coast south to Aldinga Bay.
Is Adelaide County still used?
Cadastral counties like Adelaide remain in land titles and property descriptions but have no government function today.
How many hundreds are in Adelaide County?
Eleven: Adelaide, Barossa, Kuitpo, Munno Para, Noarlunga, Onkaparinga, Para Wirra, Port Adelaide, Talunga, Willunga, and Yatala.