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!