As early as November 1838, plots of land "fronting the new road to the harbour" had been created from subdivisions in the new village of Prospect and were being publicly advertised for sale. These subdivided sections came to be known as Prospect Village. Early attempts to garden in the vicinity of Prospect failed as the soil is naturally dry, the nearest source of water then being the River Torrens. For many years blocks of land in the area remained unfenced and, in springtime, livestock from nearby areas were not prevented from feeding on the thick grass growing on the hills of Prospect.