SAPlanned settlement
Hindmarsh
The colony’s first private town, built on brick clay beside the Port Road.
1838Hindmarsh Town surveyed
WHAT STARTED IT
Hindmarsh was the first private town in the colony, laid out in 1838 on land owned by Governor Hindmarsh near the Torrens and the road to the Port. Its clay made brickmaking the first trade, and its small allotments housed mechanics and labourers close to Adelaide.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
By 1844 Hindmarsh had Ridley’s steam flour mill, a reaping-machine works, a large brewery and a smelting furnace. Tanneries, soap works and other factories followed, and in 1874 ratepayers moved to form their own corporation.
TURNING POINTS
1838Hindmarsh and Lindsay complete the survey of Hindmarsh Town; half-acre lots are offered on the road to the Port.
1840A steam flour mill is under construction at Hindmarsh.
1844Hindmarsh has Ridley’s steam flour mill, a reaping-machine factory, a brewery and a smelting furnace.
1874Ratepayers meet to discuss forming the Corporation of Hindmarsh.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A small inner-western suburb on Port Road with only a couple of hundred residents. Port Road still carries traffic past the old shops and town hall.