The District Council of Jamestown was a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, centred on the region surrounding the town of Jamestown. The District Council came into existence on 21 March 1935 following the amalgamation of 95% of the

District Council of Belalie The District Council of Belalie was a local government area in South Australia. It was proclaimed on 11 November 1875, and initially comprised most of the cadastral Hundred of Belalie, including its central town of Jamestown. Jamestown itself had ...

with the

District Council of Caltowie The District Council of Caltowie was a local government area in South Australia, centred on the town of Caltowie and surrounding cadastral Hundred of Caltowie. It came into operation on 28 February 1878, with the first five councillors appointed ...

and the Hundred of Mannanarie, which had been in the abolished

District Council of Yongala The District Council of Yongala was a local government area in South Australia from 1883 to 1935, seated at Yongala. History The council was established on 8 March 1883 as the first local government in the area. It initially covered only the H ...

. For almost all of its history, it surrounded but did not include the town of Jamestown itself; the Jamestown township had separated from Belalie as the Corporate Town of Jamestown in 1878, and would not merge back into the broader municipality until 1991. The council's primary towns were Caltowie,

Tarcowie Tarcowie (postcode 5431) is a town in South Australia. ''Tarcowie'' is an aboriginal word meaning "torrential waters". It was named by Governor Musgrave on 20 May 1875. At the , Tarcowie had a population of 205, 10 fewer than the 2006 census. T ...

, and the fringes of Jamestown, with the remainder of the municipality entirely rural. It was responsible for sealing many of the major roads within its boundaries. The new council initially occupied the former District Council of Belalie office in Ayr Street, Jamestown, which dated from 1900. In 1957, the council demolished the small former Belalie office and built new offices. The new council offices were extended and further renovated in 1980. In 1975, it published a local history, ''Changing Boundaries – a history of 100 years of local government in the area in 1975'' by L. T. Cooper. The District Council of Jamestown expanded significantly in 1991, when it merged with the Corporate Town of Jamestown and absorbed Jamestown itself. However, it ceased to exist six years later, when it merged with the

District Council of Rocky River The District Council of Rocky River was a local government area in South Australia from 1988 to 1997, seated at Gladstone. History The council came into existence on 1 May 1988 with the amalgamation of the District Council of Georgetown, Dis ...

and the

District Council of Spalding The District Council of Spalding was a local government area in South Australia, centred on the town of Spalding. It was proclaimed on 30 July 1885 by Governor William C. F. Robinson, comprising the Hundreds of Reynolds and Andrews as far sou ...

to create the present Northern Areas Council on 3 May 1997.

Chairmen

* Herbert Frederick (Herb) Jones (1935–1937) * Michael James Cronin (1937–1947) * Mervyn Holland (1947–1959) * Ralph William Napper (1959–1962) * John Kevin Kerin (1962–1966) * Michael Clement Meaney (1966–1968) * Frank Leslie Crossman (1968–1977)

References

{{Authority control Jamestown