The Majura District is a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
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 ...
, with a population of 161 at the , excluding the suburb of
Pialligo, which lies to the south of
Canberra Airport
Canberra Airport is an international airport situated in the District of Majura, Australian Capital Territory serving Australia's capital city, Canberra, as well as the nearby city of Queanbeyan and regional areas of the Australian Capital Te ...
. Apart from Pialligo, Majura District includes Canberra Airport and some farming but little residential development.
Geography
The Majura District is situated in the northeast corner of the ACT, to the east of the
North Canberra
North Canberra, also known as the Inner North, is a district of Canberra, the capital city of Australia, comprising 14 suburbs. At the , it had 26,699 dwellings housing 61,188 people of the 453,324 people in the Australian Capital Territory. Ma ...
district,
Mount Ainslie
Mount Ainslie is a hill with an elevation of that is located in the northeastern suburbs of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Mount Ainslie lies within part of the Canberra Nature Park.
Location and features
Mount Ains ...
and
Mount Majura
Mount Majura is a small mountain with an elevation of that is located in the northern suburbs of Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Mount Majura lies close to the more prominent Mount Ainslie and is the highest point wit ...
, north of the
Molonglo River
The Molonglo River, a perennial river that is part of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Monaro and Capital Country regions of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, in Australia.
...
, west of Sutton Road and south of the
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
border. It is located in the Majura Valley, which is drained by Woolshed Creek. Majura is primarily covered by the
Majura Field Firing Range, open grazing country and
Canberra Airport
Canberra Airport is an international airport situated in the District of Majura, Australian Capital Territory serving Australia's capital city, Canberra, as well as the nearby city of Queanbeyan and regional areas of the Australian Capital Te ...
.
Majura Parkway
Majura Parkway is a north–south parkway located in the Majura district of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It links the interchange with Federal Highway and Horse Park Drive at the edge of Gungahlin district to Monaro Highway in ...
, which was officially opened on 22 April 2016, and
Majura Road
Majura Road is a major arterial road in the eastern rural area of Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The road runs north to south, beginning at a grade separated junction with the Federal Highway inside the border of the Australian Ca ...
run through it from the north to the south. Majura District is not generally zoned for residential development, partly because of the nearby airport. Its only significant settlement is
Pialligo, which lies on its southern edge and is semi-rural in character.
The Majura Park Gun Club and
Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...
driver training facilities are located on the northern part of Majura Road and a forensic facility is being built. The Majura Vineyard is located further south and includes the Mount Majura Solar Farm. The
Majura Park Shopping Centre
The Majura Park Shopping Centre, formerly Brand Depot, is a big-box store, big-box type shopping centre in Canberra, Australia developed by Canberra Airport as part of the Majura Park precinct. The shopping centre, which opened in 2006, is part ...
is on airport land at the southern end of Majura Road. A large
IKEA
IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
store opened on non-airport land opposite the Airport on Majura Road on 16 November 2015. The
Royal Military College, Duntroon
lit: Learning promotes strength
, established =
, type = Military college
, chancellor =
, head_label = Commandant
, head = Brigadier Ana Duncan
, principal =
, city = Campbell
, state = ...
and the
Australian Defence Force Academy
The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and Royal Aus ...
lie to the south of
Fairbairn Avenue on the edge of the Majura district.
In 2011, the Majura district contains 14 rural holdings in a thin strip along Majura Road between the nature reserves to the west and the defence, Airport and AFP land to the east. It was observed that "no-one in the Valley is a farmer, as they don’t receive their main
income from farming." However, since 2011 properties such as Majura House have begun engaging with the community through sustainable paddock to plate farming including free range eggs, spring lamb, and corn. The company was known as Majura Valley Free Range Eggs has become a recognised and respected brand within the Capital and surrounds and an important preserver of farming within the region.
The Mount Majura Solar Farm
![Mount Majura solar farm and Majura Parkway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Mount_Majura_solar_farm_and_Majura_Parkway.jpg)
The Mount Majura Solar Farm is built on part of the Majura Vineyard that was cut off by the Majura Parkway project. It has a rated output of 2.3 megawatts and was opened on 6 October 2016.
History
The Majura Valley was used by the
Australian Aboriginal
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
Ngunnawal people
The Ngunnawal people, also spelt Ngunawal, are an Aboriginal people of southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia.
Language
Ngunnawal and Gundungurra are Australian Aboriginal languages from the Pama-Nyungan ...
before settlement by
Britons
British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...
in the mid-1820s and 1830s. Settlements were scarce, and recent surveys show that this was likely a transitory camping area during nomadic journeys between
Lake George and the upper
Yass River
The Yass River, a perennial river that is part of the Murrumbidgee catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the Southern Tablelands and South Western Slopes districts of New South Wales, Australia.
Course and features
The ri ...
catchments.
A Scotsman,
Robert Campbell settled the area, having been granted land in 1825. His compensation grant was 4,000 acres (16 km2) of land and 710 sheep, after Campbell's ship the "''Sydney''" was lost off the coast of New Guinea while chartered to the
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
government. Campbell named his property Majura probably after "Majura in India", according to the ACT National Trust. A cadastral map of 1 June 1904 shows the name of Campbell's property as "Madura", the British spelling of
Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
. In 1825
James Ainslie by assignment of Campbell started a sheep station in the area which today is Canberra. Campbell named the property
Duntroon. The origin of this name was
Duntrune Castle
Duntrune Castle is located on the north side of Loch Crinan and across from the village of Crinan in Argyll, Scotland. It is thought to be the oldest continuously occupied castle on mainland Scotland. The castle is a category B listed building.
...
at
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...
in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. The house was later acquired for the establishment of the Royal Military College and eventually became its mess.
Campbell was
assigned convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...
labourers, but also sought to bring free settlers as farm workers. These people were settled on small holdings of around 2 acres. Such a holding appears to be "''Majura House''" which is reputed to have been built for Alfred Mayo and his family between 1846 and 1860, the house remaining in family ownership until 1981. By the mid-1850s there were approximately 50 people residing in the Majura Valley (see links).
Following land reforms in 1861, other families sought free selection of Crown Land in the Majura Valley in the 1860s and by the late 1800s had established what was a proto-village with school, community hall and Post Office, near the "''Avonley''" property. By 1891 there were 83 dwellings, housing 393 people within the Majura Valley. A major land holder was the
Harman family.
Creation of the
Federal Capital Territory
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...
in 1912 ended freehold title, with the land becoming Commonwealth lands that were then leased to former occupiers.
The Majura District was designated by the Districts Act of 1966
as one of the 18 districts of the
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...
(ACT).
Suburbs and localities
*
Pialligo
References
Districts of the Australian Capital Territory
1966 establishments in Australia
{{Energy in the Australian Capital Territory