Kambah, Australian Capital Territory
Encyclopedia
Kambah is the northernmost suburb in the district of Tuggeranong, Canberra
. It is located just south of the Mount Taylor in the Canberra Nature Park
. It is located north of the suburbs of Greenway
and Wanniassa
. It is bounded by Sulwood Drive to the north and Athllon Drive to the south east.
Kambah was not designed according to the 'neighbourhood' philosophy guiding the design of other Canberra suburbs
and is the largest suburb in the city with an area of 1130 ha. The suburb name was gazetted on 22 March 1973 and it was first settled in 1974 and consists predominantly of detached single storey suburban houses. It was the first suburb in the satellite city of Tuggeranong. Originally it was intended to be four separate suburbs, but only one name was available. [Explain?] Kambah was named after the Kambah Homestead which was originally located in the Tuggeranong district. The name Kambah derives from Ngambri
, the name of the clan that originally lived in the area before European occupation. The same word is the origin for the name Canberra.
In 2009, Kambah was voted the top ten bogan
suburbs in Australia, according to the Punch Magazine.
, and the Kambah Woolshed is located in the suburb.
that had lost its building in Holder
during the 2003 Canberra bushfires
. The new building caused some controversy, as the imposing structure was built on what had been open grassland next to the fire station, and in a very prominent location on the Tuggeranong Parkway
.
Located in the north of the suburb is the group centre
called Kambah Village. It has a supermarket, service station, hotel, clubs and many smaller shops and businesses. Located in the south is the Drakeford Drive Corridor; this has evolved into the Kambah Centre, a medium sized community centre with a health centre, a storage facility, a service station, indoor sports facility, a Baptist Church, two Buddhist
centres and a Jehovah's Witnesses
centre. One of the car parks is used for model car racing by the ACT Remote Control Car Club. Kambah also has several smaller local centres scattered around the suburb.
Kambah High School was a secondary school for years 7-10. It had Kambah and Greenway
as its main intake area. At the end of 2007 the school educated around 140 students and employed around 20 staff. Kambah High was also closed at the conclusion of the 2007 school year as part of the ACT's Towards 2020 education reforms, having operated for 31 years. Currently, the ACT Government plans to build a new P-10 school on the current Kambah High site. Tuggeranong School will open in 2011, and this will lead to discussion on closing Urambi Primary or amalgamating it into the new institution.
In addition to public education, St. Thomas the Apostle Primary School is located in Kambah. St Thomas the Apostle Primary opened in 1977, and is a systemic Catholic primary school, under the direction of the Canberra Goulburn Catholic Education Office
. St Thomas the Apostle Primary is attached to the St Thomas the Apostle Parish.
, one of Australia's major rivers. Surrounding hills include Mount Taylor, Arawang Hill, Mount Neighbour, McQuoids Hill, Forster Hill on the north side, and Urambi Hills on the south west side. Most of Kambah is occupied by the Village Creek Valley, but it also extends into Allens Creek and McQuoids Creek Valleys closer to the Murrumbidgee.
On the Murrumbidgee itself is the Red Rocks Gorge and Kambah Pool, a swimming hole. Kambah pool is the main swimming and fishing destination for South Canberrans. Kambah is home to many different types of fish (particularly carp) and mammals.
volcanics.
Rhyodacitic ignimbrite
in the form of grey rhyodacitic and dacitic
crystal tuff
is under most of Kambah apart from the eastern corner. These are Laidlaw Volcanics aged 420.7±2.2 mya of Ludlow Age.
In the east of Kambah alongside Athllon Drive can be found green-grey, purple and cream rhyolite
, agglomerate
, purple tuff or rhyodacite
. In a band just to the west of this is red-purple and green-grey rhyodacite. This material is from the Deakin Volcanics and is older than the Laidlaw Volcanics. Also around Kambah on some of the hills are outcroppings of a coarse pink-brown rhyodacitic intrusion of porphyry
. These intrusions can be found on Neighbour Hill, Forster Hill, McQuoids Hill, and the east and south east of Mount Taylor also around Menzie Place and another patch around the south of Mount Neighbour pre school. These intrusions were likely the necks of volcanoes that erupted the other tuff and dacite in the area.
A Cenozoic
age dyke of Teschenite intrudes the Laidlaw ignimbrite in the Kambah Pool and Red Rocks Gorge area.
Quaternary
alluvium
covers the ground around the upper reaches of Village creek, around Drakeford Drive. A fault runs from the north west in Allchin Circuit to the south east under Urambi primary school.
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. It is located just south of the Mount Taylor in the Canberra Nature Park
Canberra Nature Park
The Canberra Nature Park is actually 30 separate protected areas in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, ranging from bushland hills to lowland native grassland...
