Braddon, one of Canberra's oldest suburbs, is named after Sir Edward Braddon. He was the Premier of Tasmania in late 1890s and a member of Australia's first parliament. He also represented Tasmania at the constitutional conventions.
The streets are named after Aboriginal words, legislators and pioneers.
I started my adventure in the north west corner of Braddon where I used to live. It was immediately clear that my old suburb had continued to change in my absence - with the row of houses opposite where I used to live in Lowanna St almost all gone.
I had a sudden panic - OMG what about the best tree in Canberra? But I was relieved to see that my favourite tree was still OK and protected behind a fence. It may not look like much, but trust me when its blossoms come out, this tree is remarkable.
Around the corner from my old place, the sleepy cul de sac looked the same from the top...
My little laneway through to the shops is still there though...
Yep the original braddon local shops - blink and you may miss them :p Mum and I certainly did the first time we followed the sign to the 'shops' from the corner....
It is here at the famous chicken shop that one of my favourite people first glared at me and almost scared me back to Sydney on my 2nd day in Canberra...
Across the road is one of my other old abodes - with its fantastic view of the local drunks in the park - ahhh braddon :p
And Fort Vegetable is still standing :)
The crazy cockatoos are still terrorising the neigbourhood as well....
But near the Rex hotel its all changing...with the public housing that I used to find beauty in being pulled down everywhere...
But it was time to visit my first residence in Canberra, behind the infamous Haig park....its all a bit different these days though I imagine, from when I would be kept awake all night by the burnouts being done around the block...
The fabulous mandalay bus is still there though :) The food here has always been amazing, but it is so much more than more than...it is part of canberra history, and the warmth of the staff/owners hasn't changed. I miss walking across the park from my house and being greeted by name, or sitting and talking in the early hours of the morning after a few too many drinks in the city and one heartbreak or another.
Nowhere is the 'new Braddon' more evident than on the other side of the park in Lonsdale St though. Gone are the car yards and tyre shops... replaced with architecture that will no doubt look like shit in a few decades, but right now it still looks pretty funky :p
Thankfully Debacle - which certainly has witnessed a few too many of my own creation over the year - is still there.
And importantly there is yummy food everywhere :)
Oh and the "Civo" is still there :p
Alas Knightsbridge has seen better days....(oh how I miss Mortis)....
But there was still one last Braddon residence for me to visit and one last neighbourhood (yes I did pretty much move Braddon-Campbell-Braddon for my first 17 years in Canberra!)... so it was time to visit Gorman House...
I miss the markets where I used to have lunch on Saturdays, one block from my house...but it is still a gorgeous place to visit..
And most importantly still hosts Sage and now the wonderful Mint Bar...
Across the road the suicide flats - where I once almost got hit by a couch that had been thrown off a top story balcony (seriously!) are now gone....
But Batman St is still there - and unusually the sign hasn't been stolen...
And my favourite Braddon residence - and old worker's cottage - is still standing :)
And the old salvos hall is still there....
And it is not all completely hip-ster-ised yet...
