Harrison, Australian Capital Territory

Harrison Canberra,  Australian Capital Territory
Light rail construction on Flemington Road, Harrison
Harrison
Coordinates	35°11′51″S149°9′16″E / 35.19750°S 149.15444°E / -35.19750; 149.15444
Population	8,244 (SAL 2021) [1]
Gazetted	18 October 1991 [2]
Postcode(s)	2914
Elevation	612 m (2,008 ft)
Area	3.0 km2 (1.2 sq mi)
Location	10 km (6 mi) N of Canberra CBD 27 km (17 mi) NNW of Queanbeyan 83 km (52 mi) SW of Goulburn 280 km (174 mi) SW of Sydney
District	Gungahlin
Territory electorate(s)	Yerrabi
Federal division(s)	Fenner
Suburbs around Harrison: Gungahlin Gungahlin Kenny Franklin Harrison Kenny Mitchell

Harrison is a suburb of the district of Gungahlin in Canberra, Australia. The suburb is named after the former city planner Peter Harrison, who was instrumental in reviving Walter Burley Griffin's plan for the National Capital. The suburb is adjacent to the suburbs of Franklin, Gungahlin, Throsby, Kenny and the industrial estate Mitchell. Harrison's place names reflects those of "natural features, waterfalls, plains, tablelands and plateaux". ^[3] The suburb is located approximately 2 km east of the Gungahlin Town Centre and about 10 km from the centre of Canberra.

Following the launch of Light Rail on 20 April by the ACT government, ^[4] Harrison residents now have access to Light Rail services from any of the stops along Flemington Road.

Notable places

The suburb of Harrison has two heritage-listed sites: ^[5]

• Gungaderra Homestead ^[6]
• Well Station Homestead Precinct ^[7]

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, the population of Harrison was 8,244, of these 50.5% were male and 49.5% were female. The median age of Harrison residents was 31 years old. ^[8]

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.1% of the population which were lower than the national and territory averages. ^[8]
• The most common ancestries in Harrison were Australian (25.6%), English (23.5%), Chinese (12.6%), Indian (8.2%) and Scottish (6.5%). ^[8]
• The most common countries of birth in Harrison were Australia (55.8%), India (7.4%), China (7.3%), Nepal (2.8%), South Korea (2%) and England (1.9%). ^[8]
• The religious affiliation of most Harrison residents were No religion (39.5%), Catholic (16.2%), Hinduism (10.7%), Islam (5.8%) and Anglican (5.6%). ^[8]

Schools

Name	Suburb	Type	District	Opened	Website	Notes
Harrison School	Harrison	Public	Gungahlin	2008	Website	K-10
Mother Teresa Primary School	Harrison	Catholic	Gungahlin	2010	Website	K-6
Harrison Early Childhood Centre	Harrison	Private	Gungahlin	2010	Website Archived 22 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine	K-2

Parks

Harrison Green flats

Harrison and Franklin aerial view from north east

Address	PlayGym
Eric Mawson St, Harrison ACT 2914	No
Turtle Rock St, Harrison ACT 2914	No
Tanami St, Harrison ACT 2914	Yes
Moonlight St, Harrison ACT 2914	Yes

Geology

See also: Geology of the Australian Capital Territory

Harrison is underlaid mostly by the Canberra Formation mudstone or volcanics from the late middle Silurian age. Near the eastern corner is an outcrop of the Ainslie Volcanics dacite or andesite. ^[9]

Footnotes

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Harrison (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
2. "Suburbs & their names" (PDF). Archives ACT. 8 September 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
3. "Suburb Name search results". ACT Environment and Sustainable Development. Retrieved 10 February 2014.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
4. "Light Rail Launch - Transport Canberra". www.transport.act.gov.au. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019.
5. "ACT Heritage Register". act.gov.au. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
6. ACT Heritage Council. "Heritage (Decision about Provisional Registration for the Gungaderra Homestead and Portion of Well Station Road, Harrison) Notice 2011" (PDF). act.gov.au. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
7. ACT Heritage Council. "Well Station Homestead Precinct - Entry to the ACT Heritage Register" (PDF). act.gov.au. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
8. "2021 Harrison, Census All Persons QuickStats". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
9. Henderson G A M and Matveev G, Geology of Canberra, Queanbeyan and Environs 1:50000 1980.