The first Europeans to explore the district were Dr. George Imlay and John Hill in January 1838. In 1839-40 the South Australian Company claimed several Special Surveys in the district which were later subdivided to allow for closer settlement. Migrants who had temporarily settled at Lobethal began looking for land of their own in 1848. Pastor Fritzsch recommended this spot beside the Torrens, where he camped on the way to Bethany. Birdwood grew with homes on land leased from George Fife Angas and a church some distance away. The town prospered by the 1850s, and the area was producing enough grain to justify the construction of the Blumberg Flour Mill. In 1865, during the localgold rush, the Blumberg Inn was built.
Birdwood has a government-operated primary and high school, Motel, small supermarket, two Coffee/Bakeries, 2 antique shops and a petrol station. A number of churches have formed part of the history of the town, including the Roman Catholic Church near the sports grounds, the nearby Lutheran church and cemetery which is just beyond the town limits; the United Church in the centre of town, which united long before the Uniting Church formed, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church further along Shannon Street. Birdwood is also home to the National Motor Museum, and is the endpoint of the annual Bay to Birdwood run , in which vintage motor vehicles are driven by their owners from Glenelg past the city and through the hills to finish at the museum where a festival is held. The museum was started by Jack Kaines and Len Vigar in 1964, and was purchased by the South Australian Government in 1976, holding a large and historically important collection of cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles. Next door to the Museum is the Birdwood Motel, Just north of Birdwood is the Cromer Conservation Park, proclaimed in 1976, with an open-forest formation of long-leafed box with Pink Gum and an open woodland formation of Red Gum, which forms an important habitat for honeyeaters. Mining for yellow ochre occurred in the park during the 1800s. There are no formal walking trails or visitor facilities. It is also home to Birdwood High School which has over 700 students and Birdwood Primary school with about 200 students.
Transport
The area is not serviced by Adelaide Metro public transport. A coach is operated from Tea Tree Plaza Interchange to Gumeracha and Mount Pleasant by LinkSA. Birdwood has a lot of through traffic, and a traffic calming device was installed at the Adelaide end of town to discourage speeding. A significant number of road accidents occur on the Adelaide-Mannum Road, and the sites of these are marked with red and black posts.
Railway
Birdwood once had a train station on the Mount Pleasant railway line at 44.13 miles from Adelaide. The line came via Balhannah and was not a very direct route. The line was closed during one of the rail reformations as it was not a very profitable line, probably due to the more direct Adelaide–Mannum Road. The track is now long gone but the earthworks can still be seen along the edges of the Birdwood flat to Mount Torrens and towards Mount Pleasant. Also still standing is an old stone railway bridge near Mount Torrens. The line closed in 1953.
