At a time when much working-class housing was sub-standard, on his death in 1897 the wealthy philanthropist Thomas Elder left a bequest of £25,000 expressly to provide housing, 'libraries, schools, infant nurseries, laundries, baths and washhouses and for any other purpose tending in the opinion of the trustees to the health and moral welfare of working men and working women'.

[9] The bequest resulted in the formation of Adelaide Workmen's Homes Inc, and the trustees engaged the architects Edward Davies and Charles Walter Rutt[10] to design a model estate of low-cost rental housing.

This consisted of two rows of semi-detached cottages facing each other across the street, of red brick with dressed stone façades, and featuring crenellated parapets above the entrance porches.

[11] The Mile End Goods Yard and engine sheds opened in 1912, and the Gaol Loop was built to allow freight trains to access them, bypassing Adelaide railway station.

This, along with the relocation of livestock markets and abattoirs to Pooraka (still countryside at the time), allowed the Adelaide station yards to concentrate on passenger and parcels traffic.

Mile End is also a part of the state electoral district of West Torrens, held by Labor MP Tom Koutsantonis since 2002.

Because West Torrens extends throughout the western suburbs of Adelaide, voters are mainly low to middle income earners of working-class backgrounds.

Because of the area's short distance from major business districts, a larger proportion (5.6%) walk to work, while a slightly smaller number (2.7%) use a bike.

Good connections to Adelaide's public transport network mean that 13.5% take the bus to work, while a smaller 0.5% of people use the train.