Holder, Australian Capital Territory
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Holder () is suburb of
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
,
Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, located in the district of Weston Creek and is 13 km to the southwest of the
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
city centre. It sits on the western edge of the Canberra
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
s, and overlooks no longer bare land towards Mount Stromlo to the west and Molonglo Valley to the north.


History

The Weston homestead, one of the earliest homes in the district and the property after which the district of Weston Creek was named, was situated in present-day Holder prior to the commencement of residential development in the valley. It was located in what is now Calder Crescent. John and Ellen Fox lived at the Weston homestead from about the 1860s, and several of their nine children were born there. The Weston lease was later purchased by Rudolph and Eileen De Salis in 1937. Rudolph remained at Weston until he died in February 1957, aged 70. Members of the De Salis family continued to live at Weston up until the late-1960s. Holder was announced by the Minister for the Interior, Mr Nixon, as the name of one of the eight new Weston Creek suburbs on 2 July 1970. It was named after Sir Frederick William Holder (1850–1909), Premier of South Australia between 1899 and 1901, and first Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives from 1901 to 1909. Consistent with Canberra's concept of having themed streets in each suburb, all streets in Holder are named after prominent Australian surveyors. The suburb is predominantly residential housing, with most houses constructed around 1970–1972. Holder and neighbouring Duffy were the fifth and sixth suburbs to be developed in Weston Creek following Waramanga, Fisher, Weston and Rivett. Construction of homes mostly occurred during 1971 and 1972, and new bus services to Holder commenced in September 1971. In the early 1970s, several problems were experienced with the construction of Dixon Drive, a main road running around the edge of Holder between Holder and Duffy. A section of roadway between Burrinjuck Crescent and Warragamba Avenue, formerly a natural watercourse, was closed due to water periodically flowing across the road during heavy rains. In December 1971 a 20 ft section of the road then caved in. Problems with water flooding across the road from the Weston Creek channel near Streeton Drive were also experienced, and a section of the road between Warragamba Avenue and Streeton Drive remained closed for nearly 18 months until remediation works with the channel were completed in late 1972. A section of the old Kambah Road between Cotter Road and Dixon Drive was used to give access to residents while remediation works were being carried out. Holder originally had its own High School and Primary School, but both have since closed down – the Primary School in 1991, and the High School in 1993. There are still two private schools in the suburb – St Jude's Catholic Primary and Canberra
Montessori The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...
School – but the closest public school is now Duffy Primary School.


2003 bushfires

Holder was one of the hardest hit suburbs in the Canberra bushfire of 18 January 2003 when the fire came roaring out of the adjacent Stromlo Forest and across Dixon Drive into suburban housing. A total of 31 homes were destroyed in Holder, and 219 in adjacent Duffy. There was extensive damage to houses along Dixon Drive on the north of the suburb, but apart from occasional houses deeper into the suburb being ignited by floating embers, the fire generally did not penetrate into the suburb beyond one to two houses.


Geology

The geologic structure under the suburb of Holder mostly comprises Deakin Volcanics green grey and purple
rhyodacite Rhyodacite is a volcanic rock intermediate in composition between dacite and rhyolite. It is the extrusive equivalent of those plutonic rocks that are intermediate in composition between monzogranite and granodiorite. Rhyodacites form from rapid ...
. A band of pink and green rhyolitic intrusive porphyry is situated on the south and southwest sides.


Churches

*St Jude (
Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
)


Government services


Therapy ACT


Footnotes


References

* ACT Bushfire CRC (2005)
Investigation of bushfire attack mechanisms resulting in house loss in the ACT bushfire 2003
Retrieved 21 August 2010.


External links


Heritage photos of Holder
{{Weston Creek Suburbs Suburbs of Canberra