City of Port Augusta

The Port Augusta region is a natural crossroads and Aboriginals have been trading in the area for 40 000 years. European settlement began in the 1840s. The town grew from a pastoral service centre to a railway town with the construction of the overland telegraph line. Port Augusta's rail importance grew with the start of the railways towards Alice Springs and Kalgoorlie.

The municipality was created as the Corporate Town of Port Augusta on 3 November 1875.^[7][8] A number of smaller separate municipalities were proclaimed in the Port Augusta area, including the Corporate Town of Davenport (August 1887), the Corporate Town of Port Augusta West (October 1887), and the District Council of Davenport (January 1888, later called Woolundunga). The municipalities in the area were amalgamated in February 1933, with Port Augusta West, Davenport and part of Woolundunga merged into a larger Port Augusta municipality.^[9] It became the City of Port Augusta, with the granting of city status in late 1964.

The Port Augusta Town Hall was built to house the municipality in 1886–87. It was severely damaged by fire in 1944, and rebuilt in 1946. It was vacated by the City in 1983 after the completion of the new Port Augusta Civic Centre. The former town hall fell into disuse, and was advertised for sale by the state government in June 2015 awaiting redevelopment.^{[citation needed]}

Another major industry was the production of electric power. The city was the site of South Australia's main power supplier, the Port Augusta powerhouse, located on the coast of the Spencer Gulf. Three coal-fired power stations burned coal mined at Leigh Creek, the first of which was completed in 1954. The last of these, the Northern Power Station, was shut down in May 2016.^[10] Demolition and rehabilitation of the site was completed in May 2019.^[11]

Towns and localities in the district include:

The City of Port Augusta has a directly elected mayor.^[24]

• Port Augusta Airport
• Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden
• List of parks and gardens in rural South Australia