Mitcham, formerly known as Mitcham Village, is an inner-southern suburb of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in the

City of Mitcham The City of Mitcham is a local government area in the foothills of southern Adelaide, South Australia. Within its bounds is Flinders University, South Australia's third largest, and the notable, affluent suburb of Springfield which contains so ...

History

Created as a village separate from Adelaide known as "Mitcham Village", it was ancillary to a

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

Brown Hill Creek Brown Hill Creek, also known as ''Willawilla'' in the Kaurna language, is a watercourse flowing from the Adelaide Hills through in the inner south suburbs of the Adelaide metropolitan area, in the Australian state of South Australia. It is part ...

belonging to the

South Australia Company The South Australian Company, also referred to as the South Australia Company, was formed in London on 9 October 1835, after the '' South Australia (Foundation) Act 1834'' had established the new British Province of South Australia, with the Sou ...

. Prior to

British colonisation The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

, the area was inhabited by the

Kaurna The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurn ...

, an

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

. A group of about 150 Kaurna formerly camped at "Wirraparinga", now Mitcham Reserve (known for many years as "Brown Hill Creek reserve"). The reserve area occupies what was used as the

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

. In August 1909, the Church of England's Orphan Home for Girls, established by

Julia Farr Julia Warren Farr née Ord (14 August 1824 – 21 April 1914) was an English-born South Australian philanthropist. History Julia was a daughter of Major Robert Hutchinson Ord (1789–1828), whose family were associated with Greensted Hall, Esse ...

and Mrs W. S. Douglas in

Carrington Street Carrington Street is a street in the south-eastern sector of the centre of Adelaide, South Australia. It runs east–west, from East Terrace to King William Street, blocked at Hutt Street and crossing Pulteney Street at Hurtle Square. It is one ...

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ade ...

in 1860, moved to

Fullarton Road Fullarton Road is a main road in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide. Route It runs north–south in a straight line from the eastern edge of the CBD to the south-eastern suburbs of the city. Its northern beginning is at the intersecti ...

, Upper Mitcham.

Governance

The suburb is the seat of the Mitcham Council. Mitcham is located in the federal electorate of Boothby and the state electorate of Waite, which both tend to be safe

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

seats.

Notable residents

*Theodore Ambrose (1880–1947)

medical practitioner A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

*Major

Rupert Downes Major General Rupert Major Downes, (10 February 1885 – 5 March 1945) was an Australian soldier, surgeon and historian. The son of British Army officer Major Francis Downes, Downes joined the Army as a trumpeter while he was still at school ...

(1885–1945)

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

and

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

Hedley Herbert Finlayson Hedley Herbert Finlayson (1895–1991) was an Australian mammalogist, author and photographer. Associated with the South Australian Museum, he is recognised for his extensive surveys and research on mammals in Central Australia and systematically ...

(1895–1991) conservationist and

mammalogist In zoology, mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermic metabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part ...

John Harvey Finlayson John Harvey Finlayson (3 February 1843 – 30 March 1915) was the editor and part-owner of the ''South Australian Register''. Employment and social advocacy He joined ''The Register'' in 1861 and became head reporter 1866, a proprietor in 18 ...

(1843–1915)

newspaper editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

* Laura Margaret Hope (1868–1952)

Doris Egerton Jones Doris Egerton Jones (23 December 1889 – 30 September 1973), also known as Doris Callaghan and Doris Callahan, was an Australian writer of novels and plays. Early life Egerton Jones was born in Mitcham, Adelaide, in 1889. She attended t ...

(1889–1973)

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

*Ellen Thornber (1851–1947)

schoolmistress The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled after ...

Joseph Garnett Wood Joseph Garnett Wood (2 September 1900 – 8 December 1959) was an Australian professor of botany and a president of the Royal Society of South Australia. Wood was born in Adelaide, South Australia and educated at Unley High School, the South Austr ...

(1900–1959)

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Gallery

File:Mitcham School.jpg File:Old Belair Road, new bridge, Mitcham.JPG File:Mitcham Village Institute, Mitcham 1.JPG File:Mitcham Village Uniting Church, Mitcham.JPG File:H Mitcham Reserve, Brownhill Creek in flood.JPG File:Mitcham Square 2.JPG

References

Suburbs of Adelaide {{adelaide-geo-stub