The District of Woden Valley () is one of the original eighteen 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. ...
used in
land administration Land administration is the way in which the rules of land tenure are applied and made operational. Land administration, whether formal or informal, comprises an extensive range of systems and processes to administer. The processes of land administra ...
. The district is subdivided into divisions (
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
s), sections and blocks. The district of Woden Valley lies entirely within the bounds of the city 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 ...
, the
capital city
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...
of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
The name of Woden Valley is taken from the name of a nearby homestead owned by Dr James Murray who named the homestead in October 1837 after the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
god of wisdom,
Woden
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
. He named it this as he was to spend his life in the pursuit of wisdom. However, historian
Dr Harold Koch considers that the name may have its origins in the Aboriginal word for possum, either ''wadyan'' or ''wadhan'', influenced in interpretation by the term known to English speakers of 'Woden'.
In 1964 it was the first
satellite city to be built, separate from the
Canberra Central district. It has its own shopping centre, employment opportunities and accommodation with twelve suburbs arranged around the
Woden Town Centre. At the , the population of the district was .
Establishment and governance
Following the transfer of land from the
Government of New South Wales
The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...
to the
Commonwealth Government in 1911, the district was established in 1966 by the Commonwealth via the
gazettal
A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper.
In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...
of the ''Districts Ordinance 1966'' (Cth) which, after the enactment of the ''Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act'' 1988, became the ''Districts Act'' 1966. This Act was subsequently repealed by the
ACT Government and the district is now administered subject to the ''Districts Act'' 2002.
Representation
Woden Valley is represented by:
* ACT Legislative Assembly: The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was granted self-government by the Commonwealth Parliament in 1988 with the passage of the Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988. The first Assembly was elected in 1989. There are currently 25 members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). Members are elected every four years by the people of the ACT to represent them and make decisions on their behalf. Th
ACT Legislative Assembly has five multi-member electorates: Yerrabi; Ginninderra; Kurrajong; Murrumbidgee and; Brindabella, each electing five members.
* Woden Valley Community Council:
Woden Valley Community Council (WVCC)engages as widely as possible with the Woden community on a range of issues that affect the Woden community. The council is recognised by and engages with the ACT Government on behalf of Woden residents. The WVCC Is not a local government.
Location and urban structure
The district is a set of contiguous residential suburbs that surround the
Woden Town Centre, which includes a major shopping centre, called
Westfield Woden
Westfield Woden Plaza (also known as Westfield Woden) is a large shopping centre located in the Woden Town Centre of Phillip of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The centre comprises four anchor tenants - David Jones, Big W, Coles and ...
, or more commonly known as ''Woden Plaza''. Woden is also home to the tallest building in Canberra,
Lovett Tower
The Lovett Tower (formerly known as the MLC Building) is a 93-metre-tall building (305 ft) located in the Woden Town Centre, a commercial district in Canberra.
History
Its construction was completed in 1973 by Civil & Civic, and it became ...
, which stands at 22 stories. Lovett Tower and a number of other buildings host staff from
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
agencies; there is also some light industrial development in the town centre.
Within the district are a number of community facilities including the campus of the
Canberra College
The Canberra College (formerly known as the Phillip College) is an Australian Capital Territory public school, which educates students from year 11 to year 12. In 2022, Simon Vaughan was appointed Principal, taking over from Michael Battenally. ...
, a secondary school catering to years
11 and
12 (16 – 18 years old); a library, the Woden Youth Centre, and the
Canberra Hospital, which is located in the north of the district.
Early homesteads
In the mid-1920s following
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, much of the Woden Valley was granted to returned soldiers under the
soldier settlement
Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlemen ...
lease scheme. Four of the earliest homesteads established in the valley were Yamba, Yarra Glen, Melrose and Illoura.
