City of Onkaparinga

This article is about the city created in 1997 covering the lower Onkaparinga River. For the district council around the upper Onkaparinga River that existed 1853–1997, see District Council of Onkaparinga.

The City of Onkaparinga (/ˌɒŋkəpəˈrɪŋɡə/) is a local government area (LGA) located on the southern fringe of Adelaide, South Australia. It is named after the Onkaparinga River, whose name comes from Ngangkiparinga, a Kaurna word meaning women's river. It is the largest LGA in South Australia, with a population of over 170,000 people in both urban and rural communities and is also geographically expansive, encompassing an area of 518.3 km². The council is headquartered in the Noarlunga Centre with area offices situated in Aberfoyle Park, Woodcroft and Willunga.

City of Onkaparinga South Australia
• Density	338/km2 (880/sq mi)
Established	6 March 1997[1]
Area	518.4 km2 (200.2 sq mi)
Mayor	Moira Were AM[2]
Council seat	Noarlunga Centre
Region	Southern Adelaide[3]
County	Adelaide[4]
State electorate(s)	Davenport, Finniss, Fisher, Heysen, Kaurna, Mawson, Mitchell, Reynell
Federal division(s)	Kingston, Mayo
Website	City of Onkaparinga
LGAs around City of Onkaparinga: City of Marion City of Mitcham Adelaide Hills Council City of Onkaparinga District Council of Mount Barker District Council of Yankalilla District Council of Yankalilla Alexandrina Council

History

The council was formed on 1 July 1997 as the City of Happy Valley, Noarlunga and Willunga from the amalgamation of the former City of Happy Valley and City of Noarlunga with part of the District Council of Willunga.^[5] It adopted the City of Onkaparinga name from 22 December 1997.^[6]

Mayors

• 1997–2006: Ray Gilbert^[7]
• 2006–2018: Lorraine Rosenberg^[8]
• 2018–2022: Erin Thompson^[9]
• 2022 (acting): Simon McMahon^[10]
• 2022–present: Moira Were^[11]

Culture

The South Australian Writers' Centre and the City of Onkaparinga co-hosted the biennial South Australian Writers' Festival (2001–2011),^[12] renamed the South Australian Readers' and Writers' Festival from 2013 to 2015.^[13]

Demographics

Selected historical census data for Onkaparinga local government area
Census year			2001[14]	2006[15]	2011[16]	2016[17]
Population		Estimated residents on census night	143,143	144,407	159,576	166,766
		LGA rank in terms of size within South Australia		1st	1st	1st
		% of South Australia population	9.81%	9.54%	10.00%	9.95%
		% of Australian population	0.76%	0.73%	0.74%	0.71%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		English			35.4%	34.9%
		Australian			28.9%	27.4%
		Scottish			6.8%	7.0%
		Irish			5.8%	6.3%
		German			5.3%	5.3%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Polish	0.7%	0.5%	0.4%	0.4%
		German	0.7%	0.6%	0.5%	0.5%
		Italian	0.6%	0.5%	0.5%	0.4%
		Greek	0.5%	0.5%	0.4%	0.4%
		Dutch	0.43%	0.3%
		Arabic			0.3%
		Mandarin				0.5%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		No religion	25.5%	29.6%	34.5%	43.1%
		Anglican	17.6%	15.9%	15.0%	11.6%
		Catholic	16.2%	15.6%	15.5%	13.9%
		Uniting	10.3%	9.2%	8.4%	6.5%
		Lutheran	3.1%	3.0%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$439	A$542	A$593
		% of Australian median income		98.4%	93.9%	95.3%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1088	A$1311	A$1448
		% of Australian median income		92.9%	88.5%	83.5%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$922	A$1080	A$1194
		% of Australian median income		89.8%	87.5%	83.0%

Governance

The council meets at the chambers in Noarlunga Centre on Hannah Road once a month on a Tuesday at 6.30pm.

The City of Onkaparinga has 13 elected members (including the mayor). The city is divided into six electoral wards, with two councillors representing each. The mayor is elected at large by all electors.

The current council was elected in 2022 for a four-year term.^[18]

Ward	Party[19]		Councillor	Notes
Mayor			Moira Were AM
Knox		Liberal	Cr Heidi Greaves
			Cr Colt Stafford
Mid Coast			Cr Dan Platten (Deputy Mayor)
			Cr Gretel Wilkes
Pimpala			Cr Kim Davis
			Cr Michael Fisher
South Coast			Cr Lauren Jew
			Cr Paul Yeomans
Southern Vales Coast			Cr Marisa Bell
			Cr Jordan Pritchard
Thalassa			Cr Geoff Eaton
		Liberal	Cr Marion Themeliotis

Suburbs

• Aberfoyle Park - 5159
• Aldinga - 5173
• Aldinga Beach – 5173
• Blewitt Springs - 5171
• Chandlers Hill - 5159
• Cherry Gardens - 5157
• Christie Downs - 5164
• Christies Beach - 5165
• Clarendon – 5157
• Coromandel East - 5157
• Coromandel Valley - 5051
• Darlington - 5047
• Dorset Vale - 5157
• Flagstaff Hill - 5159
• Hackham - 5163
• Hackham West - 5163
• Happy Valley - 5159
• Huntfield Heights - 5163
• Ironbank - 5153
• Kangarilla - 5157
• Kuitpo (part) - 5201
• Lonsdale - 5160
• Maslin Beach - 5170
• McLaren Flat - 5171
• McLaren Vale - 5171
• Moana - 5169
• Morphett Vale – 5162
• Noarlunga Centre - 5168
• Noarlunga Downs - 5168
• O'Halloran Hill - 5158
• O'Sullivan Beach - 5166
• Old Noarlunga - 5168
• Old Reynella - 5161
• Onkaparinga Heights - 5163
• Onkaparinga Hills - 5163
• Port Noarlunga – 5167
• Port Noarlunga South - 5167
• Port Willunga - 5173
• Reynella - 5161
• Reynella East - 5161
• Seaford - 5169
• Seaford Heights - 5169
• Seaford Meadows - 5169
• Seaford Rise - 5169
• Sellicks Beach - 5174
• Sellicks Hill - 5174
• Tatachilla - 5171
• The Range - 5172
• Whites Valley - 5172
• Willunga - 5172
• Willunga South - 5172
• Woodcroft – 5162

That is, postcodes 5047, 5051, 5153, and 5157–74 (inclusive).^[20]

Freedom of the City

The Freedom of the City is reserved for military units which have, through their command, a significant attachment to the City of Onkaparinga. Freedom of the City is the highest honour the City can confer on a military unit.^[21]

Recipients

Three military units have been awarded Freedom of the City:

• 1998 - 40th Regional Cadet Unit Noarlunga
• 2004 - Squadron 605 Australian Air Force Cadets and Australian Navy Cadets TS Noarlunga
• 2016 - 619 Squadron, Australian Air Force Cadets

Key to the City

The Key to the City recognises exceptional, outstanding achievement and is Council’s most prestigious award. The award acknowledges the outstanding contribution of an individual or organisation in furthering the ideals of the city or to recognise outstanding achievement.^[22]

Recipients

• 1998 - Dr Andrew "Andy" Sydney Withiel Thomas AO
• 2006 - Mayor Ray Gilbert OAM JP & Edith Gilbert JP
• 2019 - Richard "Richie" Julian Porte^[23][24][25]

See also

• Local Government Areas of South Australia
• List of Adelaide suburbs
• List of Adelaide parks and gardens