This article is about the location in South Australia. For the former government of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, see Gilgit-Baltistan § Northern Areas.
Most of the region was first settled in the early 1840s, only a few years after the settlement of Adelaide. Several explorers had passed through the area on their way to more remote places, including Edward John Eyre and John Horrocks.
The Northern Areas Council came into effect on 3 May 1997, when the District Council of Rocky River, the District Council of Spalding and the District Council of Jamestown merged. Rocky River and Jamestown had themselves previously been subject to a number of amalgamations, and had a large number of predecessor municipalities; in contrast, the Spalding council had a much different history, as prior to the merger, it had been an independent municipality predating the landmark District Councils Act 1887.[4][5][6]