The Kaurna people were the original inhabitants of the eastern shores of Gulf St Vincent. Their territory included fertile plains and rivers and an abundant coast. These same features attracted the first European settlers.

European settlement brought with it a different relationship to the land than that known by the Kaurna - the concept of land as property that could be held in individual possession and traded as a commodity.

An area of surveyed land covering Glenelg to Witton Bluff (Christies Beach) known as District B, was made available for settlement in 1838, with more land surveyed within District C, covering Witton Bluff to Aldinga Bay, made available for settlement one year later.

The district quickly became known as a fine wheat-growing region up until the 1860's with the establishment of many farmsteads. Inland at Clarendon, Coromandel Valley and Kangarilla there was an emphasis on orchards, market gardens and timber production.

In 1840, the South Australian Company laid out the town of Noarlunga while, in the same year, Edward Moore surveyed the township of Willunga. The concentration of cereal crops to the southwest of the district created a need for flour mills with several townships including Noarlunga, Aldinga and Bellevue (McLaren Vale) containing at least one. The flourishing of the cereal and flour industry of the district throughout the 1850's resulted in the construction of jetties along the coast at Port Willunga and Port Noarlunga to assist in the more rapid transport of goods.

Bad land management practices and over farming reduced soil quality resulting in poor yields throughout the 1860's. Revised farming practices incorporated mixed farming, and industries such as the booming slate quarrying industry at Willunga brought other sources of income. The wine industry in particular came to the fore with wineries at Clarendon, Morphett Vale, Reynella, Happy Valley and McLaren Vale producing and exporting wine.

By the early twentieth century the district's wine making, natural beauty and magnificent beaches enticed holiday makers from Adelaide. Coastal townships of Port Noarlunga, Moana, Port Willunga, Sellicks Beach and Aldinga became popular tourist towns with tourism becoming a seasonal support for these communities.

Throughout the 1950s to 1970's the urbanisation of the district began with the establishment of the Lonsdale industrial area and residential subdivisions at Christies Beach, Morphett Vale and Hackham. Throughout the 1980's and early 1990's residential subdivision continued into the foothill areas of O'Halloran Hill, Happy Valley, Flagstaff Hill and Woodcroft.

With slower population growth and Government policy now aimed at limiting urban expansion and protecting prime agricultural land, the rate of urban expansion is declining.

For a more detailed examination of the history of the land, people and buildings within the City of Onkaparinga, please visit the following links:

• McLaren Vale and Fleurieu Visitor Centre
• City of Onkaparinga's Libraries
• State Library of South Australia

Source: "City of Onkaparinga Community Profile" (text by Historical Consultants, 2001)

Photos courtesy of the Local Studies Collection of the City of Onkaparinga Libraries.