[2] The Kaurna people, the Traditional Owners of the Adelaide Plains, were the first to live in this area and have cared for the land for thousands of years.

Before Magill was established in 1838, the area was a woodland with widely spaced gums over native grasses and some small shrubs.

[3] The suburb of Magill was first established as the 524-acre (2.12 km2) Makgill Estate, owned by two Scotsmen, Robert Cock and William Ferguson, who met en route to the newly founded colony of South Australia when sailing out from Portsmouth on HMS Buffalo.

They formed a partnership as a carrier and merchant following their arrival on 28 December 1836,[2] and purchased Section 285, which was named after Cock's trustee, David M. Makgill.

The area surrounding the original Magill village was initially characterised by large estates set amidst vineyards and orchards, particularly to the north of Magill Road: the blocks of the first subdivisions to the south were also large enough for the planting of orchards.

There were a range of services within the village such as a blacksmith, tearooms, chaff mill, hotels, butchery and post office.