[1] The ephemeral wetland was known as Witongga tarto (meaning 'low swampy reed country') to the indigenous Kaurna people.
[2] The wetlands were inundated annually by the winter flows of the River Torrens, and supported an abundance of wildlife, a valuable source of food for the Kaurna people during their summer camps along the coastal barrier dunes.
The area of the Reedbeds is roughly congruent with the present-day suburbs of Cowandilla, Fulham,[3] Lockleys, Underdale and West Beach, including the Adelaide Airport.
He acquired 160 hectares (390 acres) of land in the northern portion and built his home there in 1840, naming it The Grange.
He was succeeded by his son Samuel White (c. 1835 – 16 November 1880), and grandson Samuel Albert White (1870–1954)[5] A typical settler in the area may have been James Leason (c. 1821 – 29 July 1908), an undistinguished but hard-working and enterprising farmer who took over "St James farm" in 1859, and when he left the area in 1877 his lease of 120 hectares (300 acres) had 96 hectares (236 acres) under wheat, and was running 27 horses and 36 fat cattle.