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Narrabundah () (
postcode A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...
: 2604) is a leafy, medium density suburb 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 ...
,
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. ...
, located in the inner south of the city. Narrabundah is an established garden suburb, valued for its equal proximity to both Civic and the airport, Lake Burley Griffin, and vibrant local centres such as Manuka and Kingston. Residents particularly value Narrabundah's environment including its open spaces, parks, playgrounds, bushland landscapes, as well as its strong sense of community and diversity. The suburb's streetscapes are characterised by mature deciduous and native street trees, charming established gardens and largely single-storey detached homes. Street trees in Narrabundah offer colourful spring blossoms and spectacular Autumn foliage in many streets. Finniss Crescent, Carnegie Crescent, Sprent and Stuart Streets are planted with fine examples of Pin Oaks, which have rich green foliage in Summer and colour brilliantly in shades of scarlet and crimson in Autumn.


History

'Narrabundah' is a
Ngunnawal 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 ...
word meaning 'bird of prey', celebrated in the sculpture in the park opposite the Narrabundah shops. The name Narrabundah was taken from the parish of Narrabundah, a part of the
cadastral A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in a cad ...
division of
Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...
. This parish existed when the land was administered by
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 ...
. After 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. ...
was established on 1 January 1911, all of the land areas were renamed. The present suburb Narrabundah was part of the original Parish of Queanbeyan. Narrabundah was gazetted as a division name on 20 September 1928. Narrabundah was the last of the 'inner south' suburbs to be developed, commencing in 1947, after being delayed by World War II. While early Canberra suburbs had mainly been built for public servants relocating from Melbourne, Narrabundah became Canberra's first blue collar suburb, housing mainly workers in construction and printing. While its first streets were initially named with numbers, street names in Narrabundah have since been renamed, with Indigenous culture, as well as white explorers and pioneers as the inspiration.


Location

Narrabundah is bordered by the residential suburb of Red Hill to the southwest,
Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Rid ...
to the west and Kingston to the northwest, as well as the light industrial suburbs of
Fyshwick Fyshwick () is a retail and light industrial suburb of Canberra, Australia, east of the South Canberra district. At the , Fyshwick had a population of 56. It has many motor vehicle dealers, stores selling home furnishings and hardware, and sto ...
to the east and Symonston to the southeast. The suburb can be divided into three distinct areas. The area to the east of Sturt and Jerrabomberra Avenues (sometimes called 'Old Narrabundah'), where the Narrabundah shops and other community facilities including the primary school, pre-school, churches and GP clinics are situated. This part is where Narrabundah's original fibro cottages were placed for European construction workers who came to Canberra in the 1950s to help develop the city, along with government printing workers from the British Isles who worked in Kingston and Fyshwick. Soon after, in the early to mid 1950s, full-brick duplexes and cottages were also built, many of which still stand. The second area, located between Captain Cook Crescent and Sturt Avenue, is near the Griffith shops, to the west of Sturt Avenue and south of Canberra Avenue. The remaining area (sometimes called 'Upper Narrabundah' or 'Narrabundah Heights') is located to the west of Captain Cook Crescent and Jerrabomberra Avenue. It rises towards the west where it borders the suburb of Red Hill. From here, panoramic views of Civic and Black Mountain, Lake Burley Griffin, Mount Ainslie and other parts of south-eastern Canberra are possible from a number of vantage points. There are also good views to Red Hill and its ridge-line. This part of Narrabundah is closer to the Red Hill and Griffith shopping areas than to the rest of Narrabundah. Upper Narrabundah is known for its small population of urban peafowl (peacocks) with their colourful feathers. This area was once home to the residence of former Prime Minister John Gorton, who was often seen walking home from Parliament House via Manuka.


Amenities

Parks are widespread, with "Rocky Knoll" or "Rocky Knob" park in upper Narrabundah and its panoramic view over Canberra. The Narrabundah shops include Canberra's first op-sho
Vinnies
(
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor. Innumerable Catholic parishes have ...
), restaurants (including XO and La Cantina), a daytime cafe called Mint Road, the popular Narrabundah Takeaway (serving salad rolls, fish and chips and other quick snacks), as well as a real estate agent and property manager, pharmacy, licensed post office, Danny's (sourdough) Bakery - famous for its Hot Cross Buns, the Narrabundah Friendly Grocer, two hairdressers, and a barber. Narrabundah is home to the
Canberra Cavalry The Canberra Cavalry (nicknamed Cavs) is a professional baseball team from Canberra, ACT, Australia. Established in 2010, the team is a founding member of the Australian Baseball League (ABL). The Cavs home ground is Narrabundah Ballpark, know ...
baseball team, with home matches played at the
Narrabundah Ballpark Narrabundah Ballpark (also known as The Fort) is a 2,250 capacity baseball complex in the south-central Canberra suburb of Narrabundah, ACT, Australia. It was redeveloped in 2010 for use by the Canberra Cavalry of the Australian Baseball Lea ...
, informally known as the 'Bundahdome', near Mill Creek off Goyder Crescent in Old Narrabundah. Narrabundah is home to two primary schools, Narrabundah Early Childhood School an
St. Benedict's Primary School
It is also home to
Narrabundah College Narrabundah College is a government college that teaches the last two years of secondary education in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It was the first school in Australia to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB), starting the progr ...
, one of the top public schools for the last two years of secondary schooling in the ACT and the first in Australia to offer the International Baccalaureate. For community matters, 'Old Narrabundah' is represented by th
Old Narrabundah Community Council (ONCC)
while most of the rest of the suburb is represented by the Griffith-Narrabundah Community Association. Both form part of the broader Inner South Community Council.


Public art

A sculpture has been erected opposite the shopping centre with the following inscription on a plaque:


Education

Narrabundah residents are typically eligible to enrol in ACT public schools as follows: *Narrabundah Early Childhood School for pre-school to Year Two, after which it is Forrest Primary or Red Hill Primary, depending on the address. *
Telopea Park School , image = Telopea Park School in Barton (1).jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = , motto = la, Spectans orientia solis lumina , motto_translation = Looking towards the rising sun , established = , type = Government ...
(for the first four years of secondary schooling) *
Narrabundah College Narrabundah College is a government college that teaches the last two years of secondary education in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It was the first school in Australia to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB), starting the progr ...
(for the last two years of secondary schooling)


Geology

One kind of rock is named after the suburb: the Narrabundah
Ashstone Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...
Member which is found in the east and southeast. Rocks in Narrabundah are from the
Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...
age. Some of the rocks are grey coloured
tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...
from the Mount Painter Volcanics. This can be viewed in a park on Brockman St. The Deakin Fault runs from Frome St. The fault line is displaced from Anembo St south to Goyder St by a north–south running fault that connects up with the South Fyshwick Fault. The South Fyshwick Fault runs east from the Narrabundah Primary School, separating ashstone in the south from the Canberra Formation in the north. Calcareous
shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
from the Canberra Formation lies to the north of the Deakin Fault.Henderson G A M and Matveev G, Geology of Canberra, Queanbeyan and Environs 1:50000 1980.


References


External links

{{South Canberra Suburbs Suburbs of Canberra