{"id":3691,"date":"2025-07-04T14:22:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T04:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=3691"},"modified":"2025-07-25T09:05:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T23:35:08","slug":"council-amalgamation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=3691","title":{"rendered":"Council Amalgamation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In conformity with a trend across Australia (except in Western Australia), South Australia\u2019s Brown and Olsen Liberal Governments pressed in the late 1990s for the amalgamation of council districts, chiefly on the grounds of efficiency of service delivery and economies of scale. They succeeded in reducing the number of districts in South Australia from 118 to 68, and this included the amalgamation in 1997 of four Hills councils – Gumeracha, East Torrens, Onkaparinga and Stirling – to form the Adelaide Hills Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Adelaide Hills Council area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The State Government allowed for consultation with ratepayers. Non-binding plebiscites were held in each district, and then the four councils voted to amalgamate. There was controversy in Gumeracha as their poll revealed strong opposition to amalgamation, but the Mayor, Milton Checker, used his casting vote to override local feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The formal merger took place on 1 July 1997. The first Mayor of the new Adelaide Hills Council was Anita Aspinall, previously Mayor of Stirling. For the time being, the old council districts constituted wards within the new district (with Stirling divided into two because of its large population).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Four leaders celebrate the agreement to merge their Councils: l. to R: Milton Checker (Mayor of Gumeracha), Anita Aspinall (Mayor of Stirling), Heather Ceravolo (Mayor of East Torrens), Roger Brockhoff (Chairman of Onkaparinga); 27 February 1997; Photograph by Debra Collins-Smith, courtesy of Dr Geoffrey Bishop.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sources: Joshua McDonnell, \u2018Political Alienation and Council Amalgamations: The Effect of Municipality Size on Levels of Political Efficacy and Political Participation\u2019 (unpublished PhD thesis, University of Western Australia, 2021); Courier 5 March 1997.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have recollections, knowledge or further information that you would like to share about the people, places or events described here, then please contact us at mldhs@mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In conformity with a trend across Australia (except in Western Australia), South Australia\u2019s Brown and Olsen Liberal Governments pressed in the late 1990s for the amalgamation of council districts, chiefly on the grounds of efficiency of service delivery and economies of scale. They succeeded in reducing the number of districts in South Australia from 118 … Continue reading “Council Amalgamation”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"spay_email":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PaNLq6-Xx","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3673,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=3673","url_meta":{"origin":3691,"position":0},"title":"Beyond Mount Lofty","date":"June 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A new chapter in our history.......... One of our most useful and frequently used resources, which also occupies an important place on the bookshelves of many locals, is the book titled \"Under Mount Lofty\" This comprehensive hardcover history of the Stirling district by respected historian and academic Robert Martin, was\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/introduction.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3709,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=3709","url_meta":{"origin":3691,"position":1},"title":"Anita Aspinall","date":"July 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Anita Aspinall was a migrant from England in the 1950s. As a journalist she was the Mount Barker Courier\u2019s Stirling correspondent for 20 years. She joined the District Council of Stirling in 1987, during the controversy over the first Ash Wednesday Bushfire, and in 1991 became its first ever female\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/botanic-gardens-Glimpse-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3711,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=3711","url_meta":{"origin":3691,"position":2},"title":"Boundary Wars","date":"July 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Shortly after its formation in 1997 by the amalgamation of four smaller councils, the Adelaide Hills Council consented in 1998 to the excision of the Adelaide Foothills suburbs of Skye and Auldana and their transfer to the neighbouring Burnside Council District. This was in conformity with the local government legislation\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/botanic-gardens-Glimpse-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":64,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=64","url_meta":{"origin":3691,"position":3},"title":"About","date":"February 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Our Aim:\u00a0 \u201cUncover,\u00a0preserve and publish the history of the Mount Lofty Districts.\u201d The Mount Lofty\u00a0Districts Historical Society takes its name from Mount Lofty, one of South Australia\u2019s best known landmarks, overlooking the city of Adelaide. The MLDHS was established in 1978 at the suggestion of a former chairman of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=60","url_meta":{"origin":3691,"position":4},"title":"Our History","date":"February 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"How better to introduce the nature and the history of our district than to quote these edited selections from Robert Martin\u2019s comprehensive history of the Stirling district, \"Under Mount Lofty\", originally published in 1987 and updated in 1996. .....From the city of Adelaide in South Australia a few kilometres of\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/copy-of-0070-1ab.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":156,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=156","url_meta":{"origin":3691,"position":5},"title":"News & Events","date":"April 25, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"EASTERN REGIONAL HISTORY SEMINAR 2018 Held over 3 days in November 2018, this event, sponsored by the Mt. Lofty Districts Historical Society, brought together representatives from local, regional and State History Groups for a varied programme of speakers, displays, discussion, historical walks and planning events at venues in Stirling, Mylor\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3691"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3691"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3869,"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3691\/revisions\/3869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}