Charnwood, Australian Capital Territory

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Charnwood

District:

Belconnen

Established:

1973

Postcode:

2615

Population:

3068 (2001 census)

Median property value:

$248,000 (2005)[1]

Canberra suburbs near Charnwood
Dunlop	Fraser	Fraser
Dunlop	Charnwood	Flynn
Macgregor	Latham	Flynn

Charnwood is a suburb in the Belconnen district of Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory.

1 Design
2 Naming
3 Geology
4 External link

[edit] Design

Its design was based on the Radburn town planning principle where houses were to face common parkland, with the suburb's streets servicing garages situated at the rear of the houses. The design failed in its application however as home owners built fences around the "park side" of their blocks, effectively screening the houses away from the common parkland, creating long narrow fenced walkways with poor lighting and neighbourhood surveillance. However the network of pathways ensures that it is possible to walk from any point in the suburb to any other without directly crossing a road, pedestrian bridges being used to cross the few major streets within the suburb.

Charnwood is the location of the Charnwood centre shopping area which serves surrounding suburbs. Charnwood is home to Charnwood Primary School and Chanrwood HIgh School (now closed down).

[edit] Naming

According to the Act Planning and Land Authority website [2] the suburb is named after: "[a] former homestead in the Belconnen District; Henry Hall obtained a grant of 3492 acres of land which he named `Charnwood', 1833; named after the Forest of Charnwood in England."

Streets within the suburb are named ater Australian pioneer families.

The suburb was gazetted in 1971.

[edit] Geology

Rocks in Charnwood are from the Silurian age. Deakin Volcanics purple rhyodacite is found in most of Charnwood. The Deakin Fault passes in the north west direction on the north east edge of the Deakin Volcanics, which it lowered. Hawkins Volcanics green-grey dacite and quartz andesite are in the north east on the other side of Deakin Fault.

See also: Natural History of the Australian Capital Territory