The Dickson Centre, located in the suburb of Dickson, is a group centre in the inner northern suburbs of Canberra.
The centre is the main commercial centre for the inner northern suburbs, after Civic, and is a significant site of employment. A range of businesses, services and community facilities are located there as well as a private school: Daramalan College.
Dickson Centre is located 3 km north of Civic along Northbourne Avenue at the northern end of the suburb of Dickson. It lies on the southern side of Antill Street and is bounded on the eastern side by Cowper Street.
Dickson Centre is the largest group centre in Canberra. It is structured as an outdoor pedestrian area with a ‘village square’ feel, without a mall or arcades. There are a broad range of community facilities, restaurants, shops and offices.
The central area around Woolley Street is often referred to as Canberra's Chinatown, though, it has diversified to include Indian, Korean, Italian, Japanese and South-East Asian restaurants as well as Chinese restaurants and grocers.
Community facilities are primarily at the eastern end, and include: the post office, swimming pool, playing fields, community health clinic, gymnasium, church and an ACT Ambulance Service station, which serves the inner northern suburbs.
The western side, approaching Northbourne Avenue, has large offices, which include: Telstra’s regional headquarters; TransACT; ACT Motor Registry; CanberraConnect; and the ACT Planning and Land Authority.
Other services include: banks, a large newsagency, a health food shop, Jhay's shoe repairs, optometrist, a number of automotive repairers and small offices such as real estate agents and accountants. As well as representation from many of the major national and international brands and franchises, such as: Woolworths, McDonald's, Ampol, Ali Baba, KFC, Subway, Zambrero and Domino's Pizza.
Night venues include: the Taphouse pub; and The Tradies (The Dickson Tradesman's Union Club.)
Daytime meeting places and cafes include: Hudson's, My Rainbow Cafe, Elaine's Pies and Dickson Library
Zoning changes adopted as a result of the development of the Dickson Centre Master Plan, [1] permit new buildings up to 12 metres (three storeys) high on the parking areas in Section 30 around the shopping centre, except for an area next to Antill street where 24 metre high buildings are permitted. In the area to its west and south (north of Sullivans Creek and east of Challis Street, including the Woolley St area), 21 metre (six storey) high buildings are permitted. [2] It is planned to build new Coles and Aldi supermarkets, 150 apartments and a 500-space parking garage on the parking area north of the current shops. [3]
Canberra’s light rail line runs along Northbourne avenue which forms the western boundary of Dickson. The Dickson interchange is the third busiest stop on the line. Dickson Centre is located at the corner of two major roads - Antill Street and Northbourne Avenue. These streets also intersect with Mouat Street, a major route to suburbs in northern Belconnen.
The centre is well served by buses running to surrounding suburbs and also further afield to Civic and Belconnen. Dickson Interchange south of Antill Street on Canberra's light rail line opened in April 2019 on Northbourne Avenue.
The area that became Dickson oval and Dickson shops was once an aerodrome in the early history of Canberra. [4] On the side of the Dickson Library is a plaque which marks this, and reads:
Belconnen is a district in the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. The district is subdivided into 27 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. As at the 2021 census, the district had a population of 106,061 people; and was the most populous district within the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
Civic is the city centre or central business district of Canberra. "Civic" is a common name for the district, but it is also called Civic Centre, City Centre, Canberra City and Canberra, and its official division name is City.
The Division of Canberra is an Australian electoral division in the Australian Capital Territory. It is named for the city of Canberra, Australia's national capital, and includes all of central Canberra, Kowen, Majura, as well as part of Weston Creek, Woden Valley, Molonglo Valley, Belconnen, and Jerrabomberra. It is currently held by Alicia Payne of the Labor Party.
Braddon is an inner north suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia located adjacent to the Canberra CBD.
Turner is a suburb in the Australian city of Canberra, close to Canberra City and the Australian National University.
Gungahlin is a district in the Australian Capital Territory, one of fastest growing regions in Australia. The district is subdivided into suburbs, sections and blocks. Gungahlin is an Aboriginal word meaning either "white man's house" or "little rocky hill".
Lyneham is a suburb of Canberra, Australia in the North Canberra district. It is named after Sir William Lyne, premier of New South Wales from 1899 to 1901. The suburb name was gazetted in 1928, but development did not commence until 1958. The streets of Lyneham are named after artists and people associated with the development of early Canberra.
