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Housing, property and land

Suburb, road and place naming

On this page you will find information about: 

Public and private roads 
Finding a place name 
Determining your suburb or locality name

Public and private roads

Public roads are the responsibility of the local councils. They name and maintain all public roads, including: 
  • roads 
  • streets 
  • laneways 
  • walkways 
  • right of way thoroughfares.
Local councils have guidelines (PDF 89KB) to help select suitable road names and types, and how they can be set or changed. For an alternative version of this document contact the Land Services Group.

Roads outside council districts under the care of the Highways Commissioner.

Private roads are where some title other than the council still exists. This may be a legacy of the way the road was originally created. Under the Local Government Act these roads can be declared public.

You can find out if a road is public or private by:  If you have a questions about road closures contact LSG for information.

Contact your local council if you are: 
  • interested in changing the name of a public road 
  • interested in purchasing or accessing part of a public road 
  • trying to determine if a road is public or private 
  • enquiring about changing a private road to a public road.

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Finding a place name

You can find current place names by: 
You can find historical place names by: 
You are likely to come across some unfamiliar terms when searching.
The term ”government town” is a unique land description for land in gazetted Towns under the Crown Lands Act. Parcels of land within the town are referred to as allotments.

In South Australia a "hundred" is a subdivision of land of an irregular size. Historically land was divided into counties and when these proved to be too large to manage, it was further divided into hundreds. Some counties are only partially subdivided and a few have never been subdivided. 

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Determining your suburb or locality name

To find the name of your suburb or locality you can: 

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More information

Other websites 
Geographical names guidelines
Find your local council
What’s in a placename - Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping

Legislation 
Geographical Names Act 1991 
Local Government Act 1999 
Crown Land Management Act 2009


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