City of Charles Sturt

The first local government to be established in the area was the District Council of Hindmarsh (established in 1853),^[4] covering the north west suburbs of Adelaide south of the port and north of the Torrens. The boundaries of the Hindmarsh district council were remarkably similar to the boundaries of the City of Charles Sturt, but the intervening years from 1874 to 1997 saw several divisions and amalgamations in the original council area, leading to the current boundaries.

In 1874 the Town of Hindmarsh seceded from the original district council, the latter changing its name to District Council of Woodville a year later.^[5][6] The Town of Hindmarsh included the near-city communities of Hindmarsh, Bowden, Brompton, Croydon and what would become Renown Park. The District Council of Woodville ultimately came to be seated at the present-day civic centre on Woodville Road at Woodville.

As part of the District Councils Act 1887 consolidation of local government in the state, the rump of the District Council of Glanville was amalgamated into Woodville council as the Davenport ward in 1888. This closely following the creation of the Town of Semaphore which removed a significantly-populated portion of Glanville. This now meant that the Woodville council's western boundary was the coastline from the Torrens to Fort Glanville.

In December 1915, the seaside communities of Henley Beach and Grange seceded from Woodville council (along with the West Beach area of West Torrens council) to form the Municipality of Henley and Grange^[7]

The Woodville and Hindmarsh councils were reunited in 1993 as the City of Hindmarsh Woodville, and, four years later, the City of Henley and Grange was also reunited to form the present boundaries as the City of Charles Sturt.

The current council as of December 2022^[update] is:^[8]

• List of Adelaide parks and gardens