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Inner NorthCanberra · ACT

Guide 1 of 6 · Which suburbs

The Inner North and City District, and its twelve localities

The Inner North and City District Policy applies to its district, and its Land Use Table carries a row for each of twelve localities, the City Centre among them.

How to read the plan

Stop
a light rail stop on the avenue, in order from the City
Nature reserve
a reserve at the district's edge, with its height
City Centre
the City, as the district policy names it
Lake Burley Griffin: beyond the City. The extension from Alinga Street to Commonwealth Park is to improve the link between the city and the lake LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN Black Mountain Nature Reserve: 434 hectares on the northern side of Lake Burley Griffin, its hill 812 metres above sea level under a 195-metre tower Black Mountain Nature Reserve · 812 m on the northern side of Lake Burley Griffin Mount Ainslie Nature Reserve: 637 hectares adjoining Mount Majura Nature Reserve; together they overlook the city of Canberra from its north-east Mount Ainslie Nature Reserve · 842 m overlooking the city from its north-east Mount Majura Nature Reserve: 502 hectares adjoining Mount Ainslie Nature Reserve to the south, its hill 888 metres above sea level, the highest in northern Canberra Mount Majura Nature Reserve · 888 m adjoining Mount Ainslie to the south Northbourne Avenue: the district policy’s own area heading names Braddon, Dickson, Downer, Lyneham, O’Connor and Turner as the Northbourne Avenue area Federal Highway: Transport Canberra’s notice puts the replacement bus stop for Phillip Avenue on the Federal Highway, after Phillip Avenue. Federal Highway Swinden Street: the sixth stop from the City, as Transport Canberra lists it SWINDEN STREET Dickson Interchange: the fifth stop from the City, as Transport Canberra lists it DICKSON INTERCHANGE Macarthur Avenue: the fourth stop from the City, as Transport Canberra lists it MACARTHUR AVENUE Ipima Street: the third stop from the City, as Transport Canberra lists it IPIMA STREET Elouera Street: the second stop from the City, as Transport Canberra lists it ELOUERA STREET Alinga Street: the first stop from the City, as Transport Canberra lists it ALINGA STREET City Centre: the district policy identifies the City Centre Entertainment Precinct; light rail runs from the city to Gungahlin via Dickson. CITY CENTRE The twelve localities, in the order the district policy lists them. Ainslie, named for James Ainslie (1787–1844). Opens the guide to the twelve localities. AINSLIE James Ainslie (1787–1844) Braddon, named for Sir Edward Braddon PC KCMG (1829–1904). Opens the guide to the twelve localities. BRADDON Sir Edward Braddon PC KCMG (1829–1904) Campbell, named for Robert Campbell (1769–1846). Opens the guide to the twelve localities. CAMPBELL Robert Campbell (1769–1846) City, named for City. Opens the guide to the twelve localities. CITY City Dickson, named for Sir James Dickson, KCMG (1832 – 1901). Opens the guide to the twelve localities. DICKSON Sir James Dickson, KCMG (1832 – 1901) Downer, named for Sir John Downer (1843 – 1915). Opens the guide to the twelve localities. DOWNER Sir John Downer (1843 – 1915) Hackett, named for Sir John Winthrop Hackett KCMG (1848 – 1916). Opens the guide to the twelve localities. HACKETT Sir John Winthrop Hackett KCMG (1848 – 1916) Lyneham, named for Sir William Lyne, KCMG (1844 – 1913). Opens the guide to the twelve localities. LYNEHAM Sir William Lyne, KCMG (1844 – 1913) O’Connor, named for Richard Edward O'Connor, QC (1851 – 1912). Opens the guide to the twelve localities. O’CONNOR Richard Edward O'Connor, QC (1851 – 1912) Reid, named for Right Honourable Sir George Reid, PC GCB GCMG KC (1845 – 1918). Opens the guide to the twelve localities. REID Right Honourable Sir George Reid, PC GCB GCMG KC (1845 – 1918) Turner, named for Rt Hon Sir George Turner PC KCMG (1851 – 1916). Opens the guide to the twelve localities. TURNER Rt Hon Sir George Turner PC KCMG (1851 – 1916) Watson, named for Hon John Christian Watson (1867 – 1941). Opens the guide to the twelve localities. WATSON Hon John Christian Watson (1867 – 1941) Lake Burley Griffin: beyond the City. The extension from Alinga Street to Commonwealth Park is to improve the link between the city and the lake LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN Northbourne Avenue: the district policy’s own area heading names Braddon, Dickson, Downer, Lyneham, O’Connor and Turner as the Northbourne Avenue area Federal Highway: Transport Canberra’s notice puts the replacement bus stop for Phillip Avenue on the Federal Highway, after Phillip Avenue. Federal Highway Alinga Street: the first stop from the City, as Transport Canberra lists it Alinga Street Elouera Street: the second stop from the City, as Transport Canberra lists it Elouera Street Ipima Street: the third stop from the City, as Transport Canberra lists it Ipima Street Macarthur Avenue: the fourth stop from the City, as Transport Canberra lists it Macarthur Avenue Dickson Interchange: the fifth stop from the City, as Transport Canberra lists it Dickson Interchange Swinden Street: the sixth stop from the City, as Transport Canberra lists it Swinden Street City Centre: the district policy identifies the City Centre Entertainment Precinct; light rail runs from the city to Gungahlin via Dickson. City Centre
North is to the rightup. The avenue and its stops are set in Transport Canberra’s order, the City at the line’s southern end and the lake beyond it. No locality is placed on it: the official pages linked here set none on a map, so the register below carries all twelve.

