But anyway....Lyneham, which started being developed in the 50s and 60s, is named after Sir William Lyne, a premier of New South Wales prior to federation - which he strongly opposed, leading to him being passed over as first Prime Minister of Australia. Deakin described him as 'a crude, sleek, suspicious, blundering, short-sighted, backblocks politician'.
The streets here are named after artists and others associated with the development of early Canberra.
Prior to starting this project, Lyneham was one of my favourite suburbs in Canberra with its leafy streets, gorgeous gardens and somewhat hippy atmosphere so I was really looking forward to this - realising it was going to be a rather epic day out, with Lyneham more like three suburbs in one!
I started my adventures at the wetlands which have been built recently alongside Sullivan's creek. They have done such a lovely job here - creating a gorgeous spot for humans and ducks alike. I also met a few other birdie friends nearby...
Then it was off to the wonderful Lyneham local shops - a hive of activity. Amongst other things, a bookshop, the fabulous Front (where according to its website the beer is cheap and the love is free) and of course the famous Tilleys are located here.
Tilleys is named after Matilda Tilly Devine, a gangster and madame from Sydney. It was intended as a woman's space when it first opened in 1984, with men allowed entry only when accompanied by women. Apparently its now five times larger than when it opened...for me it will always bring back fond memories of watching local boys The Church play, ridiculously big breakfasts and awesome vegie burgers.
At this stage I was running out of pep, so I stopped in at the fabulous Old Canberra Inn for a refreshing drink...and couldn't restrain myself from glutening myself with some pickle chips while I was there (so good!!!). So glad they have restored this pub - but kept the same comfy heritage feel to it.
Next stop was North Lyneham....a residential area of Lyneham built much later in the mid to late 80s. And boy can you tell the difference...I felt like I had wandered into a completely different suburb - potentially somewhere in Gungahlin. The streets are much wider and lack the alternative feel of the other side of Lyneham.
But Lyneham just keeps going and going....there is exhibition park, sports grounds, the racecourse....its quite frankly massive and incredibly diverse.
Like anywhere else in Canberra new ugly flats are importantly popping up everywhere, but hopefully, Lyneham will be able to keep its character.
At least I hope so, because when I inevitably don't win the lottery and buy a house in Reid, a little townhouse in Lyneham with room for lots of cats would be just fine :)
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