Springfield is an outer suburb of the South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

n capital city of Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

. It is located in the foothills

Adelaide Hills

The Adelaide Hills are part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is unofficially centred on the largest town in the area, Mount Barker, which has a population of around 29,000 and is also one of Australia's fastest growing towns.- History :The...

 of the Mount Lofty Ranges

Mount Lofty Ranges

The Mount Lofty Ranges are the range of mountains just to the east of Adelaide in South Australia.-Location and description:The Mount Lofty Ranges stretch from the southernmost point of the Fleurieu Peninsula at Cape Jervis northwards for over before petering out north of Peterborough...

; around 8 kilometres (5 mi) south-east of Adelaide's Central Business District

Central business district

A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

. For the most part; the suburb is encompassed on a sloped portion of the Mounty Lofty Ranges, surrounded by tall oaks and encapsulating sweeping views of the Adelaide Metropolitan area. Springfield is an affluent area of Adelaide; with many residences and estates being within South Australia's most valuable properties.

Springfield is bounded to the North by the suburbs of Kingswood

Kingswood, South Australia

Kingswood is a suburb of the Australian city of Adelaide in the City of Mitcham. It is bordered in the west by Belair Road, to the north by Cross Road, to the south by Princess Road and to the east by Smith Dorrien Street....

 and Netherby

Netherby, South Australia

Netherby is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Mitcham.Unley High School and Urrbrae Agricultural High School are located in the suburb.-References:...

, to the west by Torrens Park

Torrens Park, South Australia

Torrens Park is a mainly residential inner-southern suburb of Adelaide, incorporating some of the foothills and adjacent to the original "Mitcham Village"....

 and Lower Mitcham

Lower Mitcham, South Australia

Lower Mitcham is an inner southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the local government area of Mitcham. To the north, it is bounded by Grange Road, to the east by Belair Road, to the south by Murray Street...

, to the south by Mitcham

Mitcham, South Australia

Mitcham is a suburb of Adelaide in the City of Mitcham.Created as a village separate from Adelaide , it was ancillary to a sheep station at Brown Hill Creek belonging to the South Australia Company. Prior to European settlement the area was inhabited by the Kaurna aboriginal people...

 and Brown Hill Creek

Brown Hill Creek, South Australia

Brown Hill Creek is a south-eastern suburb of Adelaide in the City of Mitcham in South Australia....

, and to the east by Leawood Gardens

Leawood Gardens, South Australia

Leawood Gardens is a small suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in both the City of Mitcham and the City of Burnside located in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills....

 and Urrbrae

Urrbrae, South Australia

Urrbrae is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the City of Mitcham.Located at the foot of the Adelaide Hills, it is bordered on the east by the South Eastern Freeway, and the Old Toll House, which marked the traditional entrance to the city of Adelaide in the 19th...

.

History

Situated on the north east side of the Mitcham district, the land was first purchased from the crown in 1841 by Richard F. Newland, manager of the Bank of Australasia. By 1870, Charles B. Hardy was making extensive additions to a residence named "Springfield", laying out extensive gardens and adding to the acreage of the estate.
Fifty years ago, the area was purchased from Mr. Frank Rymill by Springfield Limited which boasted a subdivisional design "entirely different from any previous scheme or organised suburban development in South Australia".

Demographics

In the 2006 Australian census; there were 541 people residing in Springfield, of which 255 were Male and 286 were Female. 59.8% of the population were either Professionals or Managers, working primarily in the Medical, Legal and Accounting sectors.

Residents were also relatively religious; citing the Anglican, Catholic and Uniting Churches of Western Christianity as their preferred choice of religion. In addition, 16.1% of residents identified themselves as having no religious affiliation.

Attractions

The Springfield area has numerous attractions; including Carrick Hill

Carrick Hill

Carrick Hill is a publicly accessible property at the foot of the Adelaide hills, in the suburb of Springfield, in South Australia. It was the Adelaide home of Sir Edward "Bill" Hayward and his wife Lady Ursula , and contains a large collection of drawings, sculptures, antiques and paintings...

 and the Mitcham Square Shopping Centre

Mitcham Square Shopping Centre

Mitcham Square Shopping Centre is a shopping mall in the City of Mitcham, located on Belair Road, Torrens Park, an inner southern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia...

.

Carrick Hill is a property accessible to the public that was established in the 1930s by Bill Hayward

Edward Hayward

Sir Edward Waterfield Hayward was an Australian businessman, best known for owning and managing John Martin's, a chain of department stores in Adelaide, South Australia, and for instigating the Adelaide Christmas Pageant....

 and his wife, Lady Ursula, while the Mitcham Square Shopping Centre is a medium sized shopping precinct, with a Woolworths

Woolworths Limited

Woolworths Limited is a major Australian company with extensive retail interest throughout Australia and New Zealand. It is the:* largest retail company in Australia and New Zealand by market capitalisation and sales...

 supermarket, a seven screen Wallis Cimena complex

Wallis Cinemas

Wallis Cinemas is a South Australian company that operates cinema complexes, cinemas and drive-ins in the city of Adelaide and its suburbs.-History:...

, and numerous specialty stores.

Governance

Springfield lies in the City of Mitcham

City of Mitcham

The City of Mitcham is a Local Government Area situated in the foothills of eastern Adelaide, South Australia. Within its bounds is Flinders University, South Australia's third largest....

, the State Electoral division of Waite

Electoral district of Waite

Waite is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. Named after Peter Waite, a 19th entrepreneur and philanthropist in the current area of the electorate, it is a 30.6km² urban electorate in Adelaide's inner south-eastern suburbs, taking in the...

 and the safe Liberal

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 seat of Boothby

Division of Boothby

The Division of Boothby is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia. The division was created in 1903 and is named after William Boothby , the Returning Officer for the first election of Members of the House of Representatives in 1901....

, led by Andrew Southcott

Andrew Southcott

Andrew John Southcott MP is an Australian politician and medical practitioner. He has been the Liberal Party member for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Boothby, South Australia, since the 1996 election.-Early life:...

.

Education

Sprinfield is also home to Mercedes College

Mercedes College (Adelaide)

Mercedes College is a Catholic, co-educational day school located in Springfield a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia.It was established by the Sisters of Mercy in 1954. Originally a boarding school for girls, it is now a coeducational school...

 and the rear portion of the University of Adelaide's

University of Adelaide

The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...

agriculturally dominated Waite Campus.