Jamison Centre () is a large shopping centre located in

Belconnen The District of Belconnen () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), used in land administration. The district is subdivided into 27 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. The district of Belconn ...

's eastern suburb of Macquarie, Australian Capital Territory. Comprising two indoor/outdoor complexes and a range of standalone stores and facilities, the centre is anchored by Coles and

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...

stores. Other notable facilities are the Jamison branch of the Canberra Southern Cross Club and the Big Splash Water Park. Jamison Centre is serviced by

ACTION Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

bus route 32 which connects Jamison Centre to

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. Belconnen Town Centre contains several Federal and Territory ...

and

Civic Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community *Civic center, a comm ...

.Route 32
Transport Canberra It is also easily accessible by road from

Belconnen Way Belconnen Way is a major road in Canberra, Australia. It connects William Hovell Drive and Kingsford Smith Drive in the west to Barry Drive and Fairfax Street, providing access to Civic and the Inner North via Belconnen Town Centre. In addi ...

and Bindubi Street. The outdoor Belconnen Trash'n'Treasure Market is held every Sunday morning in the Jamison Centre car park. This is one of

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

's larger outdoor markets, and is operated by the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

of Belconnen with assistance from the Rotary Clubs of Ginninderra, Hall and Woden.

History

Built in 1969, Jamison Centre was the first shopping development in the

district, preceding the

by nearly a decade. It was named after

Thomas Jamison Thomas Jamison ( – 25 January 1811) was a naval surgeon, who was surgeon mate on as part First Fleet which founded Colony of New South Wales in 1788. He was surgeon at the Norfolk Island settlement, before returning to Sydney and becoming pr ...

(1752/53–1811), a

First Fleet The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...

surgeon and prominent landowner, government official and mercantile trader of the colonial era. Initially, the Jamison Centre was a major commercial area, but it soon began to suffer from the growth of a centrally situated town hub, particularly when the federal government built a major shopping precinct which was later sold to

The Westfield Group Westfield Group was an Australian shopping centre company that existed from 1960 to 2014, when it split into two independent companies: Scentre Group, which owns and operates the Australian and New Zealand Westfield shopping centre portfolio; ...

and is now known as

Westfield Belconnen Westfield Belconnen, also known colloquially as Belconnen Mall, is managed by Scentre Group and located in the Canberra suburb of Belconnen, Australian Capital Territory, Belconnen, Australia. The shopping centre is the largest in Canberra, fe ...

. For many years the Jamison Centre played a significant role in servicing the adjacent area, but decreased in importance and became increasingly neglected. The decline continued until 2000, when the

Humphries Humphries is a surname, and may refer to: * Barry Humphries (1934–2023), Australian comedian, creator of characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson * Carla Humphries (born 1988), American-born Filipina actress and commercial model, also ...

government and the private owners of the centre commissioned a master plan to turn the area around. After community consultation, several major issues such as building elevation, access, safety and a lack of meeting places, were noted. The final plan, released in 2002, mapped out a number of methods of achieving this, including improving traffic flow and building new shops and restaurants facing the adjacent streets. With the approval of $8.2m of government funding, a major refurbishment began in January 2006, with most major work completed by early 2008. Though the government provided assurances that the centre would remain open throughout the process, much of the complex was vacant for some time with many long-term retailers moving temporarily to nearby locations.

References

External links

Jamison Group Centre Master Plan 2002
{{Belconnen Suburbs Canberra urban places Shopping centres in the Australian Capital Territory Shopping malls established in 1969 1969 establishments in Australia