Light Regional Council is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

north of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. It is based in the town of

Kapunda Kapunda is a town on the Light River near the Barossa Valley in South Australia. It was established after a discovery in 1842 of significant copper deposits. The population was 2,917 at the 2016 Australian census. The southern entrance to th ...

, and includes the towns of Freeling,

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

, Hansborough, Hewett, Roseworthy and Wasleys. The council is named for the

River Light The Light River (Kaurna: ''Yarralinka''), commonly called the River Light, is a seasonal and significant river in the Mid North region of the Australian state of South Australia named for early surveyor William Light. The River Light has give ...

, the south bank of which forms much of the council area's northwest border. The river is named after

William Light William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839) was a British military officer and colonial administrator. He was the first Surveyor General of South Australia, Surveyor-General of the History of South Australia#British preparation for est ...

, the first

Surveyor-General of South Australia The Surveyor General of South Australia (also stylised Surveyor-General) is a position originally created for the Surveyor General for the colony of South Australia. The post is held by an official responsible for government surveying Sur ...

History

The council came into existence on 1 March 1996 as the District Council of Light and Kapunda by the amalgamation of the District Council of Light and the

District Council of Kapunda The District Council of Kapunda was a local government area in South Australia from 1866 to 1996. The Kapunda town corporation was formed a year earlier in 1865 and ultimately amalgamated into the district council. History The Corporate Town of ...

. The council changed to the current name of Light Regional Council on 1 July 2000.

Geography

The council includes the localities of Allendale North, Bagot Well,

Bethel Bethel (, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; ; ) was an ancient Israelite city and sacred space that is frequently mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Bet ...

, Daveyston, Ebenezer, Fords, Freeling, Gawler Belt, Gawler River,

Gomersal Gomersal is a town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England. It is south of Bradford, south west of Leeds. east of Cleckheaton and north of Heckmondwike. It is close to the River Spen and forms part of the Heavy Woollen District ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Hewett, Kangaroo Flat,

, Kingsford, Koonunga,

Linwood Linwood may refer to: Places Many of the place names for Linwood come from the presence of linden trees. Australia * Linwood, South Australia *Linnwood, Guildford, 11-35 Byron Road, Guildford, New South Wales Canada * Linwood, Ontario * Linwood, ...

Magdala Magdala (; ; ) was an ancient Jews, Jewish city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, north of Tiberias. In the Babylonian Talmud it is known as Magdala Nunayya (), and which some historical geographers think may refer to Tarichaea (). It is belie ...

, Marananga, Moppa, Morn Hill, Nain, Pinkerton Plains, Roseworthy, Seppeltsfield, Shea-Oak Log, St Johns,

St Kitts Saint Kitts, officially Saint Christopher, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one ...

, Stone Well, Tanunda,

Templers Templers may refer to: * Templers, South Australia is a town in South Australia * Templers (religious believers) The German Templer Society, also known as Templers, is a Radical Pietist group that emerged in Germany during the mid-nineteenth ...

, Ward Belt, Wasleys and Woolsheds, and parts of

Hamley Bridge Hamley Bridge is a community in South Australia located at the junction of the Gilbert and Light rivers, as well as the site of a former railway junction. Named by the government of the day, in honour of the Acting Governor of South Australia L ...

, Hansborough,

Lyndoch Lyndoch is a town in Barossa Valley, located on the Barossa Valley Highway between Gawler, South Australia, Gawler and Tanunda, South Australia, Tanunda, 58 km northeast of Adelaide. The town has an elevation of 175m and an average Precipi ...

, Nuriootpa, Reeves Plains, Rosedale, Rowland Flat,

Stockwell Stockwell is a district located in South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. History The name Stockwell is likely to have originated from a local well, with "stoc" being Old Englis ...

and

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

Transport

The council district is crossed by the

Horrocks Highway Horrocks Highway is a major north–south arterial route through regional South Australia, between Quorn in the Flinders Ranges, and Gawler, on the north-eastern fringe of suburban Adelaide. Route Horrocks Highway commences at the intersectio ...

Thiele Highway Thiele Highway is a road in South Australia connecting the outskirts of Adelaide to the north-west bend of the River Murray at Morgan, South Australia. It is named after author Colin Thiele ( ), who lived most of his life in towns along the rou ...

and

Sturt Highway Sturt Highway is an Australian national highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight between Sydney and Adelaide and the regions along the route. Initiall ...

, all radiating from the northern end of the

Gawler Bypass Road Gawler Bypass is a major north–south route in the outer northern suburbs of the city of Adelaide, South Australia, connecting Main North Road to the Sturt Highway, bypassing Gawler. The route was built in 1963 in an attempt to redirect traffic ...

which forms the boundary between Light Regional Council and the

Town of Gawler The Town of Gawler is a local government area located north of Adelaide city centre in South Australia containing Gawler and its suburbs. The corporate town was established in 1857 due to the township's residents' dissatisfaction at being govern ...

. Light also contains the northern end of the

Max Fatchen Expressway Northern Expressway (also known as the Fatchen Northern Expressway) is a 21 kilometre long controlled-access highway in Adelaide, South Australia. Since March 2020, the North–South Motorway continues west of Port Wakefield Highway and interse ...

. The council was also spanned by the

Morgan railway line The Morgan railway line or North-West Bend railway was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network. History The first section of the line opened from Gawler railway station, Gawler. It was built to service the copper mining at Kap ...

(

Gawler Gawler, established in 1839, is the oldest country town in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the st ...

, Roseworthy, Freeling,

toward

Eudunda Eudunda is a town in the Mid North region of South Australia, situated 110 kilometres northeast of Adelaide in the Regional Council of Goyder. As of 2021, Eudunda had a population of 815 people. Eudunda is known as the birthplace of author and ed ...

) and

Peterborough railway line Peterborough ( ) is a cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. As of the 2021 census, Peterborough had a population of 192,178, whi ...

(from the junction at Roseworthy through Wasleys toward

). Both lines closed in the early 21st century.

Councillors

The Light Regional Council has a directly elected mayor. On 18 March 2025 Michael Phillips-Ryder commenced as Acting Mayor for the Light Regional Council following the resignation of former Mayor, Bill O'Brien, at a Special Council Meeting on 4 March 2025 with the Council voting for Michael Phillips-Ryder to act in the role in the interim

References

External links