House Extensions in Mitcham

A village from 1853

Mitcham was created as a village on 12 May 1853 and was once called Mitcham Village. It is an inner-southern suburb and the seat of the City of Mitcham, named after the Parish of Mitcham in Surrey. It started as an ancillary to a sheep station at Brown Hill Creek belonging to the South Australia Company.

Governance and electorates

The suburb is the seat of the Mitcham Council. It lies in the federal electorate of Boothby and the state electorate of Waite. Council is the first place to ask about approvals, trees and drainage. Ask each builder who in the business deals with the council and how long they say that usually takes, then write the answer in the contract.

The village green

About 150 Kaurna people once camped at Wirraparinga, now Mitcham Reserve, which was used as the village green and was known for many years as Brown Hill Creek reserve. If your block is near the creek, ask the council about flood mapping, and ask each builder whether your site needs any drainage design as part of the plans.

A training camp and Colonel Light Gardens

In 1915 the Mitcham Military Training Camp opened on a 300-acre site that had been Grange Farm. About 33,000 volunteers passed through before it closed in 1919, and 6,000 did not return. The site is now Colonel Light Gardens, a State Heritage area. If your house is in or near a heritage area, ask the council what applies.

An orphan home

In 1909 the Church of England Orphan Home for Girls moved to Fullarton Road in Upper Mitcham. Ask a builder to inspect an older house of that period before pricing a join, and ask what they would test first, whether footings, damp, wiring or the roof.

Trees and the hills edge

Mitcham is one of only three Australian councils, with Unley and Burnside, designated Tree Cities of the World as of July 2020. Many blocks have mature trees. Ask the council whether any tree near your planned extension is regulated, and ask each builder how they would protect roots during the dig.

The cost of structural work

One guide puts a load-bearing wall removal at $8,000 to $25,000, covering the beam, propping and engineering, and a 60 square metre open-plan living addition at $150,000 to $225,000 with a structural allowance extra. These are guide ranges and not Mitcham quotes. Ask every business to list structural items on separate lines so quotes can be compared.

Notable residents

Wikipedia lists a surgeon and soldier, Major Rupert Downes, a conservationist, Hedley Finlayson, and a botanist, Joseph Garnett Wood, among Mitcham's notable residents. We have no figures on gardens in Mitcham. Ask each builder how they would protect your garden, where machines would run and who repairs any damage to paving or lawn.

Licence and approvals

The public register lets you confirm a contractor's licence details before any deposit moves. Ask whether the plans need council consent, who lodges them, and who pays for the insurance that SA law expects on approved domestic work from $20,000. Insist on seeing the certificate before the first day on site.

When was Mitcham created?

As a village on 12 May 1853.

What was the Mitcham Camp?

A military training camp on the former Grange Farm site, open from 1915 to 1919.

Does Mitcham have a tree designation?

Yes. As of July 2020 Mitcham, Unley and Burnside were the only three Australian councils with Tree Cities of the World status.