The district

The planning instrument is the Territory Plan’s D03 Inner North and City District Policy, and it applies to land within the area identified as the Inner North and City District. The Territory Plan that contains it describes nine urban districts and one non-urban district, each with its own characteristics and themes, and its district policies carry the considerations and requirements specific to a district or part of one.

The policy introduces its policy outcomes as the high-level objectives for the district, derived from the relevant district strategy. Among the desired policy outcomes to be achieved for Inner North and City District, as the policy words the list, is an aim to develop economic and mixed-use hubs at and near the light rail stops along Northbourne Avenue, on sustainable urban development principles.

That name is the planning district’s. The ACT Heritage Register’s precinct entries in these suburbs are filed under the District of Canberra Central, with the division named beside it as in ‘Division of Braddon’, and the Office of the Surveyor-General and Land Information writes of the Canberra Central District when it describes its radial survey.

At the city end of the line the lake comes close: the ACT Government’s light rail project says the first stage beyond the City will extend the network by 1.7 kilometres, bringing the city and the lake closer together. Black Mountain Nature Reserve is a 434-hectare protected area on the northern side of Lake Burley Griffin, with a prominent hill 812 metres above sea level topped by a 195-metre tower.

For the North Canberra area in its 2021 census, the Australian Bureau of Statistics counted 61,188 people, with a median age of 31. In the same area the bureau counts flats or apartments at 42.6 per cent of dwellings and separate houses at 39.2 per cent.

The ACT Planning website says the district strategies will help guide how Canberra changes and grows towards 2038 and beyond to 2050, and that they link city-wide planning, policies and legislation to the local outcomes in the Territory Plan, with no role in the assessment of development applications. The first version of the nine was based on the information and data available at the time of preparation, including the latest census data from 2021.

The twelve localities

Each row pairs the locality’s own row in the district policy’s Land Use Table with the ACT place-names register’s account of its name. This guide draws no boundary between localities: the policy names the areas it uses, and no other grouping is added to them.

  1. Ainslie

    In the policy
    A row of its own in the district policy’s Land Use Table.
    In the register
    James Ainslie (1787–1844), first overseer of ‘Duntroon Station’.

  2. Braddon

    In the policy
    A row of its own in the policy’s Land Use Table, and the policy names Braddon under both its Inner North area and its Northbourne Avenue area.
    In the register
    Sir Edward Braddon PC KCMG (1829–1904), Premier of Tasmania 1894-1899, legislator, federalist and one of the founders of the Constitution.

  3. Campbell

    In the policy
    A row of its own in the district policy’s Land Use Table.
    In the register
    Robert Campbell (1769–1846), pioneer of Canberra.

  4. City

    In the policy
    A row of its own in the district policy’s Land Use Table.
    In the register
    The commercial centre of Canberra, its streets following Aboriginal words, pioneers and capital cities.

  5. Dickson

    In the policy
    A row of its own in the policy’s Land Use Table, and the policy names Dickson under both its Inner North area and its Northbourne Avenue area.
    In the register
    Sir James Dickson KCMG (1832–1901), Premier of Queensland 1898–1899, Founder of the Constitution.

  6. Downer

    In the policy
    A row of its own in the policy’s Land Use Table, and the policy names Downer under its Northbourne Avenue area.
    In the register
    Sir John Downer (1843–1915), Premier of South Australia.

  7. Hackett

    In the policy
    A row of its own in the district policy’s Land Use Table.
    In the register
    Sir John Winthrop Hackett KCMG (1848–1916), legislator, editor of the West Australian and public benefactor.

  8. Lyneham

    In the policy
    A row of its own in the policy’s Land Use Table, and the policy names Lyneham under both its Inner North area and its Northbourne Avenue area.
    In the register
    Sir William Lyne KCMG (1844–1913), legislator, Premier of New South Wales, federalist and one of the Founders of the Constitution.

  9. O’Connor

    In the policy
    A row of its own in the policy’s Land Use Table, and the policy names O’Connor under both its Inner North area and its Northbourne Avenue area.
    In the register
    Richard Edward O’Connor QC (1851–1912), legislator, federalist, one of the founders of the Constitution, senator and High Court judge.

  10. Reid

    In the policy
    A row of its own in the district policy’s Land Use Table.
    In the register
    Right Honourable Sir George Reid PC GCB GCMG KC (1845–1918), Prime Minister 1904–1905 (321 days).

  11. Turner

    In the policy
    A row of its own in the policy’s Land Use Table, and the policy names Turner under both its Inner North area and its Northbourne Avenue area.
    In the register
    Rt Hon Sir George Turner PC KCMG (1851–1916), Victorian Premier, legislator, federalist and one of the founders of the Constitution.

  12. Watson

    In the policy
    A row of its own in the district policy’s Land Use Table.
    In the register
    Hon John Christian Watson (1867–1941), Prime Minister 1904 (113 days).

The City Centre

The place-names register’s row for the City gives its significance as the commercial centre of Canberra, and its streets as following Aboriginal words, pioneers and capital cities.

The ACT Heritage Register records the Melbourne and Sydney Buildings as the earliest major developments in Civic, and says they dominated development there from the 1920s until the late 1950s.

The Territory Plan’s entertainment precinct page says the City Centre Entertainment Precinct is identified in the Inner North and City District Policy, that the City Centre is where the first entertainment precinct sits, and that the precinct’s Core is centred around Garema Place and the Sydney Building.

The ACT Government’s City Plan was released in November 2023 as a refresh of the plan approved in 2014, giving direction for the future growth of the City Centre.

At the city end of the line, Transport Canberra names Alinga Street: it is the first stop on the notice’s list, whose other end is Gungahlin Place, and light rail has run between Gungahlin and the City since 20 April 2019.