Dickson is a suburb in the Inner North of Canberra, Australia. It is named after Sir James R. Dickson (1832–1901) who was a Queensland advocate of Australian Federation and one of the founders of the Australian Constitution. There is no specific theme for street names.
Macquarie is a residential suburb in the Belconnen district of Canberra, located within the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Macquarie was gazetted as a division on 22 June 1967 in recognition of Major-General Lachlan Macquarie, a former Governor of New South Wales. Streets in Macquarie are named after contemporaries of Governor Macquarie.
Downer is a suburb of Canberra, Australia, in the city's inner north. The suburb is bounded by Northbourne Avenue, Antill Street and Philip Avenue.
Northbourne Avenue is a major road in Canberra, Australia. It extends from City Hill in the south, to the Federal Highway in the north.
ACTION is a bus operator in Canberra, Australia, and is owned by the Government of the Australian Capital Territory.
Jamison Centre is a large shopping centre located in Belconnen's eastern suburb of Macquarie, Australian Capital Territory. Comprising two indoor/outdoor complexes and a range of standalone stores and facilities, the centre is anchored by Coles and Aldi stores. Other notable facilities are the Jamison branch of the Canberra Southern Cross Club and the Big Splash Water Park.
Belconnen is the most inner suburb of the larger district of Belconnen in Canberra, Australia. Sharing its name with the larger district which encapsulates it, the suburb is surrounded with well developed infrastructure, and planning which allows it sunset views from the Brindabellas on its western side. The suburb contains important amenities for the District of Belconnen including the Belconnen Town Centre and Lake Ginninderra as well as its own well populated residential areas. It is bounded by Ginninderra Drive, Aikman Drive, Eastern Valley Way, Belconnen Way and Coulter Drive. It has a number of parks such as Margaret Timpson Park, Eastern Valley Oval and on the foreshores of Lake Ginninberra, Diddams Close Park and John Knight Memorial Park.
London Circuit is a road in Canberra, Australia, which surrounds City Hill in Civic, the city centre. It has a hexagonal shape, and intersects with several main roads such as Northbourne Avenue, Edinburgh Avenue, Akuna Street, Constitution Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue.
Kippax Fair is a shopping centre in the western Canberra suburb of Holt, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Named after cricketer Alan Kippax, it serves the West Belconnen region, and is anchored by a Woolworths Supermarket, an Aldi discount supermarket, and other stores, restaurants, cafeterias, bars, and community services.
Ginninderra Drive is a major arterial road in the northern suburbs of Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The road provides an important access corridor to facilities including the Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra Stadium, the University of Canberra and Belconnen Town Centre. It is built to a dual carriageway standard carrying two or three traffic lanes in each direction for most of its length, with a speed limit of 80 km/h (50 mph). A short section from Charnwood to Dunlop is single carriageway with a speed limit of 60 km/h (37 mph). The first section of the road, connecting Lyneham with the new suburb of Evatt opened to traffic in October 1976.
Dickson Interchange is a transport interchange in Dickson, an inner-northern suburb of Canberra. The interchange allows transfers between the Canberra Metro light rail network and local ACTION bus services. As part of the construction of the Civic to Gungahlin light rail line, a new $4 million bus interchange opened in 2018. The interchange was built on land compulsorily acquired by the ACT Government in 2015, the terms of which were not disclosed to the public. Construction allowed direct access for bus and pedestrian traffic between Northbourne Avenue and Challis Street, as well as accommodation for up to nine local bus routes, a new taxi rank, kiss and ride facilities and signalised pedestrian crossings. The new facilities became an important connection point for commuters under a redesigned timetable that integrated bus and light rail services in early 2019.
Macarthur Avenue is a light rail station on the Canberra Metro R1 Civic to Gungahlin line, located at the intersection of Northbourne Avenue, Macarthur Avenue and Wakefield Avenue. This is a major intersection bordering the suburbs of Dickson, Braddon, Turner and Lyneham. Priority for light rail vehicles arriving and departing from the station has increased traffic congestion for vehicles waiting to cross Northbourne Avenue since the line began operating. The station provides bicycle racks, however there are no "kiss and ride" or dedicated parking areas for commuters.
The Sullivans Creek shared path is a 3.7 km (2.3 mi) commuter cycleway in Canberra, Australia. Opened in December 1973, the path was the first off-street cycleway in Canberra and forms a trunk route from which the network extends to the districts of North Canberra, Belconnen and Gungahlin. Transport Canberra's designated cycling routes C1, C3 and C6 all traverse sections of the path, which is by far the busiest cycle route in the city.