Yamba. In 1920, Walter Eddison was granted a soldier settlement lease on the Woden Block 132, covering roughly the present-day suburbs of Phillip and Swinger Hill. In 1925, he applied for an additional block and was granted the Woden Block 28A, which extended further south covering the present-day suburbs of Pearce and Torrens. Walter initially continued to live at his property ''The Oaks'' in
Queanbeyan
Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the ...
while farming his new property, but then established his homestead Yamba on the property in 1926 and worked the land with his three sons, Tom, Keith and Jack. In 1929, were withdrawn from block 28A for the construction of the
Woden Cemetery (Woden Block 30). Walter's three sons all fought overseas during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and sadly all three were killed and buried overseas. The Yamba homestead was located in the vicinity of present-day 11 Irving Street,
Phillip. Eddison Park in Woden is named in honour of the Eddison family. The main north–south arterial road passing to the east of central Woden was named
Yamba Drive in honour of the former property.
Yarra Glen. Frank Gifford was granted a soldier settler lease on the Woden Block 32 in 1920, and a lease on the adjacent Block 39 in 1922, and named his property Yarra Glenn. In August 1925, the two blocks were merged to become the smaller Block 27A, which extended from the vicinity of the present-day
Royal Australian Mint south to include the present-day suburb of
Hughes
Hughes may refer to:
People
* Hughes (surname)
* Hughes (given name)
Places Antarctica
* Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency
* Mount Hughes, Oates Land
* Hughes Basin, Oates Land
* Hughes Bay, Graham Land
* Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...
. In 1927, Gifford sold the lease to George Campbell, a descendant of
Robert Campbell of
Duntroon. George worked the property with his two sons, Robert and Curtis. The Yarra Glen homestead was located near the intersection of present-day Carruthers Street and Yarra Glen,
Curtin. The large conifer on the Yarra Glen median strip near the Carruthers Street overpass was once part of the homestead garden, and the row of large trees to the left (east) of the southbound Yarra Glen offramp were originally a windbreak for the homestead's garden. The main parkway connecting Woden Valley with central Canberra, constructed in 1966, was named
Yarra Glenn after the former property.
Melrose. Jack Maguire was granted a 10-year soldier settler lease for the Woden Block 25A in 1926. His block covered much of present-day suburbs of
Curtin,
Lyons
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...
and
Chifley. He initially called his property Oakey Hill and used it solely for grazing sheep. He built a home on the property in 1927, and renamed the property ''Melrose''. There is a sign marking the location of the former homestead on the pathway between present-day Theodore Street and James Place,
Curtin. Maguire farmed Melrose until 1963 when the land was resumed by the government to establish suburbs in Woden Valley. Melrose Drive and
Melrose High School were named after the Maguire's property.
Illoura. Thomas Cargill was offered a ten-year soldier settlement lease for the Woden Block 26A in 1926, which extended from present-day
Curtin and
Lyons
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...
across to present-day
North Weston to the west. In 1928 he sold his lease to Guy Tanner, and the Tanner family continued to farm the area until the property was resumed in the early 1970s. Illoura homestead was located between present-day Tuggeranong Parkway and the edge of the present-day suburb of Curtin, in what is currently known as the Illoura agistment paddocks. The homestead was located just to the southeast of the Tuggeranong Parkway / Cotter Road intersection. A clump of large eucalyptus trees still visible to the left of where the southbound onramp meets the Parkway marks the former location of the homestead.
Residential development
In the early 1960s the National Capital Development Commission developed plans to establish 10 suburbs in the Woden Valley to house an estimated 55,000 residents. Work commenced on the first two suburbs,
Hughes
Hughes may refer to:
People
* Hughes (surname)
* Hughes (given name)
Places Antarctica
* Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency
* Mount Hughes, Oates Land
* Hughes Basin, Oates Land
* Hughes Bay, Graham Land
* Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...
and
Curtin, in late-1962.
[''The Canberra Times'', 21 Nov 1962, p.7] Some of the first homes built in Curtin were advertised for £6,870 to £8,055.
[''The Canberra Times'', 09 May 1964, p.31] Hughes was officially declared open on 9 May 1964.
[''The Canberra Times'', 09 May 1964, p.4] Chifley and
Lyons
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...
were the next suburbs to be developed (1965), followed by
Garran
Garran is a suburb in the Woden district of Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory. Garran was named after Sir Robert Garran who made numerous contributions to the development of higher education in Canberra. The streets in Garran are na ...
