Suburb # 13 Stirling

Next stop was Stirling a place I had never even heard of - oops sorry to people who live there.

Stirling is on the south side and is named after Sir James Stirling (1791–1865) who was the first Governor of Western Australia between 1829–1839. He apparently founded Perth and Freemantle.

Stirling is really a very small suburb. There are no shops at all - although we did drive past a shed sale which looked really happening..... There are, however, some quite lovely parks and some amazingly green grass for Canberra. 

 The graffiti here also appears to be done by practical rather than artistic types....

My friends who are in the know tell me the stirlo bowlo is the place to be as well :p 

 I am now convinced that if aliens land in Australia it will be here - because the grass is so good.

As long as they can avoid this...

Suburb # 12 Chifley

This weekend we went to Chifley - why? well really because I wanted breakfast at the cafe there which gets uber reviews on the internet (yes food is a big motivator for me, particularly due to generally demotivating headaches lately). But also under the current circumstances of life and our country I thought it would be good to try and find the light on the hill :p

Chifley is obviously named after Joseph Bendict Chifley - our PM from 1945 to 1949, who famously said the following:

"I try to think of the Labor movement, not as putting an extra sixpence into somebody's pocket, or making somebody Prime Minister or Premier, but as a movement bringing something better to the people, better standards of living, greater happiness to the mass of the people. 

We have a great objective - the light on the hill - which we aim to reach by working the betterment of mankind not only here but anywhere we may give a helping hand. If it were not for that, the Labor movement would not be worth fighting for." 

His government is famous for lots of stuff - post-war immigration schemes, expanding social welfare services, establishing Australian citizenship, Snowy Mountain scheme, introducing the PBS and establishing the ANU. He died in Canberra on the way to hospital after having heart attack in his room at the Kurrajong Hotel.

The streets in Chifley are named for scientists and educationalists.

Chifley is the first suburb in Woden that we have visited so far I think...and it felt quite different to where we had been in the North or in the deep South so far. Different houses, different feel at the local shops - nevertheless overall very pleasant. I think it would be great place to live if you had kids.

We didn't find the light of the hill, but Jay did his best trying to make his own.

 But there were definitely things old and new...

 Some things very Canberran...

 But also some very unexpected things....

 And some beautiful ones (in my personal opinion anyway)...

Suburb # 11 Hackett

Next stop was Hackett - a place I had only previously visited once to look at a house that I couldn't afford to buy.

Hackett is named after a newspaper editor called Sir John Winthrop Hackett (no more cough medicine jokes please...). I had never heard of this guy, but apparently he gets kudos for work helping bring our country together as a Federation, plus to get women the vote in WA.

Streets here are named after scientists - hence I recognised none of the names at all.

Unfortunately my aching head made our Hackett visit quite short.I think I really need to go back here sometime to have a proper look around. I also want to have a few drinks at the cafe/pub at the shops which seemed awesome and has yummy gf cakes :)

Overall, I had a good feeling about this suburb though...some lovely houses, as well as the usual north inner north reddish brick townhouse/flats, and its so close to the bush despite not being far from civic either. I felt sad for the panda though :(

Suburb # 10 Pialligo

We made it to double figures! It was time to go to Pialligo - the suburb that everyone pronounces differently. Why did we choose it? Well really because I love it and I wanted breakfast at the nursery there which is awesome.

The internet unusually doesn't seem to know what Pialligo means. Apparently it is a name of Aboriginal origin, and could mean 'a place for a pow-wow'. It first appeared on maps in the 1820s and apparently is what the parish that used to be here was called.

 

For any non-Canberrans, Pialligo is a small suburb just near Canberra airport. It is essentially two streets (one which seems a lot longer when you walk the whole length off it!).  If you want plants in Canberra this is the place to come with nurseries a go go. Its kind of a strange place - a street of country in the middle of the city almost. Personally, I love it - and if somebody offered me a house here with a beautiful garden I would be happy to quit my job and open a cafe/nursery/apple orchard like eveyone else on this road...

I took lots and lots of photos on our visit here...so its tough to choose only a couple.

There are lots of homes that at least look like they have been there a long time. 

 Not perhaps as long as Stonehenge though :p

 The tennis court has certainly see better days...

But this arch to nowhere was definitely new...

Telstra tower was still there in the distance reminding us we were still in Canberra....

 But we also found many unexpected things on our Pialligo visit.

 

And many beautiful things too :)

On our trip we also went to Pialligo Redwood Forest, which I didn't include above as oddly it doesn't actually seem to be in Pialigo ....but its close by, just past the airport.

The trees here were planted by Walter Burley Griffin in 1918. Its on the Commonwealth Heritage List as its the only known mature plantation of these particular trees in Australia.

But let me just say...this place is creepy. I am sure lots of teenagers have an awesome time getting stoned out here and make their own blair witch project movies...but it creeped me out even in the middle of the day. Sorry Walter - lovely trees but it feels like Belanglo. I am sure that if I every do write my Canberra crime novel the corpses will be found buried here!