The original subdivision of Rosewater was created in 1855 by Philip Levi, when he subdivided section 1189 of the Hundred of Port Adelaide. The area just south of this, between Grand Junction and Torrens Roads, had been laid out by Osmond Gilles in 1847 and was known as "Yatala" (sections 422 and 2072, Hundred of Yatala). The area west of Levi's subdivision was farmland owned by William Henry Gray and was called Graytown (section 699, Hundred of Port Adelaide). After Gray's death, Graytown was subdivided and sold as residential lands in 1898. Many of the streets there are named after Gray and his family; Rosetta, Edith, Alice and Jane (now Jennifer Street) were all family members.