Palmerston, Australian Capital Territory
Encyclopedia
Palmerston is a suburb in the Canberra
, Australia
district of Gungahlin
. The postcode is 2913. The suburb is named after George Thomas Palmer (1784–1854) who established a settlement in the Canberra region in 1826 called Palmerville, which was later renamed Ginninderra. It was gazetted on 20 March 1991. Streets are named after mountains and mountain ranges of Australia, with the main street called Kosciuszko Avenue.
It is next to the suburbs of Nicholls
, Gungahlin
, Crace
and Franklin
. It was the second suburb to be developed in the Gungahlin district, after the industrial suburb of Mitchell. It is bounded by Gungahlin drive and Gundaroo drive.
It has a primary school, Palmerston Primary School (which opened in 1994) and a large neighbourhood oval adjacent to the school.
age.
The area was studied in more detail than many other parts of Canberra by J P Ceplecha from the ANU in 1971.
Mostly the Canberra Formation is slaty shale
and mudstone
. A layer of ashstone
has been folded to form 75 meter wide exposures on the surface. These are in the shape of an ear of corn with the major axis pointing north north east. The major axis is determined by an anticline
. A syncline
determines the western side of the ashstone, with an anticline further to the west. A triangle of siltstone
has been
lifted up by faults into the western corner of Palmerston.
A long fault aligned with the folds follows along the east side of Ginninderra Creek
.
The Winslade Fault comes in from the south heads north and joins up with the above long fault.
The Gungahlin fault also parallels the folds and cuts through the east side of Palmerston. It forms the eastern limit of the ashstone.
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...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
district of Gungahlin
Gungahlin
Gungahlin is a name of a district and the northernmost town centre of Canberra, Australia. Gungahlin is situated 10 km north of Canberra's city centre and is one of five satellites of Canberra including Woden, Tuggeranong, Weston Creek and Belconnen. Currently Gungahlin comprises 11 suburbs,...
. The postcode is 2913. The suburb is named after George Thomas Palmer (1784–1854) who established a settlement in the Canberra region in 1826 called Palmerville, which was later renamed Ginninderra. It was gazetted on 20 March 1991. Streets are named after mountains and mountain ranges of Australia, with the main street called Kosciuszko Avenue.
It is next to the suburbs of Nicholls
Nicholls, Australian Capital Territory
Nicholls is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district of Gungahlin is named after Sir Douglas Nicholls , a former Governor of South Australia. It was gazetted on 18 October 1991. Streets are named after sportsmen and sportswomen....
, Gungahlin
Gungahlin, Australian Capital Territory
Gungahlin is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district with the same name; Gungahlin. The postcode is 2912. Gungahlin is the name for the entire district, and also the town centre, but it is also the name of the suburb which Gungahlin Town Centre is in....
, Crace
Crace, Australian Capital Territory
Crace is a designated suburb of Canberra, Australia in the district of Gungahlin. It was named after Edward Kendall Crace an original settler in the Gungahlin area. Streets in Crace will be named after parishes and land divisions from colonial times. It is bounded by the Barton Highway, Gungahlin...
and Franklin
Franklin, Australian Capital Territory
Franklin is a suburb of Canberra, Australia in the district of Gungahlin. It is named after the novelist Miles Franklin. The streets in Franklin are named after writers. It comprises an area of approximately 256 hectares...
. It was the second suburb to be developed in the Gungahlin district, after the industrial suburb of Mitchell. It is bounded by Gungahlin drive and Gundaroo drive.
It has a primary school, Palmerston Primary School (which opened in 1994) and a large neighbourhood oval adjacent to the school.
Geology
Palmerston is underlaid by the Canberra Formation from the late middle 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...
age.
The area was studied in more detail than many other parts of Canberra by J P Ceplecha from the ANU in 1971.
Mostly the Canberra Formation is slaty shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
and mudstone
Mudstone
Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope. With increased pressure over time the platey clay minerals may become aligned, with the...
. A layer of ashstone
Ashstone
Ashstone is a kind of volcanic rock formed from fine volcanic ash.During an explosive volcanic eruption, fragmentation of the magma can result in the formation of volcanic ash, consisting of sand-sized or smaller particles....
has been folded to form 75 meter wide exposures on the surface. These are in the shape of an ear of corn with the major axis pointing north north east. The major axis is determined by an anticline
Anticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...
. A syncline
Syncline
In structural geology, a syncline is a fold, with younger layers closer to the center of the structure. A synclinorium is a large syncline with superimposed smaller folds. Synclines are typically a downward fold, termed a synformal syncline In structural geology, a syncline is a fold, with younger...
determines the western side of the ashstone, with an anticline further to the west. A triangle of siltstone
Siltstone
Siltstone is a sedimentary rock which has a grain size in the silt range, finer than sandstone and coarser than claystones.- Description :As its name implies, it is primarily composed of silt sized particles, defined as grains 1/16 - 1/256 mm or 4 to 8 on the Krumbein phi scale...
has been
lifted up by faults into the western corner of Palmerston.
A long fault aligned with the folds follows along the east side of Ginninderra Creek
Ginninderra Creek
Ginninderra Creek is a water course that flows across the Ginninderra Plain through the Gungahlin and Belconnen regions in Canberra, Australia....
.
The Winslade Fault comes in from the south heads north and joins up with the above long fault.
The Gungahlin fault also parallels the folds and cuts through the east side of Palmerston. It forms the eastern limit of the ashstone.