The suburb was gazetted in 1960 and named after Sir John Downer (1843–1915) Premier of South Australia and a member of the first Australian Senate in 1901. There is no specific theme for street names.
History
Pine trees at Downer Oval which date back to the CSIRO facility in the 1940sAerial view of Downer from north east
The buildings which make up the Downer community centre and shops, were built for the CSIRO in 1930s, and the area now comprising Downer was an agricultural research facility for the CSIRO. The area now comprising the suburb was used between 1939 and 1945 as a plantation for the growth of opium poppy to provide a source for medications in the unavailability of imported supplies. The large pine and gum trees which surround the block around the shops were planted in this time as a wind break for the CSIRO building. Large trees (Camden Woolybutts) along Swinden street were also planted then, as Swinden street was the driveway for the CSIRO building, where it connected to Northbourne Avenue. With the development of the suburb the trees became diseased during the 1980s and a program is underway to replace them with more amenable local varieties of gum. As of September 2008, all but two or three of the older Swinden Street gums have been removed.[citation needed]
Downer has a local oval between Frencham, Melba, Bonython and Bradfield streets, with a shopping centre. However, in 2005 the shopping centre was vacant due partly to the poor location of the centre away from major roads. The shops were refurbished in the late 2010s, with a new cafe and vet clinic. In May 2019 a bronze kangaroo sculpture was unveiled, to replace a previous kangaroo sculpture which went missing six years earlier.[2]
Nearby, the Canberra Business Centre until recently occupied the site of the former Downer Primary School. The school closed in 1988.[citation needed]
Calcareous shales from the Canberra Formation is overlain by Quaternary alluvium. This rock is the limestone of the original title of Canberra "Limestone Plains".[3]
Acton is a suburb of Canberra, ACT, Australia. Acton covers an area west of the CBD, bordered by Black Mountain to the west and Lake Burley Griffin in the south. The Australian National University campus covers most of the suburb, though also located in Acton is the National Film and Sound Archive, a branch of the CSIRO and the National Museum of Australia.
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.
Yarralumla is a large inner south suburb of Canberra, the capital city of Australia. Located approximately 3.5 km (2.2 mi) south-west of the city, Yarralumla extends along the south-west bank of Lake Burley Griffin from Scrivener Dam to Commonwealth Avenue.
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.
Kingston is the oldest and one of the most densely populated suburbs of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The suburb is named after Charles Cameron Kingston, the former Premier of South Australia and minister in the first Australian Commonwealth Government. It is adjacent to the suburbs of Barton, Fyshwick, Griffith and Manuka. The suburb of Kingston is situated about 4 km from the centre of Canberra.
Narrabundah is a leafy, medium density suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, located in the inner south of the city.
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.
The Dickson Centre, located in the suburb of Dickson, is a group centre in the inner northern suburbs of 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.
Ainslie is a suburb of Canberra, Australia in the North Canberra district.
Aranda is a suburb in the district of Belconnen, in the Australian capital city of Canberra. Located at the western foot of Black Mountain and bounded on two sides by nature park, the suburb is characterised by its bush setting. During the planning and development of the suburb, a large proportion of large native trees – predominantly eucalypts – were left in place.
Northbourne Avenue is a major road in Canberra, Australia. It extends from City Hill in the south, to the Federal Highway in the north.
City Hill is a park located in Canberra, Australia, on one of the points of the Parliamentary Triangle, a feature of Walter Burley Griffin's plan for the city. The park is surrounded by Vernon Circle, at the south end of Northbourne Avenue, but beyond Vernon Circle it is further surrounded by the concentric London Circuit, and the area between Vernon Circle and London Circuit can also be seen as part of the hill. City Hill is an integral part of the city centre design. To the south of the hill Northbourne Avenue becomes Commonwealth Avenue, and further along is Commonwealth Avenue bridge.
Manuka is an area in the Inner South district of Canberra, Australia covering parts of the suburbs of Griffith and Forrest. Manuka Shops, Manuka Oval, Manuka Swimming Pool, and Manuka Circle take their name from the park in the area.
Bonython is a suburb of Tuggeranong, a township in southern Canberra, capital city of Australia.
Toorak Gardens is a leafy, mainly residential inner eastern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, located 2 km east of the Adelaide city centre.
Springbank Island is an island located on Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Springbank Island is named after a former agricultural property that was partially submerged to create Lake Burley Griffin. An elevated part of the former property now comprises the island.
St Marys is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, located to the south of the Central Business District. It is bordered by Daws Road (north), South Road (west), Cashel Street (east) and Mill Terrace (south). The suburb is located within the City of Mitcham local government authority. St Marys Park is one of the largest reserves within the suburb and was originally the training ground of the South Adelaide Football Club.
Swinden Street is a light rail station in Australia on the Canberra Metro R1 Civic to Gungahlin line, located on Northbourne Avenue at the intersection of Swinden Street, opposite the Lyneham sports complex. The station serves the suburbs of Lyneham and Downer, with a small dedicated park and ride that opened in December 2020. Bicycle racks are also provided for commuters adjacent to the station.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
