Port Adelaide

Port Adelaide Adelaide, South Australia
Clockwise, from top: Port Adelaide Lighthouse and Shed 1, Hart's Mill, Port River Dolphin, Alberton Oval, Birkenhead Bridge, Wool Stores
Coordinates	34°50′46″S 138°30′11″E / 34.846°S 138.503°E / -34.846; 138.503Coordinates: 34°50′46″S 138°30′11″E / 34.846°S 138.503°E / -34.846; 138.503,
Population	Suburb: 1,293 (2011 Census) City: 123,754 (2015 Census)
Established	1836
Postcode(s)	5015
Location	14 km (9 mi) from Adelaide CBD
LGA(s)	City of Port Adelaide Enfield
State electorate(s)	Port Adelaide
Federal Division(s)	Port Adelaide
Suburbs around Port Adelaide: Taperoo Torrens Island Garden Island Largs North Largs Bay Peterhead Birkenhead New Port Glanville Ethelton Port Adelaide Gillman Semaphore Park West Lakes Queenstown Alberton Rosewater
Footnotes	Adjoining suburbs

Port Adelaide is the name of a region of Adelaide, approximately 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the city of Adelaide. Port Adelaide played an important role in the formative decades of Adelaide and South Australia, with the port being early Adelaide's main supply and information link to the rest of the world.

Prior to European settlement Port Adelaide was covered with mangrove swamps and tidal mud flats, and lay next to a narrow creek. The entrance to this creek, the Port River, was first reported in 1831. It was explored by Europeans when Captain Henry Jones entered in 1834. The creek's main channel was then fed by numerous smaller creeks, and was 2–4 fathoms (4–7 m) deep. The navigable channel was narrow and the creek soon faded into swamps and sandhills. At low tide the channel was surrounded by mudbanks. Dry and solid land ended near present-day Alberton.

Colonel William Light began closely exploring the area in late 1836 while deciding on a site for the colony of South Australia's port. After initial trepidation, he reported to the Colonisation Commissioners that the location was a suitable harbour. By this time it had acquired the name "the port creek". Light's choice of separating the port and Adelaide was strongly opposed by a few merchants, a newspaper and Governor John Hindmarsh. This opposition was largely based on the distance between them. The division of power in the colony meant that the final decision was Light's alone. He kept Adelaide and the port separate principally due to the lack of fresh water at the port.

The effective foundation day of Port Adelaide was 6 January 1837. On this day the first harbourmaster, Captain Thomas Lipson (Royal Navy), took up residence with his family on the edge of Port Creek. The new port was used for shipping later that month, and passengers began disembarking the next. At this point the site was known as The Port Creek Settlement.