. It is located north of the suburbs of Greenway
Greenway, Australian Capital Territory
Greenway is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district of Tuggeranong. The postcode is 2900. The suburb is named after the architect, Francis Greenway . It was gazetted on 17 October 1986. The streets are named after architects...
and Wanniassa
Wanniassa, Australian Capital Territory
Wanniassa is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district of Tuggeranong. It is located towards the north of the district. The suburb takes its name from a pastoral property granted to Thomas McQuoid in 1835, which he named after Wanajassa in West Java, Indonesia, where McQuoid had previously...
. It is bounded by Sulwood Drive to the north and Athllon Drive to the south east.
Kambah was not designed according to the 'neighbourhood' philosophy guiding the design of other Canberra suburbs
Suburbs of Canberra
The suburbs of Canberra are organised into a hierarchy of districts, town centres, group centres, local suburbs and other industrial areas and villages...
and is the largest suburb in the city with an area of 1130 ha. The suburb name was gazetted on 22 March 1973 and it was first settled in 1974 and consists predominantly of detached single storey suburban houses. It was the first suburb in the satellite city of Tuggeranong. Originally it was intended to be four separate suburbs, but only one name was available. [Explain?] Kambah was named after the Kambah Homestead which was originally located in the Tuggeranong district. The name Kambah derives from Ngambri
Ngambri
Ngambri or Kamberri is the name of the ancestral group and their descendants after whom the capital of Australia, Canberra, is named.Since the Native Title Act was passed in 1994, the mainly Yass- and Boorowa-based Ngunnawal have been asserting their claims to be the 'rightful traditional...
, the name of the clan that originally lived in the area before European occupation. The same word is the origin for the name Canberra.
In 2009, Kambah was voted the top ten bogan
Bogan
The term bogan is Australian slang, usually pejorative or self-deprecating, for an individual who is recognised to be from a lower class background or someone whose limited education, speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour exemplifies such a background....
suburbs in Australia, according to the Punch Magazine.
Amenities
The Murrumbidgee Country Club is located in Kambah, and Kambah also has three district playing fields and a tennis club. The Kambah Pony Club and Vikings BMX Park are located in the north of the suburb. Kambah has two Scout hallsScouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
, and the Kambah Woolshed is located in the suburb.
Churches
Several churches are located in Kambah. St. Stephen's Anglican Church, St. Thomas Catholic Church, the Christian City Church and the Tuggeranong Baptist Church were joined in 2007 by Parkway, an Apostolic ChurchApostolic Church
The Apostolic Church is a Pentecostal Christian denomination which can trace its origins back to the 1904-1905 Welsh Revival. Despite the relatively recent origin of the denomination, the church seeks to stand for first century Christianity in its faith, practices, and government.The purpose of the...
that had lost its building in Holder
Holder, Australian Capital Territory
The suburb of Holder is a part of the Weston Creek District of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, and is located 13 km to the southwest of the Canberra city centre...
during the 2003 Canberra bushfires
2003 Canberra bushfires
The Canberra bushfires of 2003 caused severe damage to the outskirts of Canberra, the Australian capital city. Almost 70% of the Australian Capital Territory’s pasture, forests and nature parks were severely damaged, and most of the renowned Mount Stromlo Observatory was destroyed...
. The new building caused some controversy, as the imposing structure was built on what had been open grassland next to the fire station, and in a very prominent location on the Tuggeranong Parkway
Tuggeranong Parkway
The Tuggeranong Parkway is a major dual carriageway link in Canberra, Australia. Often referred to as "The Parkway" by locals, the Tuggeranong Parkway links Civic to the southern Canberra metro district of Tuggeranong, and is a bypass road to the Woden Valley-Weston Creek district of Canberra...
.
Shopping centres
Suburbs of Canberra
The suburbs of Canberra are organised into a hierarchy of districts, town centres, group centres, local suburbs and other industrial areas and villages...
called Kambah Village. It has a supermarket, service station, hotel, clubs and many smaller shops and businesses. Located in the south is the Drakeford Drive Corridor; this has evolved into the Kambah Centre, a medium sized community centre with a health centre, a storage facility, a service station, indoor sports facility, a Baptist Church, two Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
centres and a Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
centre. One of the car parks is used for model car racing by the ACT Remote Control Car Club. Kambah also has several smaller local centres scattered around the suburb.
Schools
Originally, four public primary schools operated in Kambah: Mount Neighbour Primary School, Taylor Primary School, Urambi Primary School and Village Creek Primary School. Under the ACT Government's Towards 2020 plan, Mount Neighbour Primary closed at the end of the 2006 school year with Village Creek Primary following at the end of 2007. The Learning Support Unit relocated from Mount Neighbour to Urambi Primary School at the end of 2006 and the Tuggeranong Primary Introductory English Centre relocated from Village Creek Primary School to Urambi Primary School at the end of 2007. The preschools associated with Mount Neighbour Primary and Village Creek Primary will develop relationships with Urambi Primary and Taylor Primary respectively; Village Creek Preschool will close at the end of 2010. Urambi Primary School will close at the end of 2010.Kambah High School was a secondary school for years 7-10. It had Kambah and Greenway
Greenway, Australian Capital Territory
Greenway is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district of Tuggeranong. The postcode is 2900. The suburb is named after the architect, Francis Greenway . It was gazetted on 17 October 1986. The streets are named after architects...
as its main intake area. At the end of 2007 the school educated around 140 students and employed around 20 staff. Kambah High was also closed at the conclusion of the 2007 school year as part of the ACT's Towards 2020 education reforms, having operated for 31 years. Currently, the ACT Government plans to build a new P-10 school on the current Kambah High site. Tuggeranong School will open in 2011, and this will lead to discussion on closing Urambi Primary or amalgamating it into the new institution.
