Blackwood is a south-eastern

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

located in the

Adelaide Hills The Adelaide Hills region is located in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. The largest town in the area, Mount Barker, South Australia, Mount Barker, is one of Australia's fastest-growi ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. It is part of the local government area of 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 som ...

History

The name "Blackwood" most likely comes from either the

Acacia melanoxylon ''Acacia melanoxylon'', commonly known as the Australian blackwood, is an ''Acacia'' species native to south-eastern Australia. The species is also known as blackwood, hickory, mudgerabah, Tasmanian blackwood, or blackwood acacia. The tree belon ...

, also known as the Australian blackwood, which grows in the nearby Mount Lofty Ranges, or the Eucalyptus odorata, which grows in Blackwood and has dark bark. The earliest reference to Blackwood was a mention of Blackwood Vale Farm in 1847, though this is in present-day Glenalta. One of the earliest places named for Blackwood was the Blackwood Inn, which opened in 1869. In 1880 it changed names to the Belair Hotel. Belair Post Office opened on 3 April 1859 and was renamed Blackwood in 1881, when the Belair office was moved some distance away. The first land grants in the area had been made in 1840, and various churches were established throughout the 19th century, but most development in Blackwood didn't take place until the

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Aldgate Aldgate () was a gate in the former defensive wall around the City of London. The gate gave its name to ''Aldgate High Street'', the first stretch of the A11 road, that takes that name as it passes through the ancient, extramural Portsoken ...

section of the Adelaide–Wolseley railway line was opened, with Blackwood railway station opening in 1883. Land was subdivided for housing at about the same time and the railway line was later connected all the way to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Places of interest

Blackwood Soldiers' Memorial was erected in 1921 in the most prominent place in Blackwood: the five-ways roundabout. It is a place of Local Heritage, listed for being "a notable landmark in the area". Wittunga Botanic Garden, originally a private property with English gardens established in 1901, is located in Blackwood and features displays of Australian and South African plants. Blackwood High School and Blackwood Primary School are located nearby in Eden Hills. St Peters Lutheran School is also located on Cumming Street, opposite to the Blackwood Football Club oval, bordering the suburb of Craigburn Farm. There is diverse fauna in the park that wanders into Craigburn Farm including

kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

koala The koala (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), sometimes inaccurately called the koala bear, is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only Extant taxon, extant representative of the Family (biology), family ''Phascolar ...

s and

echidna Echidnas (), sometimes known as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes (egg-laying mammals) belonging to the Family (biology), family Tachyglossidae , living in Australia and New Guinea. The four Extant taxon, extant species of echidnas ...

s. Many waterfalls, creeks and gullies are also scattered and found throughout the area. Uniting (former

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Church of Christ Church of Christ may refer to: Church groups * Christianity, the Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ * Christian Church, an ecclesiological term used by denominations to describe the true body of Christia ...

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

churches are located in Blackwood, as well as

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

churches including the Hills Christian Family Centre and Frontier Christian centre. The Blackwood Freemasons Lodge was established on 1 May 1920, initially meeting in the Church of England Hall. In 1933, in the middle of the Great Depression, the masons started construction of a fine two storey building in 1930, with the foundation stone being laid by Past Master, James Burnside on 16 December 1933. The lodge building was opened by the Governor of South Australia, Sir Alexander Hore-Ruthven VC KCMG CB DSO (later to be Lord Gowrie, Governor General of Australia) on 17 March 1934. The official party included the Governor General, Sir Isaac Isaacs. Blackwood Roundabout looking south-east, January 2012 B1 train substitute bus at Blackwood roundabout

Transport

Blackwood railway station is a transport hub with buses to Adelaide and the outer Southern suburbs, and trains to Adelaide and Belair.

Media

The Blackwood area was home to the ''Coromandel'' (4 August 1945 – 13 August 1970) and its successor, the ''Coromandel Times'' (20 August 1970 – 18 March 1976), published weekly by the Blackwood Progress Association. On 22 January 1970, it changed from a Saturday to a Thursday paper. It was also home to a regional publication, ''The Blackwood Times''. The publication, first issued in December 1994, described itself as "a tabloid size, monthly newspaper, delivered free of charge to over 13,000 households and businesses in Belair, Bellevue Heights, Blackwood, Eden Hills, Coromandel Valley, Glenalta, Hawthorndene, Blackwood Park, Upper Sturt, Aberfoyle Park and Flagstaff Hill." Besides local news and events, it also contained information related to the activities of Mitcham Council. Its last issue was in June 2024.

Residents

The suburbs of Blackwood, Glenalta and Craigburn Farm had a combined population of 6,379 in 2,596 households in 2001.

Norman Tindale Norman Barnett Tindale AO (12 October 1900 – 19 November 1993) was an Australian anthropologist, archaeologist, entomologist and ethnologist. He is best remembered for his work mapping the various tribal groupings of Aboriginal Australians ...

, an anthropologist, archaeologist and entomologist, lived in his Blackwood residence "Kurlge" from 1955 to 1969. The

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group the

Hilltop Hoods Hilltop Hoods are an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1994 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the " larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa (Matthew David Lambert) ...

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

singer Beccy Cole (whose song "Blackwood Hill" references the suburb) are from the area. Blackwood Hill refers to the hilltop oval where the Blackwood Football Club (The Woods) are based. Award-winning screen composer and filmmaker Milton Trott grew up in Blackwood. Independent hip hop artist Allday also grew up in Blackwood.

Politics

Blackwood is in the state electorate of Waite, represented in the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly (also known as the lower house) is one of two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assem ...

by Labor MP Catherine Hutchesson, and the federal electorate of Boothby, represented in the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

by Labor MP Louise Miller-Frost. Blackwood has a relatively high vote for the Greens when compared to the rest of its electorate and state,

Notes

External links

City of MitchamBlackwood High SchoolAll Hallows' Anglican ChurchBlackwood Hills Baptist
{{Authority control Suburbs of Adelaide