Tennyson consists of a strip of land on the east coast of Gulf St Vincent extending from a beach with a frontage of sand dunes in the west for a distance of about 450 metres (1,480 ft) to the west side of the artificial lake known as West Lakes in the east. It borders West Lakes for the full length of the part of the lake where a 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) rowing course is located. Its northern boundary is located just north of Estcourt Road while it is bounded in the south by Fort Street.[1][10]
Tennyson's boundaries were created on 30 September 1976 for land which includes the Town of Tennyson at its southern end.[1][4] On 20 April 2006, the suburb's northern boundary was altered to include land from the adjoining suburb of West Lakes Shore so that suburb boundaries aligned with those of land parcels.[11] The suburb's name is derived from the Town of Tennyson and ultimately from Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson who was the Governor of South Australia from 1899 to 1902 and who was the Governor-General of Australia from 1903 to 1904.[1][12] Tennyson Post Office opened on 18 September 1962 and closed in 1972.[13]
The Town of Tennyson was gazetted on 5 January 1905. It originally consisted of crown land on the west side of Military Road which was resumed on 30 November 1893 from an existing lease over section 108 of the cadastral unit of the Hundred of Yatala in order to eliminate damage to the sandhills caused by the grazing of cattle and the subsequent cost of keep the road clear of sand shifting from the sandhills. The town was originally surveyed in 1902 and then surveyed again in 1904 to create a revised sub-division design before allotments of land were offered for sale on 16 February 1905.[15][3][16][17]
The town was extended by proclamation on 25 January 1940 and again on 17 August 1950. On 7 October 1982, its extent was "diminished" by the removal of land. The town still exists as an administrative area and since 1982, it has consisted of land bounded by Hallam Terrace in the North, the east side of Military Road in the east, Fort Street in the south and the eastern side of the Tennyson Foreshore Reserve in the west which is considered to the "High Water Mark" by the 1982 proclamation.[15][18][19][20]
^ abJenkins, J.G. (5 January 1905). "Town of Tennyson"(PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 1. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
^ abCasey, T.M. (30 September 1976). "GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT"(PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 1035. Retrieved 15 July 2019. the Geographical Names Board has recommended that the names "West Lakes Shore", "West Lakes", "Semaphore Park", "Tennyson", "Seaton", "Grange" and "Royal Park" be assigned to the areas defined hereunder in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh schedules respectively
^Marsden, Susan (23 September 2015), A year-round holiday : the histories of West Lakes, Wakefield Press (published 2015), p. 184, ISBN978-1-74305-352-2
^Vaughan, A. (January 1905). "Tennyson : Hundred of Yatala (map)". Government of South Australia, Surveyor-General's Office. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
^McEwin, A. Lyell (25 January 1940). "AREA OF TOWN OF TENNYSON EXTENDED"(PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 118. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
^Rudall, R.J. (17 August 1950). "TOWN OF TENNYSON – AREA EXTENDED"(PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 325. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
