Suburb #74 Garran

Next up was the final suburb in Woden Valley, suburb #74 Garran.

Garran is named after Sir Robert Randolph Garran - Australia's first (and for a period only) public servant and an expert in Australian law. He was head of Attorney Generals for 31 years. He also helped establish the ANU and was strongly involved in the Australian Federation movement. Though as usual weird facts interest me - for example, while his family lived in Phillip Street in central Sydney, apparently his mother had a deep distrust of milkman's milk and so she kept a cow in the backyard, which would walk on its own to the Domain each day to graze and return twice a day to be milked.

The streets here are named after Australian writers.

Garran is known for housing the Canberra hospital, but again I was surprised by what I found here...like Pearce nearby, I made some new friends :)

I also came across some amazing mountain views from the higher parts of the suburb...

Similarly there were a large number of mega-mansions in this suburb....some tasteful...some not so tasteful...

There were also some gorgeous gardens on display - some even with their own helicopters :p

Last but not least, I was glad to see that the local shops here are still alive and kicking - despite Woden not being far away...

And in true Canberra style the bush is just around the corner...

Suburb #73 Pearce

I recently made my final excursion to Woden Valley to visit my final two suburbs there (first district in the ACT completely explored and documented!). [And Dad, in answer to your question, Woden, built in 1964,is named after a nearby homestead which was named after the Old English god of Wisdom].

First up was the suburb #73 Pearce, which is named after Sir George Pearce who was the longest-serving Senator and longest service Minister in Australia's federal history. Originally a carpenter, Pearce helped set up the ALP in Western Australia, and was involved in what is referred to, much to my amusement (though I am sure not the emus), as the 'Great Emu War' of 1932.

The streets here are name after Pearce's contemporaries.

I had been to Pearce before...but realistically when picturing to this suburb, below were the only images that came to mind - as well as, lots of foodgasmic memories of meals at Ramas at the Pearce shops....and various attempts to chilli my tastebuds to death with their egg curry (OMG yum!).

But on my adventures, I was to discover so much more here...to start with even at the shops as it was day time I got to visit the famous original Deeks cafe aka 'mecca' for coeliacs and GF intolerant folk. I bought some yummy GF banana bread and even ran into the 'Deek' himself! These looked very tempting as well...

But beyond the shops I was also surprised to find a very beautiful suburb with gorgeous views and much more opulent houses than I expected...as well as just the right amount of 60s and 70s design.

But even more amazing was that this suburban visit felt more like a trip to a bird park or the zoo, I don't think I have ever seen more wildlife in the one suburb on one of my adventures. Definitely the bush capital at its best!

Thank you Pearce for a beautiful winter adventure on a day when I needed to be distracted by the wonders of the world around me x

Suburb #72 Weetangera

Suburb number 72 was Weetangera in Belconnen - land of the Weetangarans.

It is named after a property 'Spring vale' built in the area in the 1800s which was given an Aboriginal name. The streets here are named after pioneers of the ACT.

So my only knowledge of Weetangera was the vet clinic on the main road with the groovy 'doctor' light so I thought I might as well start here...

From here I was very pleased to wander around and come across many of the features that I really like in the older Canberra suburbs - the under passes, the pathways that run between housing blocks and of course the bush gardens...

After a very stressful few weeks, to be honest I would have been happy to keep wandering aimlessly on my own in the winter sun....but I decided to head to the shops - can't forget the local shops after all!

Alas there was not much to find here unless you count the beauty parlour (and members of my team at work would understand why this may me stop and laugh for a good five minutes!).

But even Weetangera has its own little bit of paradise...

And some lovely parks...

Including one on the grounds of an old school from the 1800s....with a cool older style playground :)

Wish I knew who Charlie was...the wonder dog? :p

I was also pleased to see that at least someone has begun the fight against winter :)