Suburb #68 Conder

Next stop was Conder, almost at the Southern tip of Canberra....I was looking forward to this, as I previously had a great visit to Banks next door...but well I have got to say... it didn't quite turn out as I hoped...

Conder is named after artist Charles Conder. A member of the Heidleberg School alongside Tom Roberts and Arthur Streeton. He painted stuff and then died of syphilis or 'general paresis of the insane' as it was known then.

The streets in Condor are also named after artists.

We started our adventures of Conder at the shops - the Lanyon Market Place. It was a Market Place surely it had to be great yeah? Mmm...no...my lunch made me sick. Beware the Dancing Noodle!

Nevertheless, it was all worth it for the Hot Chickens sign (my chickens will understand :p).

Like Banks, Conder does have some beautiful views though....and it was exciting to see the autumn leaves start to appear...

But I really do question the need for people to build their mega mansions....

And why streets (as opposed to intersections) require roundabouts? Is it so people have to stop to look at the big houses?

But at least I found proof that people with money can build nice houses...

And a cool bird...

Plus some great playground equipment that I could lie on and groan about my stomach pain.

Suburb #67 Casey

So last weekend was a suburban adventure of extreme distances and varied experiences...starting in suburb number 67....Casey in Gungahlin.

Casey is named after Richard Gavin Gardiner Casey, an Australian politician, diplomat, Governor General of Australia and a baron no less. He was Australia's foreign affairs minister during a few little minor incidents like the Suez Crisis, the Vietnam War and the Cold War. He was also colonial governor of Bengal between 1944 and 1946 which probably interests me more than it interests you

As my learned fellow adventurer guessed, the streets here are named after notable Australian diplomats and public servants such as Sir John Overall.

Casey is a lot newer than I realised, with many houses still being built and heaps of construction still underway...

Nevertheless, the residents here are clearly going places...ahhh nothing like climbing that social structure and fulfilling the (American) *cough* your dreams....

Casey even has its own great wall...

Oddly Casey also has a lot of stairs that appear to go nowhere though...

But jokes aside, you can already see some typical Gungahlinesque features developing....those that I love, like the splashes of bright colour...

The awesome parks (although town planners please make your slides big enough for grown ups with hips, I have lost weight but almost got stuck in this slide...)...

And the beautiful and sometimes not so beautiful suburban ambience...

Unfortunately, someone always has to ruin it with a flag...