In addition to public education, St. Thomas the Apostle Primary School is located in Kambah. St Thomas the Apostle Primary opened in 1977, and is a systemic Catholic primary school, under the direction of the Canberra Goulburn Catholic Education Office
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of CanberraGoulburn is a Latin rite archdiocese located in the Australian Capital Territory and the South West Slopes, Southern Tablelands, Monaro and South Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia...
. St Thomas the Apostle Primary is attached to the St Thomas the Apostle Parish.
Physical features
West of Kambah is the Murrumbidgee RiverMurrumbidgee River
The Murrumbidgee River is a major river in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory . A major tributary of the Murray River, the Murrumbidgee flows in a west-northwesterly direction from the foot of Peppercorn Hill in the Fiery Range of the Snowy Mountains,...
, one of Australia's major rivers. Surrounding hills include Mount Taylor, Arawang Hill, Mount Neighbour, McQuoids Hill, Forster Hill on the north side, and Urambi Hills on the south west side. Most of Kambah is occupied by the Village Creek Valley, but it also extends into Allens Creek and McQuoids Creek Valleys closer to the Murrumbidgee.
On the Murrumbidgee itself is the Red Rocks Gorge and Kambah Pool, a swimming hole. Kambah pool is the main swimming and fishing destination for South Canberrans. Kambah is home to many different types of fish (particularly carp) and mammals.
Geology
Kambah is underlain by SilurianSilurian
The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Devonian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...
volcanics.
Rhyodacitic ignimbrite
Ignimbrite
An ignimbrite is the deposit of a pyroclastic density current, or pyroclastic flow, a hot suspension of particles and gases that flows rapidly from a volcano, driven by a greater density than the surrounding atmosphere....
in the form of grey rhyodacitic and dacitic
Dacite
Dacite is an igneous, volcanic rock. It has an aphanitic to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. The relative proportions of feldspars and quartz in dacite, and in many other volcanic rocks, are illustrated in the QAPF diagram...
crystal tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
is under most of Kambah apart from the eastern corner. These are Laidlaw Volcanics aged 420.7±2.2 mya of Ludlow Age.
In the east of Kambah alongside Athllon Drive can be found green-grey, purple and cream rhyolite
Rhyolite
This page is about a volcanic rock. For the ghost town see Rhyolite, Nevada, and for the satellite system, see Rhyolite/Aquacade.Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic rock, of felsic composition . It may have any texture from glassy to aphanitic to porphyritic...
, agglomerate
Agglomerate
Agglomerates are coarse accumulations of large blocks of volcanic material that contain at least 75% bombs...
, purple tuff or rhyodacite
Rhyodacite
Rhyodacite is an extrusive volcanic rock intermediate in composition between dacite and rhyolite. It is the extrusive equivalent of granodiorite. Phenocrysts of sodium rich plagioclase, sanidine, quartz, and biotite or hornblende are typically set in an aphanitic to glassy light to intermediate...
. In a band just to the west of this is red-purple and green-grey rhyodacite. This material is from the Deakin Volcanics and is older than the Laidlaw Volcanics. Also around Kambah on some of the hills are outcroppings of a coarse pink-brown rhyodacitic intrusion of porphyry
Porphyry (geology)
Porphyry is a variety of igneous rock consisting of large-grained crystals, such as feldspar or quartz, dispersed in a fine-grained feldspathic matrix or groundmass. The larger crystals are called phenocrysts...
. These intrusions can be found on Neighbour Hill, Forster Hill, McQuoids Hill, and the east and south east of Mount Taylor also around Menzie Place and another patch around the south of Mount Neighbour pre school. These intrusions were likely the necks of volcanoes that erupted the other tuff and dacite in the area.
A Cenozoic
Cenozoic
The Cenozoic era is the current and most recent of the three Phanerozoic geological eras and covers the period from 65.5 mya to the present. The era began in the wake of the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous that saw the demise of the last non-avian dinosaurs and...
age dyke of Teschenite intrudes the Laidlaw ignimbrite in the Kambah Pool and Red Rocks Gorge area.
Quaternary
Quaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
alluvium
Alluvium
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
covers the ground around the upper reaches of Village creek, around Drakeford Drive. A fault runs from the north west in Allchin Circuit to the south east under Urambi primary school.