On October 16, Canberra’s first satellite town, Woden/Weston celebrates its 60th anniversary with a party at Eddison Park. FIONA CARRICK looks back at the past six decades and wonders what the future holds for the township.

THE National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) was established in 1958 and began planning Canberra beyond Griffin’s original vision for the city. 

It planned for growth in a series of new and relatively self-contained towns, each with its own town centre containing major retail, office employment and community facilities. 

It was known as the “Y Plan”, a great experiment in decentralised urban planning reducing the need for the majority of commuting to the city centre. 

The NCDC applied some innovative town-planning designs, including Canberra’s first underpass in Hughes and the Radburn in Curtin, where the front of the houses faced an open, shared reserve with paths leading to the school and the shops. 

The effect of both these design initiatives was to separate cars from pedestrians, providing pedestrian-friendly, car-free access to local facilities without having to cross major roads. 

Swinger Hill was another urban design innovation. Its “cluster housing” of semi-attached housing was the largest medium-density residential development at the time in Australia and the first to achieve a density of 40 people per acre. The development provided an alternative lifestyle and housing choice to Canberra residents. 

At the heart of the valley sits the Woden town centre, the focal point. Construction of the first buildings began in 1968 with the Department of Works moving into the Sirius buildings and Health and Ageing moving into Alexander and Albemarle. 

The Phillip Pool opened in 1971, the Woden Plaza in 1972 and the basketball stadium in 1985 creating a recreation precinct in the north of the town centre. Phillip was home to nightclubs and a day and night economy thrived in the town centre. 

With the introduction of self-government in 1989 and the establishment of the National Capital Authority, a dual planning system emerged to allow Canberra to meet the needs of the capital (the federal government) and the day-to-day planning and development matters (the ACT government). 

Unfortunately, the Woden town centre has seen difficult times over the years with public servants moving to other parts of Canberra and the loss of public space and community facilities. 

In 2015 the Woden Town Centre Master Plan was updated to provide zoning certainty to developers. It allowed them to build 16-storey towers and 28 storeys around the perimeter of the town square. 

While the objective was to bring more people to the town centre, and therefore more activity, it came at a cost with the loss of public space and community facilities. 

The Canberra Institute of Technology was demolished and replaced with a car park for the hospital. The basketball stadium, pitch ‘n’ putt, bowling greens and tennis courts were demolished for residential towers and the Phillip pool and ice-skating rink are also likely to close. 

While the Woden Valley Community Council supports densification, we want it to be done well with a balance of homes, jobs, great public spaces and community facilities to create a central hub that supports our physical and mental well being by bringing us together for social and recreation activities. 

The question is, what is the ACT government’s desired outcome for the Woden Town Centre? 

It would be advantageous to have governance arrangements similar to the City Renewal Authority, which was established in 2017 to deliver a vibrant city centre and Northbourne Avenue corridor, with high-quality urban renewal delivering places where people want to be. 

We have opportunities. The Woden town centre is the major social and commercial hub in Canberra’s south due to its central location and accessibility by public transport from across Canberra’s south. The ACT government has committed to a new CIT in the heart of Woden. 

This government-owned building provides an opportunity to include an innovative multi-purpose arts space, a street theatre for music that is integrated with a great public space for events and markets, bringing people together to socialise. 

Densification is increasing the population and we welcome the new residents who are making the 30 residential towers (built or earmarked for development) their home. 

However, it is essential we have strong governance and collaborative planning to create a walkable hub with sunny (green) public spaces, the arts, lively streets, an indoor sports stadium and an aquatic centre so like-minded people can get together and feel a sense of pride and belonging to their local community. 

With the implementation of the ACT government’s new outcomes-based planning system, what will the next 60 years hold for the Woden Valley? We look forward to working with the ACT government to build our future together. 

On October 16 at Eddison Park, from 1pm we will celebrate the great things about Canberra’s first satellite town, Woden/Weston. There will be bands, arts, food, kids’ activities and more.

More at wodenvalleycommunitycouncil.org/events 

Fiona Carrick is president of the Woden Valley Community Council. 

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