There is a light aircraft airport close to its boundary, and numerous sporting facilities, abundant parks and schools and two medium-sized shopping centres.

The most common countries of birth include Australia (64.7%), England (6.7%), India (4.8%), Afghanistan (2.8%), the Philippines (1.6%) and Vietnam (0.9%).

[citation needed] The outcrops within Para Hills are not extensive and only one quarry operated in the suburb's residential area.

Most of the streets show Salisbury council's practice of lining roadsides with Eucalypts, Acacias and other Australian native trees.

The northern boundary moved south from Wynn Vale Drive in 2002 when Gulfview Heights was declared.

By the time the area was settled by Europeans in the 1840s, introduced diseases such as smallpox had already spread from the eastern states and decimated the population.

copied a new concept from the South Australian Housing Trust's new development at Elizabeth, constructing the suburb as a self-contained neighbourhood from the outset.

Unusually fifteen percent of the land was set aside for parks,[13] arrangements were made with Woolworths (S.A.) Ltd to provide a supermarket, and with the State government for the speedy provision of a post office and school.

The houses all had three or more bedrooms, flat corrugated iron or angled tile roofs, and were constructed from bricks, modular concrete blocks or Mount Gambier freestone.

Flats were built in Barcoo Street to temporarily house intending purchasers, many of whom were travelling under assisted passage.

[12] The suburb developed quickly, fifty-five homes completed in the first six months and seventy under construction, along with sealed roads, storm water and sewerage services and gas and electricity supply.

Public transport began in 1961 with a once-daily, privately run return bus service to Adelaide.