[1][2] It came in existence as a result of a soldier settlement being developed on land adjoining Lake Bonney from 1919 onwards.
[3][4] The district council was gazetted on 17 January 1924 with its seat being located in the township of Barmera.
The district council consisted of two wards – Barmera and Cobdogla which were represented by three and two councillors respectively.
A referendum held in 1928 resulted in residents voting in favour of the proposal and the District Council petitioned the George Jenkins, the Minister of Local Government, to ask that the name change be gazetted.
Primary industry consisted of viticulture where grapes were produced for wine production within both the Riverland and the Barossa Valley, and horticulture consisting of stone fruit production intended for canning and drying, and market gardens producing vegetables for sale in Adelaide.