,
Pearce Pearce may refer to:
Places
*Pearce, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb
*Division of Pearce, an electoral division in Western Australia
*Pearce, Arizona, United States, an unincorporated community
*RAAF Base Pearce, the main Royal Australian Ai ...
and
Torrens
Torrens may refer to:
Places South Australia
* Electoral district of Torrens, a state electoral district
* Lake Torrens, a salt lake north of Adelaide
* River Torrens, which runs through the heart of Adelaide
* Torrens Building, a heritage-liste ...
(1966),
Mawson
Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader durin ...
,
Farrer Farrer may refer to
People
* Alisha Farrer (born 1943), Australian actress and model
* Austin Farrer (1904–1968), English theologian, philosopher, and friend of C. S. Lewis
* Buster Farrer (1936-), South African cricketer
* Claude Farrer (1862â ...
and
Phillip (1966),
O'Malley (1973) and
Isaacs Isaacs may refer to:
* The Isaacs, a bluegrass Southern gospel music group
* Isaacs (surname)
* Isaacs, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra, Australia
* Division of Isaacs, a federal electoral division in Victoria, Australia
* Divisi ...
(1986).
By late-1965, in the earlier stages of Woden Valley's development, there were complaints from local residents that the new suburbs lacked shopping and recreational facilities, and the first schools in the area, such as Curtin Primary, were overcrowded as surrounding suburbs were developed.
[''The Canberra Times'', 01 Oct 1965, p.8]
The first section of Hindmarsh Drive, connecting Woden Valley with Fyshwick and South Canberra, opened in December 1966.
[''The Canberra Times'', 13 Dec 1966, p.4] Yarra Glen, connecting Woden Valley with the City, opened in November 1967.
[''The Canberra Times'', 17 Nov 1967, p.1]
Demographics
At the , there were people in the Woden Valley district, of these 48.7 per cent were male and 51.3 per cent were female.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.4 per cent of the population, which was lower than the national and territory averages. The
median
In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...
age of people in the Woden Valley district was 39 years, which was slightly higher than the national median of 38 years. Children aged 0 – 14 years made up 17.4 per cent of the population and people aged 65 years and over made up 18.5 per cent of the population. Of people in the area aged 15 years and over, 50.4 per cent were married and 10.1 per cent were either divorced or separated. The median
weekly income for residents within the Woden Valley district was significantly higher than the national average, and similar to the territory average.
At the 2021 census, the most common ancestries reported in the Woden Valley area were English (31.7 per cent), Australian (29.4 per cent), Irish (12.9 per cent), Scottish (10.7 per cent) and Indian (4.9 per cent). 40.3 per cent of residents described themselves as having "No Religion", higher than the national average at 38.4 per cent. Households in the Woden Valley district had a slightly higher than average proportion (27.5 per cent) where a language other than English was spoken at home (national average was 24.8 per cent); and a slightly lower proportion (71.0 per cent) where only
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
was spoken at home (national average was 72.0 per cent).
List of suburbs
*
Chifley
*
Curtin
*
Farrer Farrer may refer to
People
* Alisha Farrer (born 1943), Australian actress and model
* Austin Farrer (1904–1968), English theologian, philosopher, and friend of C. S. Lewis
* Buster Farrer (1936-), South African cricketer
* Claude Farrer (1862â ...
*
Garran
Garran is a suburb in the Woden district of Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory. Garran was named after Sir Robert Garran who made numerous contributions to the development of higher education in Canberra. The streets in Garran are na ...
*
Hughes
Hughes may refer to:
People
* Hughes (surname)
* Hughes (given name)
Places Antarctica
* Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency
* Mount Hughes, Oates Land
* Hughes Basin, Oates Land
* Hughes Bay, Graham Land
* Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...
*
Isaacs Isaacs may refer to:
* The Isaacs, a bluegrass Southern gospel music group
* Isaacs (surname)
* Isaacs, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra, Australia
* Division of Isaacs, a federal electoral division in Victoria, Australia
* Divisi ...
*
Lyons
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...
*
Mawson
Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader durin ...
