The Canberra History Group

Contents:

Aborigines & Exploration  :   Canberra   :   Weston Creek ACT  :  

Queanbeyan NSW

Yarralumla ACT - Stirling Park (Westlake)

1.  References to the Aborigines in the Canberra Area (A. Gugler) - contains references from well known sources on Canberra history and includes the meanings of some Aboriginal names. 

2.  Exploration of the Limestone Plains (Canberra ACT) - in brief

3. A Month in the Bush of Australia, 1837 - excerpts pertaining to the district north and east of Canberra - from the book by Thomas Walker. Walker mentions pioneer pastoralists, Dr Andrew Gibson of Tirranna - William Faithful of Springfield - John Gore of Gilmour - James McFarlane of Inveralochy - Terence Aubrey Murray of Winderadeen, Collector NSW - Cornelius O'Brien of Cooma Cottage, Yass NSW; landform, vegetation, farming and grazing around Yass, Gundaroo, Lake George and Lake Bathurst NSW, both dry in 1837.

1.  The Name Canberra - a discussion via Letters to the Editor, The Argus, 1920.

2.  Canberra and the Territory for the Seat of Government of the Commonwealth - Federal Capital Commission, Canberra 1926.

A booklet produced by the Federal Capital Commission, providing a brief review of history, features and progress to 1926.  Contains photographs of early Canberra and Maps (split into sections) (pdf file, 3.8Mb)

3. The Mystery of Bellona (aka Boudicea) - Goddess of War - Canberra's First Statue 

1.  Larceny at Johnson's Hut, Weston Creek ACT  (Trish Frei)

2.  Captain Edmund Harrison CLIFFE of Craven Estate, Weston Creek ACT  (Trish Frei)

Below: A Google satellite image of Weston Creek, situated on the right hand of the image. The suburbs comprising Weston Creek are: Chapman, Duffy, Fisher, Holder, Rivett, Stirling, Waramanga and Weston. The river to the north is the Molonglo River, and to the east, the Murrumbidgee River. The Cotter Road is the long yellow line stretching from east to west. this image was taken after the 2003 Firestorm which obliterated the pine forest, generally situated within the brown areas.

1.  The Sawpit Gully Murder and the trial of the Indian Jugglers, Mahomet Cassim and Mahomet Abdallah, convicted of the murder of their companion, Madhoul  (Trish Frei)

2. The Tragic Death of Cornelius Grady - a farmer of Yarralumla (Railway accident, Queanbeyan, 1888)

1. Ngunawal and Colonial Sites, Temporary Camps & Settlements 1922-1965 (by Ann Gugler)

2.  Before European Settlement :  Signs of use by the traditional owners of the Land - the Ngunawal People.  (Ann Gugler)

3.  European occupation of the land  -  known to the Ngunawal as Gura Bung Dhaura, Colonials as Klensendorlffe's Land, Construction workers as Westlake, and today as Stirling Park and Capital Hill.  (Ann Gugler) -  (in 7 Parts - click on link below)

     Part 1:  Settlers 1820s-1911; William Klensendorlffe; Briar Farm; House site, Stirling Ridge

     Part 2: The Construction era; historical background; Post War One period 

                         and resumption of contruction of the city

      Part 3:  Westlake - cottages in The Gap.

      Part 4:  The Land - Stirling Park - post settlement period. 

      Part 5:  The Rubbish Dumps of Stirling Park. 

     Part 6:  No.3 Sewer Camp in The Gap and on Stirling Ridge. 

      Part 7:  Other evidence of man's occupation of the Parkland - Stirling Park. 

Below: A Google satellite image of Stirling Park, on the foreshores of Lake Burley Griffin and bordered by the following streets: Hopetoun Cct on the west; Fitzgerald and Hunter Sts, Empire Cct, Forster Cr., on the south; Flynn Drive on the east and Alexandrina Drive to the north, running through the Park. The Canberra Yacht Club is situated the peninsula where Briar Farm once stood. The green patch in the centre of the Park and to the right towards Flynn Drive, is where the Westlake settlement and construction camps were in the 20th century.

 TOP