Blackwood

Blackwood is a south eastern suburb located in the foothills of Adelaide, South Australia.

Blackwood is a south eastern suburb located in the foothills of Adelaide, South Australia. It is part of the local government area of the City of Mitcham.

The name "Blackwood" most likely comes from either the Acacia melanoxylon, also known as the Australian blackwood, which grows in the nearby Mount Lofty Ranges, or the Eucalyptus odorata, which grows in Blackwood and has dark bark.The earliest reference to Blackwood was a mention of Blackwood Vale Farm in 1847, though this is in present-day Glenalta. One of the earliest places named for Blackwood was the Blackwood Inn, which opened in 1869. In 1880 it changed names to the Belair Hotel. Belair Post Office opened on 3 April 1859 and was renamed Blackwood in 1881, when the Belair office was moved some distance away. The first land grants in the area had been made in 1840, and various churches were established throughout the 19th century, but most development in Blackwood didn't take place until the Adelaide to Aldgate section of the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line was opened, with Blackwood railway station opening in 1883. Land was subdivided for housing at about the same time and the railway line was later connected all the way to Melbourne.