Suburbs of Canberra
Encyclopedia
The suburbs
of Canberra
are organised into a hierarchy of districts, town centres, group centres, local suburbs and other industrial areas and villages. While these divisions have no formal role in the governance or administration of the city, they formed a basis for the planning and development of the city and are significant to the city’s commercial and social activities.
For a complete list, see List of Canberra suburbs
Most suburbs of Canberra are designed around local shops, centrally located within walking distance of the outer parts of the suburb. Consequently they are generally smaller in size to the suburbs of other cities. A typical Canberra suburb is bounded on all sides by major roads, and at the centre, contains local shops, or at least a local store. Some also contain a petrol station, a church, or other community facilities. Many also contain a primary school
and a preschool.
As a result of these commercial and community facilities being located in the centre of suburbs, Canberra lacks strip shopping along major roads and appears to be ‘empty’ to most visitors. In the older areas, major roads are lined with houses, and in the newer areas they are typically landscaped with mounds of earth and vegetation to form ‘parkways’.
Canberra’s residential districts were developed with the intention of being semi-self-contained satellite towns with an intended population of about 80,000 people. The districts contain Town Centres which serve as commercial, transport and employment nodes. The districts are separated by nature reserves, and in most cases were designed according to a policy of ridges and valleys where the urban areas were located in valleys, separated by ridges, containing nature parks. There are seven districts in Canberra, each is divided into between eight and 25 suburbs, but on average about 18. (Canberra’s Territory Plan also contains districts located outside of the urban areas for the purposes of land administration. These are not covered in this article).
In chronological order of development, the Districts are:
Canberra's central business district
(‘City’ also known as ‘Civic’) is the main commercial centre in Canberra. It is larger than the town centres and contains many government departments, large office buildings and retail outlets such as department stores and specialty stores and recreational facilities such as cinemas, bars, nightclubs, restaurants and theatres. It is the site of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
, the Canberra Theatre and Playhouse
, Territory Courts, and the Federal Court
(although the High Court
is located in the Parliamentary Triangle
).
There are four town centres within Canberra. As well as serving as commercial nodes, town centres also serve as centres of employment. Most contain at least one major Federal Government department, such as the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and Australian Bureau of Statistics
in Belconnen Town Centre
, Department of Health and Ageing in Woden Town Centre
and Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs in Tuggeranong Town Centre
. Town centres also provide services such as mechanical workshops, gyms, pubs and clubs, cinemas, restaurants and fast food outlets, petrol stations and car dealerships. They also usually contain a public library, police station and a community centre. The Woden Town Centre has high rise office buildings and resembles a ‘mini city centre’.
Group Centres are commercial and community centres smaller than town centres but larger than local shops which are designed to serve a "group" of suburbs – typically about four or five. A typical group centre contains such local commercial facilities such as a supermarket, a petrol station, specialty stores such as a pharmacy, hairdresser, butcher, video store, baker, deli, health food store, betting agency and medical centre. Some larger group centres may also contain banks, a few restaurants and fast food outlets. They will typically also contain recreational and social facilities such as a swimming pool, church, and a tavern or club. These are intended to provide “weekly shopping” type services to the residents of adjoining suburbs.
, Fyshwick
and Hume
are Canberra’s industrial areas and are located away from residential suburbs. While they are the location of light industry (Canberra has no heavy industries), they also contain a large number of retail outlets such as furniture stores, hardware stores, car dealerships, bicycle shops, camping stores and wholesale outlets.
which is located just past Belconnen near the New South Wales
border.
Suburbs and localities (Australia)
Suburbs and localities are the names of geographic subdivisions in Australia, mainly for address purposes. The name locality is used in rural areas, while the equivalent in urban areas are suburbs. Sometimes locality is used to refer to both localities and suburbs, and they are also called address...
of Canberra
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...
are organised into a hierarchy of districts, town centres, group centres, local suburbs and other industrial areas and villages. While these divisions have no formal role in the governance or administration of the city, they formed a basis for the planning and development of the city and are significant to the city’s commercial and social activities.
For a complete list, see List of Canberra suburbs
Suburbs
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
and a preschool.
As a result of these commercial and community facilities being located in the centre of suburbs, Canberra lacks strip shopping along major roads and appears to be ‘empty’ to most visitors. In the older areas, major roads are lined with houses, and in the newer areas they are typically landscaped with mounds of earth and vegetation to form ‘parkways’.
Districts
Canberra’s residential districts were developed with the intention of being semi-self-contained satellite towns with an intended population of about 80,000 people. The districts contain Town Centres which serve as commercial, transport and employment nodes. The districts are separated by nature reserves, and in most cases were designed according to a policy of ridges and valleys where the urban areas were located in valleys, separated by ridges, containing nature parks. There are seven districts in Canberra, each is divided into between eight and 25 suburbs, but on average about 18. (Canberra’s Territory Plan also contains districts located outside of the urban areas for the purposes of land administration. These are not covered in this article).
In chronological order of development, the Districts are:
- Canberra CentralCanberra CentralThe District of Canberra Central is one of the 18 districts of the Australian Capital Territory used in land administration. It is subdivided into divisions , sections and blocks. It is mentioned in the . It includes the Inner North and Inner South...
(often referred to as North CanberraNorth CanberraNorth Canberra, also known as the Inner North, is a district of Canberra, the capital city of Australia, comprising 14 suburbs with 19,115 dwellings housing 42,113 people of the 324,034 people in the Australian Capital Territory...
and South CanberraSouth CanberraSouth Canberra or the Inner South is a central district of Canberra, the capital city of Australia.South Canberra is located to the south of Canberra's city centre, on the south bank of Lake Burley Griffin....
), settled from the 1920s to 60s (25 suburbs) - Woden ValleyWoden ValleyWoden Valley is a district of Canberra, the capital city of Australia. Its name is taken from the name of a nearby homestead owned by Dr James Murray who named the homestead after the Old English god Woden in October 1837. He named it this as he was to spend his life in the pursuit of wisdom and...
, settled in 1963 (12 suburbs) - BelconnenBelconnenBelconnen is a district of Canberra, the capital city of Australia, comprising 25 suburbs with 29,900 dwellings housing 82,247 people of the 311,518 people in the Australian Capital Territory ....
, first settled in 1967 (25 suburbs) - Weston CreekWeston CreekWeston Creek is a residential district of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, situated to the west of the Woden Valley district and approximately 13 km southwest of the Canberra city centre...
, settled in 1969 (8 suburbs) - TuggeranongTuggeranongTuggeranong is the southernmost town centre of Canberra, the capital city of Australia. It comprises 19 suburbs with a total of 31,819 dwellings, housing 87,119 people of the 324,034 people in the Australian Capital Territory . The district occupies 117 square kilometres to the east of the...
, settled in 1974 (18 suburbs) - GungahlinGungahlinGungahlin 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,...
, settled in the early 1990s (18 suburbs) - Molonglo ValleyMolonglo ValleyMolonglo Valley is the newest district of Canberra. The district is planned to consist of 13 suburbs containing 33,000 dwellings with an expected population of 73,000....
, development to begin in 2010, 13 suburbs planned.
The City Centre
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
(‘City’ also known as ‘Civic’) is the main commercial centre in Canberra. It is larger than the town centres and contains many government departments, large office buildings and retail outlets such as department stores and specialty stores and recreational facilities such as cinemas, bars, nightclubs, restaurants and theatres. It is the site of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly
The Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory...
, the Canberra Theatre and Playhouse
Canberra Theatre
The Canberra Theatre Centre is the Australian Capital Territory’s central performing arts venue and Australia’s first performing arts centre, the first Australian Government initiated performing arts centre to be completed, that opened on Thursday 24 June 1965 with a gala performance by the...
, Territory Courts, and the Federal Court
Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law , along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges...
(although the High Court
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
is located in the Parliamentary Triangle
Parliamentary Triangle, Canberra
The Parliamentary Triangle is the ceremonial precinct of Canberra, containing some of Australia's most significant buildings. The triangle is formed by Commonwealth, Kings and Constitution avenues...
).
Town Centres
Australian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
in Belconnen Town Centre
Belconnen Town Centre
Belconnen Town Centre is located in the suburb of Belconnen on the south-western shore of Lake Ginninderra in Canberra, Australia. It is the town centre for the Belconnen district....
, Department of Health and Ageing in Woden Town Centre
Woden Town Centre
Woden Town Centre is the main commercial centre of the district of Woden Valley in Canberra, Australia. It is located in the Canberra suburb of Phillip....
and Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs in Tuggeranong Town Centre
Tuggeranong Town Centre
Tuggeranong Town Centre services the southernmost Canberra district of Tuggeranong. It is located on the south-western side of Lake Tuggeranong and composed of a large three-storey mall, the Tuggeranong Hyperdome, as well as a smaller shopping complex, the Homeworld, and many other buildings and...
. Town centres also provide services such as mechanical workshops, gyms, pubs and clubs, cinemas, restaurants and fast food outlets, petrol stations and car dealerships. They also usually contain a public library, police station and a community centre. The Woden Town Centre has high rise office buildings and resembles a ‘mini city centre’.
Group Centres
Industrial areas
The suburbs of MitchellMitchell, Australian Capital Territory
Mitchell is a light-industrial estate of Canberra, Australia in the district of Gungahlin. Mitchell was named in honour of Major Sir Thomas Livingston Mitchell, an explorer of inland New South Wales and Surveyor-General of New South Wales. The streets in Mitchell are named after Australian...
, Fyshwick
Fyshwick, Australian Capital Territory
Fyshwick is an industrial suburb of Canberra, located east of the South Canberra district. On Census night 2006, Fyshwick had a population of 54 people....
and Hume
Hume, Australian Capital Territory
Hume is a suburb of Canberra in the district of Tuggeranong. The suburb is named after the explorer Hamilton Hume and streets are named after Australian industrialists and businessmen. Hume is a light-industrial suburb and there is no significant housing development...
are Canberra’s industrial areas and are located away from residential suburbs. While they are the location of light industry (Canberra has no heavy industries), they also contain a large number of retail outlets such as furniture stores, hardware stores, car dealerships, bicycle shops, camping stores and wholesale outlets.
Villages
The Australian Capital Territory also contains a number of smaller villages located outside the urban area. Historically some of these are farming or forestry villages and some were damaged or destroyed in the fires of January 2003. The village closest to the urban area is HallHall, Australian Capital Territory
Hall is a small town in the north of the Australian Capital Territory , Australia. It was founded in 1882, named after the first landholder in the area, Henry Hall. In 1911 Hall was included within the boundary of the land allocated for the Australian Capital Territory, close to the north western...
which is located just past Belconnen near the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
border.
See also
- CanberraCanberraCanberra 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...