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About the Gungahlin
Region
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Where is
the Gungahlin Region?
The Gungahlin Region is located in the
northern part of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), and is
approximately 15km from the Central Business District (CBD) of Canberra, and 10km
from the closest "satellite" city - Belconnen.
Gungahlin is
290km from Sydney, 655 km from Melbourne and 3,953km from Perth,
and is centrally located to all regional attractions, and is
within a comfortable two hours drive of Australia's snow fields,
famous trout fishing lakes and the pristine beaches of the New
South Wales south coast.
Amaroo, Ngunnawal, Nicholls,
Palmerston, Gold Creek Village, Mitchell, Hall and the newest
suburbs of Harrison and Forde make up the Gungahlin Region, and
this web site will help locals and visitors alike to find
information on local services, coming events and local
businesses.
So, if there's an anniversary in
Amaroo, a party in Palmerston or a harvest in Hall, you'll find
it here on the Gungahlin Region On-line! web site.
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A brief history of
the Gungahlin Region
There are two favoured origins
of the word 'Gungahlin'. Edward Crace gave the name 'Goongarline'
to the new homestead he built in 1862 (Gungahlin Homestead). The
Aboriginal word is said to mean 'white man's house'. The spelling,
however, evolved in stages over the years to 'Gungahlin'.
Another story is that Gungahlin
derived its name from an Aboriginal woman who used to repeat the
word over and over, and as far as anyone could ascertain meant
'wonderful' or 'beautiful'.
No matter which version is
correct, one thing that is for sure is that the Gungahlin area is
rich in Aboriginal and natural heritage. Several special sites,
including five Aboriginal tool making sites, and a clay pit of
archaeological significance in the Gungahlin Pond area, have been
identified and are preserved and protected by the ACT Government.
Before Gungahlin was developed, much of the
area was covered by farmland. The historic Gold Creek Homestead
serves as a reminder of the region's history, and a tribute has been
paid to the areas original inhabitants in the naming of Ngunnawal,
with the suburb deriving its moniker from the Aboriginal Ngunnawal
tribe. The tribe members were the first inhabitants of the Canberra
region, and artifacts at a rock shelter near Birrigai (in South
Canberra) date back some 20,000 years.
Crinigans' Ruin -
Ginninderra Creek (near Amaroo)
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John Crinigan was born in Westmeath, Ireland in
1817. Convicted in 1836 of "assaulting habitation", he was
transported to Sydney at the age of 19 and was assigned to "Palmerville",
a large property to the south of the Crinigans' ruin. |
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He is believed to have built the 3 roomed stone
cottage at the time of his marriage to Maria Mansfield, in 1842, two
years before being granted his ticket of leave.
The house was occupied until the mid 1870's.
During this time there would have been some 40 settlers along the
Ginninderra Creek.
The Crinigan ruin was stabilised with financial
assistance from the ACT Government and volunteer help from the
descendants of John and Maria and the Canberra Archaelogical
Society. The site (which is currently fenced off) will be open
to the public on completion of the work.
The Gungahlin Region grows
rapidly
Gungahlin is Canberra's newest "town",
and has rapidly expanded from the early 1990's, when the population
was barely 500 and services were few and far between. In fact, it's
just over a decade ago that the only "shops" in the area
were small caravan's that parked at the side of the road selling
basic food stuffs like bread and milk! Back then, the only
night-time entertainment in the area was at the new 'golf club' - a
couple of demountable buildings that housed a few poker machines and
served beer directly from a keg!
By all measures, the population growth
of the Gungahlin Region has been phenomenal:
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Year |
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Population |
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1991 |
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389 |
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1996 |
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12,343 |
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2001 |
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23,565 |
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2002 |
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24,978 |
The Gungahlin Region today
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Today, Gungahlin boasts a cosmopolitan
population in excess of 25,000. With modern schools, shopping
centres, community and sporting facilities, licensed clubs,
recreational opportunities, wide open parkland and beautiful lakes,
Gungahlin is a fantastic place to live. Oh, by the way, those old demountable buildings
at the golf club have been replaced by a lavish building that can
cater for over 1,000 people! |
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Gungahlin is made up of a series of
suburbs, each with their own unique identity, but each sharing a
common goal - a real sense of community. The suburbs of Gungahlin
currently include Ngunnawal (Gungahlin's largest suburb with a
population of 8,449 people), Amaroo (3,232 people), Nicholls (5,864
people) and Palmerston (5,610 people). Mitchell and Hall (354
people), although not technically part of Gungahlin, make up the
local Region.
The future of
the Gungahlin Region
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The future of the Gungahlin Region looks bright
and, with it's community strength, it will continue to thrive. New
suburbs are currently under construction, and many others have been
gazetted and will add to an anticipated Gungahlin population of over
100,000 in the future. The new suburbs will include Kenny, Throsby, Forde, Harrison, Franklin, Crace, Moncrieff, Casey and Kinlyside.
More information on the development in the
Gungahlin Region. |
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Gungahlin's climate
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Gungahlin is a fantastic place to
live, work and play, with an abundance of fresh air and a temperate
climate (ok, it can get be cold in winter with many frosts and the
occasional snowfall), but with a July average temperature range of
1°C to 12°C it is rarely uncomfortably cold. Summers are pleasant,
with low humidity and an average January temperature range of 13°C
to 28°C. The average annual rainfall is just over 600mm. |
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For more information on the weather and climate of the
Gungahlin Region visit the
Gungahlin Weather Centre.
Gungahlin Region
statistics
The last Australian Census of Population and
Housing was conducted in August 2001. Detailed statistics from
this Census (broken up by suburb/area) can be viewed by clicking on
the appropriate link below. Nb: The data was sourced from the
Australian
Bureau of Statistics web site.
Amaroo
Ngunnawal
Nicholls
Palmerston
Mitchell
Hall
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The
Gungahlin Region On-line!
