City of Burnside: History
Prior to the British colonisation of South Australia in 1836, Burnside was inhabited by the Kaurna, an Aboriginal people who lived around the creeks of the River Torrens during the summer months and in the Adelaide Hills during the wintertime. The area was first settled in 1839 by Peter Anderson, a Scots migrant, who named it Burnside after his property's location adjacent to Second Creek (in Scots, "Burn" means creek or stream). The Village of Burnside was established shortly thereafter and the District Council of Burnside was gazetted in 1856, being separated from the larger East Torrens Council. The council's first chairman was Dr. Christopher Rawson Penfold, of Penfolds Wines fame.
The present Council Chambers were built in 1927/28 in Tusmore, with the council becoming a municipality in 1935. With strong growth and development throughout the region, Burnside was then proclaimed a city in 1943. The 1960s brought Burnside Library, built next to the Council chambers, and the George Bolton Swimming Centre in Hazelwood Park. Both were further expanded and upgraded between 1997 and 2001.
Beaumont House, a historic structure, was constructed for the first bishop of Adelaide, Augustus Short, during 1851. Wineries, mining and olive groves were the mainstay of an early Burnside economy; Glen Osmond boasted substantial mineral deposits and world-class vineyards were established at Magill. The first council chamber was designed by chairman George Soward and built in 1869 by Thomas Hill and William Yateman.