City of Elizabeth


The City of Elizabeth was a local government area located in the northern suburbs of Adelaide and seated at Elizabeth from 1964 to 1997.

History

Prior to the 1950s, most of the area surrounding today's suburb of Elizabeth was farming estates. After the end of the Second World War and the accompanying shortage of materials, the state government decided that South Australia needed to grow and become an industrialised state.
A satellite city was planned for northern metropolitan fringe of Adelaide, and the South Australian Housing Trust initiated a housing development program in the area, with a purchase of of rural land between the established townships of Salisbury and Smithfield.
Elizabeth, the suburb, was established within the District Council of Salisbury on 16 November 1955, being named after Queen Elizabeth II, who visited the city in 1963. More than seven years later, the Salisbury council was renamed to be the District Council of Salisbury and Elizabeth in 1963 in recognition of the burgeoning community on its northern lands. A year later, on 1 July 1964, the municipality of the Town of Elizabeth was created by severance from the District Council of Salisbury and Elizabeth, and the latter reverted to the name Salisbury.
The new municipality encompassed most or all of the suburbs of Elizabeth North, to the north, Elizabeth Park, to the north east, Elizabeth East, to the east, Elizabeth Grove and Elizabeth Vale, to the south east, Elizabeth South, to the south and south west, and Elizabeth West, to the north west.
The City of Elizabeth was amalgamated with the City of Munno Para in 1997 to form the City of Playford. Twenty years hence, the term 'Elizabeth', in the context of Adelaide, still typically referred to the pre-amalgamation municipality encompassing both the suburb of Elizabeth and those suburbs surrounding it, and the distinct community they comprised.
A total of nine suburban localities clustered around the Elizabeth town centre were named for the City of Elizabeth, by which they were locally governed at some point:
The early town centre, now Elizabeth Shopping Centre, had open air shopping malls and a theatre called the Octagon. Residential suburbs of Elizabeth were established with the earliest being Elizabeth South and Elizabeth North. Each was configured as a local community around a small shopping centre containing a supermarket, bank, hotel and service station along with other shops. Automotive manufacturer Holden established a manufacturing plant in the area, becoming a major employer along with the Department of Defence with its Long Range Weapons Establishment, later the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, and RAAF Base Edinburgh. Migrants were encouraged to settle in Elizabeth and its suburbs.
Elizabeth had large areas of open space, with the most prominent being Fremont Park, on Main North Road. Elizabeth was the sister city of Fremont, California; Lake Elizabeth in Fremont Central Park is named for the city.
Elizabeth also had a strong music scene, providing a home for Jimmy Barnes, John Swan, Bernard "Doc" Neeson and Glenn Shorrock, among other musicians.

Mayors of Elizabeth

The following adjacent local government bodies co-existed with the Elizabeth council: