LOOKING south from Lake Burley Griffin, at the doorstep of Woden Valley,  are a trio of established neighbouring suburbs; Curtin, Hughes and Garran.

Hughes is named after Australia’s seventh Prime Minister William Morris “Billy” Hughes (1915-1923). Streets in the suburb are named with the theme of World War I armed services personnel and contemporaries of Mr Hughes.

Garran features a writing theme, with streets named after Australian writers, and remembers Sir Robert Garran, “Australia’s first public servant” – the first federal government employee after the federation of the Australian colonies. He served as the departmental secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department from 1901 to 1932. He died in Canberra in 1957.

And Curtin is named after former newspaper editor and the 14th prime minister John Curtin, a charismatic, compelling orator widely respected for his strong and inspirational leadership during World War II, who died in office in 1945. Its streets are named after state premiers.

Dentists with a passion for healthy smiles

SINCE its opening in 1972 Curtin Dental focuses on each unique patient and believes all of them deserve to have a beautiful smile.

Curtin Dental’s partner Dr Nitin Pandey says some of the patients want a healthy smile after suffering from pain and decay for a long time, while others may want to look good.

“Whatever your want or need, we are here to deliver your desired sensation and be with you through your journey,” he says.

And, to make each journey easy, Curtin Dental has a new online booking system so patients can book at their own convenience.

“Rather than waiting until Monday morning to book an emergency appointment, they can book over the weekend or after hours,” Dr Pandey says.

Along with general dentistry services, Curtin Dental offers its patients dental implants, the treatment of gum recession and also dermal fillers.

Above all, Dr Pandey says Curtin Dental believes in building an authentic and trusting relationship, which will carry on way after a treatment.

“We believe in educating patients and giving them choices. We respect the patients and follow up on promises,” he says.

Curtin Dental, 20 Strangways Street, Curtin. Call 6285 2222 or visit curtindental.com.au

Imaging with an eye on the patient

GARRAN Medical Imaging opened more than three years ago to offer Canberrans state-of-the-art equipment and quality services with a patient-centred approach, says practice manager Nick Ingold.

“There’s a decent amount of imaging services in Canberra, but we knew patients deserved better, so we endeavoured to set up a practice that is 100 per cent patient focused,” he says.

From the independent site on Garran Place, Nick says Garran Medical Imaging’s local doctors and staff continue to destress the patient journey through its imaging services such as MRI, CT scans, DEXA scans for bone densitometry and whole-body composition analysis, ultrasounds and nuclear medicine.

“We work with the patient and the referrer to provide a better outcome,” he says.

Being a reasonably new practice, Nick says all of the equipment there is brand new and state of the art.

“In particular our nuclear medical scanner xSPECT is the only one in the region,” he says.

“It can produce really high resolution images that no other nuclear machine can produce locally.”

Garran Medical Imaging, Suite 1, 2 Garran Place, Garran. Call 6225 7070, email reception@garranmedicalimaging.com.au or visit garranmedicalimaging.com.au

Bank with its heart in the community

NOT just a bank, Bendigo Bank Curtin offers all the services of a regular bank but also gives back to the community and always strives to bring its customers joy, says branch operations manager Diana Malik.

“Whatever profit we make, we’re also putting money back into the community,” she says.

“For example, a month ago we held an event for the India Australia Association of Canberra.

“We held a barbecue, collected gold-coin donations and then every single dollar went to assist people in India affected by the floods.”

But when it comes to the banking side of things, Diana says the staff build deeper relationships with their customers and help them achieve their financial objectives.

“Our staff know most of our customers by name,” she says.

From a child’s PiggySaver account, to someone’s first purchase of a car, Diana says Bendigo Bank wants to help its customers throughout these financial milestones.

“And, the interest rates for our products are lower than most other banks,” she says.

“We also have a financial planner, Neil, who can help with retirement plans, superannuation and estate planning.”

Bendigo Bank, Unit 1, 20 Curtin Place, Curtin. Call 6260 5140 or visit bendigobank.com.au

Helping Canberrans age gracefully

FOR the rest of the year Council on the Ageing representatives will be out every fortnight at local shopping centres to meet Canberra seniors and talk with them about any issues they’re facing, says COTA CEO Jenny Mobbs.

As the ACT’s peak organisation for all issues relating to older Canberrans, Jenny says these visits are about raising COTA’s profile and they’re also a chance for COTA to find out what the big and small issues are.

“Then, we’ll be presenting that information back to the ACT government,” she says.

“We’ll also be taking out a whole range of pamphlets about everything from retirement villages to social groups to activities for grandparents and carers.”

And, Jenny says, they will be talking to people about the seniors discount card that COTA manages for the ACT government and which also gives seniors more than 60 discounts to business across Canberra.

But, if people don’t manage to see a COTA representative near them, Jenny says they’re always happy to have visitors to the COTA office in the Hughes Community Centre or they can ring the seniors information and advisory line.

“We can point them in the right direction for anything they need,” she says.

“Our main purpose is to help Canberrans age gracefully and help them with services across Canberra.”

COTA ACT, Hughes Community Centre, 2 Wisdom Street, Hughes. Call 6282 3777 or visit cotaact.org.au

Awards winners with a love for Indian food

SINCE settling in Curtin two years ago the chefs and co-owners of Daana, Sanjay and Sunita Kumar, have been recognised twice for their south and regional Indian-inspired food.

Last year, Daana won the Savour award for best new restaurant in Canberra and this year, in September, it won the best Indian restaurant award for the ACT.

Both Sanjay and Sunita say the recognition is exciting and a reinstatement of their efforts to showcase the richness and diversity of Indian cuisine to Canberra.

“For us at Daana it has become a journey of helping guests understand and appreciate the nuances of the vastness of Indian cuisine,” Sunita says.

She says they do this through their weekly regional specials where Daana showcases unique menus and a seasonal a-la-carte menu, which presents hidden gems from South Indian kitchens.

And, on October 12 and 13, Daana will celebrate its 100th menu (or thalis) with a grand Indian buffet, which features more than 30 dishes from 29 states of India.

“Our research tells us that we’re possibly the only restaurant in Australia and perhaps the world to do this,” Sunita says.

“It’s a huge undertaking for a chef to do this so we’re really proud of that.”

Daana, 83 Theodore Street, ?Curtin. Email chef@daana.com.au, call 5105 1048 or visit daana.com.au