The City of Adelaide is the gateway to Australia, and the home of the oldest municipality in the country.  Not only is Adelaide strategically located near the Centre of the network of major Capital Cities in Australia, but it is easy to get to from almost anywhere in the world. 

Founded in 1836 by Colonel William Light, Adelaide is a city which by world standards is small with just over 1 million residents, but it has big city facilities and style while maintaining the safe, clean, affordable, comfortable and convenient lifestyle of a small city.  Adelaide is also renowned for its friendly, helpful people, one in four of whom are immigrants representing 130 different ethnic backgrounds.

The City sits on the shores of the Gulf of St Vincent on a wide plain surrounded by green rolling hills under a blue clean sky with average daily temperatures of 25 degrees.  It is a city that blends picturesque wide and sunny boulevards with charming, bustling streets.

Adelaide is a vibrant, energetic, artistic City and an intelligent learning city where education has always played a key role.  The quality and diversity of the programs offered at the city's universities and wide range of public and private institutions of further education and research in the city centre give Adelaide an outstanding competitive advantage in the provision of educational services.

Indeed, Adelaide's wide ethnic and cultural background and friendly inclusive people make it the premier destination for overseas visitors.

Lord Mayor - Stephen Yarwood

Stephen is the City of Adelaide’s youngest-ever Lord Mayor. A town planner with nearly 20 years’ experience in state and local government, Stephen has dedicated his professional life to developing cities.

Stephen’s vision for Adelaide is a modern, vibrant and sustainable place to do business, live and enjoy life. He believes an economy based on innovation, education, arts and culture will make Adelaide prosperous.

One of Stephen’s primary goals is to encourage strong working relationships between all levels of government, as well as business and the general community.

Stephen was elected an Adelaide City Councillor in October 2007 and was Deputy Lord Mayor in 2009.  He is a member of the Adelaide Development Assessment Panel, Capital City Committee, Adelaide Parklands Authority, Rundle Mall Management Authority, Capital City Committee of Lord Mayors and the Metropolitan Adelaide Mayors Executive.  He is also the Presiding Member of the Local Government Association committee, overseeing the State/Local Government Climate Change Sector Agreement. 

Stephen has also served on the Adelaide Central Market Committee, Adelaide High School Governing Council and the board of the Adelaide Convention Bureau.

Stephen has an MBA, as well as post-graduate qualifications in Regional and Urban Planning and Environmental Studies.  He worked as a researcher in state parliament before joining the City of Playford as Principal Planner for six years.

Stephen has lectured in planning and management in several countries, as well as studying future cities in Tsukaba, Japan's technology city.

Stephen drives an electric car and enjoys bike riding, food, music and world travel. He lives in the heart of the CBD with his wife Emily, daughter Megan and son Oliver.