Guy Allen

On the eastern side of Braybrooke Street is the sports precinct with the Australian Institute of Sport, Bruce Stadium, and other sporting facilities. On the western side of Braybrooke are low-rise apartments, most of which have a 21st-century look and feel. While the Street is long, the traffic is well-managed and not very noisy, although the Street inevitably gets a little crazy when it is game day at the Stadium. The views towards Bruce Ridge, though, give this street almost a serene feel the rest of the time.

Quite possibly the first suburb in Australia to get the NBN. Possibly the worst mobile coverage in CBR, but makes it up for it in other ways, like great street parking for visitors and being only the third place in the world to have a Goodberry's. Some very good looking houses up on the hill, and some nice duck ponds down on the flat. Some smart looking townhouses close to the shops, and rows of modern-looking low-rise apartments cluster in the northern part of the suburb.

The town planners who designed Gungahlin were not fans of the motor vehicle. Some of the residential streets are ridiculously narrow, and street parking is non-existent in some places. It is, however, a much nicer place to walk around than Civic or any other town centre in Canberra.

Up one end is Yerrabi Pond, and at the other end is the ACT Public Library. In between is Bunnings, a motel, a bottle shop, the Raiders Club, a Bangladeshi grocer, a laundromat, a beautician, a real estate agency and several take-aways. Home to thousands of people, who live in the apartment towers (Lumi, Jade & Ruby), Gribble Street is a very vibrant part of Gungahlin.

The most noticeable thing about Eardley Street is that it bridges The Pink Lake. While the street is very short and only has two driveways, it is the home address for 89 apartment dwellers. On the north side of the Street, there are 24 units in the Savoy complex. And, on the south side of the Street, there are 65 apartments in the Elara complex. The 'Little Elara Library' adds a nice community feel, where one can borrow, share, return or donate books to neighbours.

The Street can get quite busy at morning & evening peak hours. There is a bus stop on both sides of the Street, one of which has a bus shelter. There is an 'Urban Open Space' on both sides of the Street, where one can walk along the banks of The Pink Lake and listen to the frogs.

Bruce is one of the least homogenous suburbs in Canberra, and is really a suburb in three parts. When most people think of Bruce, they probably think of East Bruce, which has north Canberra’s only hospital, a significant sports precinct as well as technology precinct. East Bruce, however, has plenty of residential homes, ranging from flats to houses. Bruce Ridge is much beloved by cyclists for its mountain bike trails. North Bruce belongs to the University of Canberra, which has uni rezzies. Demographically speaking, Bruce has the youngest median age in the Belconnen district and quite probably the whole of Canberra. This is probably due partly to the student population. South Bruce is quite posh, and has some of the most expensive houses in the Belconnen district. Since the pandemic, more than half a dozen houses have sold here for between $2m and $3m, which is not that common on the northside of Canberra.

Bonner is blessed with beautiful street trees, which blossom in Spring and change colour in Autumn. These will be majestic in thirty or forty years from now. But, the immediate benefit is that the suburb has less of a bushfire hazard compared to the gum-tree ridden suburbs of the Belconnen district. Bonner has several modestly-sized hills, so that one is only ever a short walk to a nice view. There are some larger blocks, but most of the suburb's houses are built on smaller blocks. A lot of the residents bought into the suburb because of the affordability of the land rent scheme. So, this is a community which strongly values home ownership and the Great Australian Dream.

Friendly neighbours who keep an eye on what’s going on, and ask what you are doing in a polite way. It seems like the entire street was built by one builder in 1977, who built only two bedroom houses. So, all of the houses have matching bricks. Some of the floor plans are reversed, and a few of them are oriented slightly differently. Some of the owners have extended or added a sunroom at the back. A couple of them have added bull-nose verandahs, which look quite charming. The street has a little island with a turning circle at the end and fans out to provide a bit of end-of-street parking, which is probably handy on auction day or when one of the residences is hosting a party.

Charnwood is largely a hillside suburb which mostly faces West-South-West. Charnwood Hill is one of the foothills of Mount Rogers. At the top of Charnwood Hill is Charnwood Bowl, which is one of the coolest and least-known skate parks in Canberra. Many parts of the suburb have a leafy feel with tall gums. Other parts of the suburb have a more open and sunnier feel. Home designs range from modest flats on the lower slopes near the shopping centre to five-bedroom, two-storey homes on the Hill, which are designed to take in the gorgeous views of sunsets over the Brindabella Ranges.

You would probably be pressed to find another Canberra suburb with more flag poles and more Australian flags. And, sometimes, it feels like Summernats all year round, as the suburb contains a high percentage of motoring enthusiasts. Statistically, the suburb has a slightly lower percentage of owner-occupiers, as it is popular with investors. There is a slightly higher percentage of Government housing than most other suburbs in the Ginninderra district. The population does not, however, seem more transient than nearby suburbs. While the median home prices usually suggest that Charnwood is Canberra’s most affordable suburb, many long-term residents would not live anywhere else, even if they had a choice. Charnwood has a passionate, friendly and generous community. There are not too many other Canberra suburbs which could put on an event which comes close to the Charny Carny.

Melba has quite a mix of topography, people & home designs. It spreads from the banks of Ginninderra Creek to almost the top of Mount Rogers with a few flat parts on the way. Rich and poor live almost side by side. Homes vary from Govy houses and modest flats to bespoke houses which people designed themselves. Many people will proudly tell you that they bought their blocks in the early 70s, and they plan to leave in a box.