*
O'Malley
*
Pearce Pearce may refer to:
Places
*Pearce, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb
*Division of Pearce, an electoral division in Western Australia
*Pearce, Arizona, United States, an unincorporated community
*RAAF Base Pearce, the main Royal Australian Ai ...
*
Phillip
*
Torrens
Torrens may refer to:
Places South Australia
* Electoral district of Torrens, a state electoral district
* Lake Torrens, a salt lake north of Adelaide
* River Torrens, which runs through the heart of Adelaide
* Torrens Building, a heritage-liste ...
Places of note and interest
![Sirius Building at Woden in November 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Sirius_Building_at_Woden_in_November_2012.jpg)
*
Australian Department of Health head office, located in the Sirius building, in the Woden Town Centre.
*
IP Australia, Australia's equivalent to the
US Patent Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexan ...
, is located in the Woden Town Centre.
*Woden Bus Interchange.
*Woden Storm Water Drain - one of twenty-six legal
graffiti
Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
sites within the Australian Capital Territory. The walls of the drain display colourful murals for many hundreds of metres from local, interstate and overseas graffiti artists.
Churches
* Canberra Austral-Asian Christian Church
* Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Curtin
* Hughes Baptist Church
* Immanuel Community Church
* Immanuel Lutheran Church, Lyons
* Lyons Church of Christm Lyons
* New Apostolic Church, Mawson
* Sacred Heart Church, Pearce
* St Alban's Anglican Church, Lyons
* St George's Anglican Church, Pearce
* St James Uniting Church, Curtin
* Sts Peter & Paul's Catholic Church
* St Sava Serbian Orthodox Church
* The Salvation Army, Woden Valley
* Woden Valley Bible Church
* The Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd, Curtin
* The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Garran
* NationLight Church Canberra, Phillip
Sport
Woden Valley is a vital area when it comes to sport in the Territory. Its
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club,
Woden Valley FC
West Canberra Wanderers Football Club, previously known as Woden-Weston FC is a semi-professional football club based in Canberra, Australia. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Capital Football.
West Canberra Wanderer ...
(Woden Rival), is very popular amongst juniors. Woden Valley also has a rugby league team
Woden Rams
Woden Valley Rams Rugby League Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Woden, Australian Capital Territory formed in 1967. In 2018, the Rams won their first premiership since 1996 beating the Tuggeranong Bushrangers 31–30.
N ...
and an Australian rules football team (Woden Blues). It also has a tenpin bowling centre and produced NSW champion and award-winning sports journalist Reagan Murphy, who lived in Garran and attended Woden Valley High School in the 1970s.
Natural disasters
Bushfires
While the majority of the destruction caused by the
2003 Canberra bushfires
The 2003 Canberra bushfires caused severe damage to the suburbs and outer areas of Canberra, the capital city of Australia, during 18–22 January 2003. Almost 70% of the Australian Capital Territory's (ACT) pastures, pine plantations, and nat ...
occurred in the
Weston Creek
The District of Weston Creek is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory used in land administration. The district is subdivided into divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. The district of Weston Creek lies ...
district, in the Woden Valley suburbs of
Curtin, three houses were destroyed; in
Lyons
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...
, four houses; and in
Torrens
Torrens may refer to:
Places South Australia
* Electoral district of Torrens, a state electoral district
* Lake Torrens, a salt lake north of Adelaide
* River Torrens, which runs through the heart of Adelaide
* Torrens Building, a heritage-liste ...
, two houses. Curtin, in particular, has been threatened by bushfires several times since its construction.
Floods
On
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...
in 1971 a flash flood at Yarra Glen killed seven people. The drains and roads in the area have since been redesigned to avoid future flood casualties.
EMA Disasters Database
See also
* Woden Valley Youth Choir
Woden Valley Youth Choir is a community choir based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. It performs not only in Canberra, but also across Australia and internationally during regular tours. The name ...
References
External links
ACTMAPi
- the ACT Government's interactive mapping service
{{ACT Districts and Suburbs
Districts of the Australian Capital Territory
1966 establishments in Australia
es:Canberra#Estructura urbana