Location

The City of Playford is located in Adelaide's outer northern suburbs, about 30 kilometres from the Adelaide CBD. The City of Playford is bounded by the Adelaide Plains Council area, the Light Regional Council area, the Town of Gawler and the Barossa Council area in the north, the Adelaide Hills Council area in the east, the City of Salisbury and the City of Tea Tree Gully in the south, and Gulf St Vincent in the west. The City of Playford's boundaries are the Gawler River, Wingate Road, Dalkeith Road, Smith Road and the South Para River in the north, Bassnet Road in the east, Airstrip Road, Hannaford Hump Road, One Tree Hill Road, Gould Creek, the Little Para River, Prunus Avenue, Jarvis Road, Porter Street, Commercial Road, the Gawler railway line, Bellchambers Road, Penfield Road, Heaslip Road, a line running east to west between Mumford Road and Mill Road and a line running east to west to the south of the Winston Park Equestrian Centre in the south, and Gulf St Vincent in the west.

Included Areas

The City of Playford includes the suburbs and localities of Andrews Farm, Angle Vale, Bibaringa, Blakeview, Buckland Park, Craigmore, Davoren Park, Elizabeth, Elizabeth Downs, Elizabeth East, Elizabeth Grove, Elizabeth North, Elizabeth Park, Elizabeth South, Elizabeth Vale (part), Elizabeth West, Evanston Park (part), Gould Creek (part), Hillbank, Hillier (part), Humbug Scrub (part), MacDonald Park, Munno Para, Munno Para Downs, Munno Para West, One Tree Hill, Penfield, Penfield Gardens, Port Gawler (part), Sampson Flat, Smithfield, Smithfield Plains, St Kilda (part), Uleybury (part), Virginia, Waterloo Corner (part) and Yattalunga.

Land Use

The City of Playford is a rural and growing urban area, with some industrial and commercial areas. The City encompasses a total land area of 346 square kilometres. Rural land is located mainly in the east, north and west, and is used largely for market gardens, orchards, vineyards, horse studs and hobby farms.

Name Origin

Playford is named after Sir Thomas Playford, former Premier of South Australia.

Indigenous Meaning

The original inhabitants of the Playford area were the Kaurna Aboriginal people.

Settlement

European settlement dates from 1847, with several townships established in the 1850s. Land was used mainly for wheat farming and hay growing. Significant development did not occur until the post-war years, when the South Australian government established a new satellite settlement at Elizabeth. The growth of Elizabeth was associated with substantial industrial expansion and considerable European migration. Rapid growth took place in and around Elizabeth during the late 1950s and 1960s. From the 1970s growth took place in the suburbs surrounding Elizabeth. The population of the City increased from nearly 61,000 in 1991 to nearly 79,000 in 2011. Much of the growth in the last two decades has been in Andrews Farm, Blakeview, Craigmore and Hillbank, and more recently in Munno Para and Munno Para West.

Major Features

Major features of the City include Elizabeth City Centre, Munno Para Shopping City, TAFE SA (Elizabeth Campus), Lyell McEwin Hospital, Adelaide International Raceway, State Shooting Centre, Virginia Greyhound Race Track, Winston Park Equestrian Centre, North Lakes Resort Golf Club, Playford Alive Oval (home of the Central District Football Club), General Motors Holden Automotive Plant, Little Para Reservoir, Parra Wirra Recreation Park, Fremont Park, Stebonheath Park, Elizabeth Aquadome and the Gawler River.

Transport

The City of Playford is served by the Northern Expressway, Main North Road, Port Wakefield Road and the Gawler railway line.