
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