This suburb is named after Sir John Downer, former Premier of South Australia. He gets kudos for overseeing the first train line from Adelaide to Melbourne and advocating women's suffrage. Apparently he was 'bull headed and rather thick-necked...with the dogged set of the mouth of a prize fighter', and a draft of the Constitution was prepared in his ballroom.
The streets apparently have no specific theme. How wrong is that!
Downer made me a little sad and not just because of the street sign - with the shops sadly no longer in operation. These shops were built for the CSIRO in the 1930s - with the area actually used as a plantation for opium poppies between 1939-45!
But there is some amazing street art around the old shops...
A number of large pine trees also surround the block - they were planted as a wind break in the 1950s, and are now on the ACT heritage register.
A number of large pine trees also surround the block - they were planted as a wind break in the 1950s, and are now on the ACT heritage register.
But I love the old world charm of Downer...
And it is beautiful in the Spring...
And it is beautiful in the Spring...
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