Corporate Town of Semaphore

The corporate town of Semaphore was a local government area in South Australia. It was created on 20 December 1883, and re-gazetted on 17 January 1884, from areas which had been part of the District Council of Lefevre's Peninsula and District Council of Glanville. The separation of Semaphore would make both its former municipalities unviable, with Lefevre's Peninsula subsequently merging into the District Council of Birkenhead and Glanville with the District Council of Woodville.^[1][2] In 1889, the municipality acquired the Semaphore Institute building for use as the Semaphore Town Hall; the building survives today as the heritage-listed Semaphore Library.^[3][4]

Town of Semaphore South Australia
Town of Semaphore
Coordinates	34°50′19″S 138°28′53″E / 34.8387°S 138.4813°E / -34.8387; 138.4813
Established	1884
Abolished	1900
LGAs around Town of Semaphore: Birkenhead Port Adelaide Birkenhead Port Adelaide Town of Semaphore Portland Estate Port Adelaide Glanville Woodville Queenstown and Alberton Port Adelaide

Wards of Semaphore included Clairville, Exeter, Glanville, Largs and Scarborough,^[5] several being recognisable as the names of present-day suburbs Largs Bay, Glanville and Exeter.

It amalgamated with the corporate town of Port Adelaide on 11 November 1900.^[1]

Mayors

• Theodore Hack 1883–1885
• J. Neill (1886); first elected mayor^[6]
• J. C. Lovely (1887)^[7]
• Frederick Wallage Kennedy 1889–1891
• Philip Sansom 1891–1894^[8][9][10]
• Thomas Todd (1894–1896)^[11][12]
• William E. Deslandes 1896–1898^{[13][14][15][16]}
• Richard Bray 1898–1900^[17][18]
• Elijah Branford (1900)^[18][19]

After the amalgamation, Branford held the unique position of "Mayor of Nowhere".^[20]

References

1. Marsden, Susan (2012). (PDF). Local Government Association of South Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
2. "The Government Policy". The Port Augusta Dispatch, Newcastle and Flinders Chronicle. SA. 30 June 1893. p. 2. Retrieved 12 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "A Chronology of Semaphore". Semaphore Mainstreet Association. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
4. . South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
5. "Semaphore". The Express and Telegraph. Vol. XXIV, no. 6, 885. South Australia. 1 December 1886. p. 4. Retrieved 15 December 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "Semaphore". The South Australian Advertiser. Vol. XXVIII, no. 8463. South Australia. 2 December 1885. p. 5. Retrieved 12 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
7. "Semaphore". Evening Journal. Adelaide. 24 November 1886. p. 2. Retrieved 12 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "Semaphore". Evening Journal. Adelaide. 3 December 1892. p. 6. Retrieved 12 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
9. "Semaphore". South Australian Register. Adelaide. 25 November 1893. p. 7. Retrieved 12 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "Election Meeting at The Semaphore". Port Adelaide News and Lefevre's Peninsula Advertiser. SA. 23 November 1894. p. 1. Retrieved 12 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "The Mayor of The Semaphore". Adelaide Observer. SA. 1 June 1895. p. 16. Retrieved 12 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
12. "Semaphore". South Australian Register. Adelaide. 2 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 12 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
13. "Semaphore". Weekly Herald. Adelaide. 4 December 1896. p. 6. Retrieved 12 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
14. "Semaphore". The Express and Telegraph. Adelaide. 24 November 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 12 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
15. "Mr. W. F. Deslandes". Evening Journal. Adelaide. 25 September 1897. p. 5. Retrieved 12 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
16. "Semaphore Sports Day". South Australian Register. Adelaide. 24 September 1898. p. 4. Retrieved 12 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
17. "Semaphore". Evening Journal. Adelaide. 2 December 1898. p. 3. Retrieved 12 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
18. "Mayoralty of The Semaphore". Evening Journal. Adelaide. 14 August 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 12 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
19. "Last Mayor Of Semaphore Dead". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 30 October 1935. p. 6. Retrieved 12 November 2015 – via National Library of Australia.
20. "Mayor of Nowhere". South Australian Register. Vol. LXV, no. 16, 846. South Australia. 9 November 1900. p. 4. Retrieved 12 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.