The first local government in Australia was formed on 31 October 1840 with the election of a mayor, three aldermen and fifteen councillors to the new Adelaide Corporation. The first mayor was James Hurtle Fisher and the first council meeting was held on 4 November 1840.

Mayors (1840-1919)

• 1st - James Hurtle Fisher (b. 1790 - d. 1875) 1840–1842
• 2nd - Thomas Wilson (b. 1787 - d. 1863) 1842–1843
• 3rd - City managed as Government Department 1843–1849
• 4th - City managed by Commissioners 1849–1852
• 5th - James Hurtle Fisher (b. 1790 - d. 1875) 1852
• 6th - James Hurtle Fisher (b. 1790 - d. 1875) 1852–1854
• 7th - Joseph Hall 1854–1855
• 8th - John Lazar 1855–1858
• 9th - William Sabben 1858–1859
• 10th - Edmund William Wright 1859
• 11th - Edward Glandfield 1859–1862
• 12th - Thomas English 1862–1863
• 13th - Samuel Goode 1863–1864
• 14th - William Townsend 1864–1866
• 15th - Henry Robert Fuller 1866–1869
• 16th - Judah Moss Solomon 1869–1871
• 17th - Adolph Heinrich Friedrich Bartels 1871–1873
• 18th - William Dixon Allot 1873–1874
• 19th - John Colton 1874–1875
• 20th - Caleb Peacock 1875–1877
• 21st - Henry Scott 1877–1878
• 22nd - William Christie Buik 1878–1879
• 23rd - Edwin Thomas Smith 1879–1882
• 24th - Henry Robert Fuller 1882–1883
• 25th - William Bundey 1883–1886
• 26th - Edwin Thomas Smith 1886–1887
• 27th - Sir Edwin Thomas Smith 1887–1888
• 28th - James Shaw 1888–1889
• 29th - Lewis Cohen 1889–1890
• 30th - Frederick William Bullock 1891–1892
• 31st - Charles Willcox 1892–1894
• 32nd - Charles Tucker 1894–1898
• 33rd - Arthur Wellington Ware (b. 1861 - d. 1927) 1898–1901
• 34th - Lewis Cohen 1901–1904
• 35th - Theodore Bruce 1904–1907
• 36th - Frank Johnson 1907–1909
• 37th - Lewis Cohen 1909–1911
• 38th - Sir John Lavington Bonython 1911–1913
• 39th - Alfred Allen Simpson 1913–1915
• 40th - Isaac Isaacs 1915–1917
• 41st - Charles Richmond Glover 1917–1919

Lord Mayors (since 1919)

• 41st Charles Richmond Glover 1919
• 42nd Frank Beaumont Moulden 1919–1921
• 43rd Lewis Cohen 1921–1923
• 44th Charles Richmond Glover 1923–1925
• 45th Wallace Bruce 1925–1926
• 46th Sir Wallace Bruce 1926–1927
• 47th Sir John Lavington Bonython 1927–1930
• 48th Charles Richmond Glover 1930–1933
• 49th Jonathan Robert Cain 1933–1935
• 50th Jonathan Robert Cain 1935–1936
• 51st Sir Jonathan Robert Cain 1936–1937
• 52nd Arthur George Barrett 1937–1941
• 53rd LtCol Arden Seymour Hawker 1941–1942
• 54th Col Arden Seymour Hawker 1942–1943
• 55th Reginald Walker 1943–1946
• 56th John McLeay 1946–1949
• 57th Arthur Earnest William Short 1949–1950
• 58th John McLeay 1949–1950
• 59th Arthur Campbell Rymill 1950–1953
• 60th John Scott Philps 1954–1957
• 61st Lancelot Morton Spiller Hargrave 1957–1960
• 62nd Charles John Glover 1960–1963
• 63rd James Campbell Irwin 1963–1966
• 64th Walter Lewis Bridgland 1966–1968
• 65th Robert Evelyn Porter 1968–1971
• 66th William Hubert Hayes 1971–1973
• 67th Robert Wyndham Clampett 1973–1975
• 68th John Justin Roche 1975–1977
• 69th George Joseph 1977–1979
• 70th James Vincent Seaton Bowen 1979–1981
• 71st Arthur John Watson 1981–1983
• 72nd Wendy Chapman 1983–1985
• 73rd James Bickford Jarvis 1985–1987
• 74th Steve George Condous 1987–1993
• 75th Henry Jacques Ninio 1993–1997
• 76th Dr Jane Lomax-Smith 1997–2000
• 77th Alfred Huang 2000–2003
• 78th Michael Harbison 2003–2006
• 79th Michael Harbison 2006–2009
• 80th Stephen Yarwood 2009–present