Suburb #86 Holder

For Suburb #86 I decided to finish off the Weston area...with the South of Canberra getting pretty close to being done now! :)

Holder is named after Sir Frederick William Holder - a former premier of South Australia and the first ever Speaker in the House of Representatives. He died of a brain hemmorhage following an accident with a mule.

The streets are named after Australian surveyors.

I started my adventures at the rather sleepy holder shops...well sleepy apart from the happy 'wildlife' and a possible serious drug problem :p

Then it was off to explore the suburb more broadly - I actually quite liked the feel of this place - some interesting little streets and more variety in terms of housing design than some of the other suburbs. And they even have their own Hilton hotel :p

Further North there is also an archery centre and an impressive community garden... and even a Sukyo Mahikari religious centre...I had never even heard of this new Japanese religion before, but there you go, Canberra has everything :p

But on this hot and unusually humid Canberra day, I really could have just sat and watched the remarkable clouds from alongside Weston creek...It was like a constable painting.

Thank you Holder a lovely end to my Weston adventures :)

Suburb #85 Dickson

So when I started doing this project my partner at the time advised me not to do all the inner north suburbs - which he had thought would be the most interesting - all at once....this turned out not to be the case, but also ironically with only about 30 suburbs left to go I still have most of the inner north to do. So it seemed fitting to explore Dickson as the epic suburb number 85 of this project!

Dickson is named after Sir James Dickson, a Queensland politician and businessman, one of the founders of the Australian Constitution. He was appointed first Australia's Minister for Defence on 1 January 1901 - but died nine days later. The first federal Minister to die in office.

There is no theme for the the street names in this suburb! How rude! but at least they have a sign :)

I started my Dickson adventure outside the ABC studios on Northbourne avenue a couple of minutes walk from my old house...I love this building. It just reminds me of a bad 70s tv show.

And just around the corner is the similarly stylish Pavillion hotel :p Eating dinner in this hotel used to feel like you had literally got lost in the 70s....amongst the ferns, palms, orange plastic and 'sails'. I am glad they have kept the mosaic out the front :p

 
I then started walking north towards the shops down one of my favourite leafy streets....

Past my favourite mystery apartments....this place so intrigues me...I need to find someone who lives behind these walls...

Then it was off to the shops for what Dickson does best - yummy Asian food and Asian grocery shopping - afterall for Canberra this is as close as you get to China town!

I treated myself to lunch at the wonderful vegetarian restaurant Au Lac - I don't know why I don't come here more often. Fresh, yummy, vegie food. This time around I had fried tofu, an asparagus soup and a yummy spicy watermelon juice.

I wonder if the butcher's shop next door is trying to make eating meat seem more attractive...but their animal pictures always make me sad :(

After lunch it was time to wander around the local Asian grocery shops buying weird candy, soft drinks, tofu and herbs...

I then walked over to the other side of Dickson where the main shopping centre is. At first I think its like a bit of a time warp - looks exactly the same as when I first moved to Canberra...

But I was pleased to see that there is some new life being breathed into this part of the suburb...with new eateries, colour and much more of a community feeling. I didn't know that Bean and Grain was located here now. I can't wait to come back here for brunch soon! There is also a new vegetarian cafe which has GF haloumi burgers - definitely coming back here for lunch!!!

The local dogs seem impressed :p

Though maybe they are just hoping they will get to have a pie from the local pie shop which sounds pretty popular....

The old Dickson is definitely still there....

Including the very 'Dickson' two story brick houses...

But there seem to be new splashes of colour everywhere....

But there was one more surprise to come.....did you know there were bird wetlands in Dickson? I certainly didn't. A couple of minutes away from the shops, past the playing fields where the original Canberra airport was, and you are in a completely different world. Sitting here near Sullivan's creek was a perfect way to finish my Dickson adventure :)

Suburb #84 Gowrie

Next stop was Gowrie, suburb no. 84, just a step and a jump away on the other side of Fadden.

Gowrie is named after Brigadier General Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore Ruthven - now thats an impressive name! Alexander was the first earl of Gowrie and also Australia's Governor General from 1936 to 1944. He had a very distinguished military career - participating in campaigns in Sudan, India, France and Gallipoli.

The streets here are named after members of the Australian Defence Force.

The most notable thing about Gowrie first off is that it seems to be having an identity crisis. It has no suburb sign and signage within the suburb incorrectly refers to Fadden...in fact the whole suburb appears to want to be part of Fadden next door. The above sign on a housing complex was the only real evidence I could find that I was actually in Gowrie!

I have to say though I didn't really warm to Gowrie myself...it lacks the charm and individuality of Macarthur only two minutes away. Though a much larger suburb, its much more generic..a land of similar houses and 'agapanthus gardens'.

But if you look hard enough you can always find some things of interest...such as this Catholic Church....

Some impressive ivy (or possibly a lost alien from doctor who?)... worthy of the military street signs in this suburb.

Gowrie's local shops are also making a valiant effort to stay afloat. Has anyone been to the cafe there? It was open but looks worth a go.

And a good playground always keeps me happy :) It was a lot harder climbing down from the rope tower than it was getting up to the top though!

So Gowrie - stand up and be proud. You can do it! :)

Suburb #83 Macarthur

Suburb no. 83 was Macarthur in the South. I was really  looking forward to this after  a long time no suburbing...and it didn't disappoint.

Macarthur is named after John Macarthur of sheep industry fame who first came to Australia as part of the second fleet. He was granted property out at Parramatta that he named Elizabeth Farm after his wife.This was where he began his experiments with wool growth, eventually becoming the largest sheep rearer in the colony.


The streets here  are named after the wool industry.

Macarthur seems quite a world away from Gilmore across the road. The houses are of interesting design, and the gardens are well kept and gorgeous.

The Canberra nature park and horse paddocks at the back of the suburb are also a gorgeous place for a stroll amongst the significant numbers of crickets!

 

If you look hard enough you might even see some wildlife here :p