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Origins and meanings of Canberra's suburb and street names

Welcome to the origins and meanings of Canberra’s suburb and street names - a snap shot of Australia’s history at your fingertips.

Canberra’s suburb and street names present an interesting mosaic of Australia’s local and national high achievers, its geography, heritage and history. Some of the people commemorated are well known, whilst others made their mark as quiet achievers. Our Indigenous heritage, Australian geography and history are all drawn together and reflected in the National Capital’s place names. 

In 1927 the Canberra National Memorials Committee in a Report to the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia on the Naming of Canberra’s Streets and Suburbs proposed that street names in Canberra’s suburbs follow a theme. This structure has been followed to this day and is one of the oldest policies in the ACT.

You can discover information about the founding colonial days and efforts of latter day heroes. You may discover a family connection to a person commemorated in our street names.

You can search by:

- selecting a suburb

- entering a keyword/theme (e.g. pioneer) or,

- entering a street name

Suburb:

ACTON AINSLIE AMAROO ARANDA BANKS BARTON BELCONNEN BONNER BONYTHON BRADDON BRUCE CALWELL CAMPBELL CAPITAL HILL CASEY CHAPMAN CHARNWOOD CHIFLEY CHISHOLM CITY CONDER COOK CRACE CURTIN DEAKIN DICKSON DOWNER DUFFY DUNLOP EVATT FADDEN FARRER FISHER FLOREY FLYNN FORDE FORREST FRANKLIN FRASER FYSHWICK GARRAN GILMORE GIRALANG GORDON GOWRIE GREENWAY GRIFFITH GUNGAHLIN HACKETT HALL HARRISON HAWKER HIGGINS HOLDER HOLT HUGHES HUME ISAACS ISABELLA PLAINS JACKA KALEEN KAMBAH KENNY KINGSTON KINLYSIDE LATHAM LAWSON LYNEHAM LYONS MACARTHUR MACGREGOR MACQUARIE MAWSON MCKELLAR MELBA MITCHELL MONASH MONCRIEFF MULANGGARI NARRABUNDAH NGUNNAWAL NICHOLLS O'CONNOR O'MALLEY OAKS ESTATE OXLEY PAGE PALMERSTON PARKES PEARCE PHILLIP PIALLIGO RED HILL REID RICHARDSON RIVETT RUSSELL SCULLIN SPENCE STIRLING SYMONSTON TAYLOR THARWA THEODORE THROSBY TORRENS TURNER WANNIASSA WARAMANGA WATSON WEETANGERA WESTON YARRALUMLA

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Theme:

ABORIGINAL WORDS ABORIGINAL WORDS FOR STARS, ASTRONOMERS, AND CONSTELLATIONS ABORIGINAL WORDS, LEGISLATORS AND PIONEERS. ABORIGINAL WORDS, PIONEERS AND CAPITAL CITIES AGRICULTURALISTS ANTARCTIC EXPLORATION ARCHITECTS ARCHITECTS, TOWN PLANNERS AND URBAN DESIGNERS ARMED SERVICE PERSONNEL ARMED SERVICES PERSONNEL ARTISTS AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY PIONEERS AUSTRALIAN COUNTRY TOWNS AUSTRALIAN DAMS AND RESERVOIRS AUSTRALIAN FILM INDUSTRY AUSTRALIAN FLORA AUSTRALIAN FLORA, LEGISLATORS, PIONEERS, EXPLORERS AUSTRALIAN MINES AND MINING TOWNS AUSTRALIAN RIVERS AUSTRALIAN RIVERS AND LAKES AUSTRALIAN TERTIARY EDUCATION AVIATORS BOTANISTS, THINGS BOTANICAL OR RELATING TO NATURAL HISTORY. CHARACTERS AND PLACES FROM THE WORKS OF HENRY LAWSON CIVILIAN WAR EFFORT DURING WORLD WAR I AND WORLD WAR II Community Service CONTEMPORARIES OF GOVERNOR MACQUARIE CONTEMPORARIES OF SIR GEORGE PEARCE CONTEMPORARIES OF SIR ROBERT TORRENS, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE PERSONNEL DIPLOMATS, PUBLIC SERVANTS AND ADMINISTRATORS EARLY ACT RESIDENTS EDUCATIONALISTS ENGINEERS EXPLORERS EXPLORERS AND GOVERNORS FLYING DOCTOR SERVICE AND INLAND MISSIONS GOVERNORS GOVERNORS AND BOTANISTS GOVERNORS AND GOVERNORS-GENERAL AND DIPLOMATS. INDIGENOUS NAMES, EXPLORERS AND PIONEERS INDUSTRIAL TOWNS INDUSTRIALISTS INDUSTRIALISTS AND BUSINESSMEN INDUSTRIALISTS, ASPECTS OF INDUSTRY AND GUNGAHLIN DISTRICT INTERSTATE PIONEERS; THEME IN THE GLENEAGLES ESTATE IS INVENTORS, INVENTIONS AND ARTISTS JOURNALISTS JOURNALISTS, PARTICULARLY WOMEN JUDGES JUDGES AND MEMBERS OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION LEGAL PROFESSION LORD MAYORS AND MAYORS MAINLY ARTISTS AND PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF MAINLY SCIENTISTS MAINLY WRITERS, PIONEERS AND LEGISLATORS MEDICAL PROFESSION MEMBERS OF THE HEIDELBERG SCHOOL, TOWNS ASSOCIATED WITH THE MONARCHS AND CONSTITUTIONAL REFERENCES MOUNTAINS OF AUSTRALIA MUSICIANS MUSICIANS AND THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIELD OF MUSIC NAMED BEFORE INDIVIDUAL THEMES WERE ADOPTED. NAMES ASSOCIATED WITH 1ST, 2ND AND 3RD FLEETS; THEME FOR THE NAMES ASSOCIATED WITH THE WOOL INDUSTRY. NAMES OF ABORIGINAL TRIBAL UNITS NATURAL FEATURES, WATERFALLS, PLAINS, TABLELANDS AND NEW SOUTH WALES PARISH NAMES NEW SOUTH WALES PIONEERS NO SPECIFIC THEME NORTHERN TERRITORY PASTORAL STATIONS NOT APPLICABLE NOTABLE ABORIGINAL WOMEN NOTABLE ABORIGINES AND ABORIGINAL WORDS NOTABLE SOUTH AUSTRALIANS, PARTICULARLY JOURNALISTS, AND NOTABLE WOMEN NOTABLE WOMEN, PARTICULARLY WRITERS NURSES AND NURSING ADMINISTRATORS PARISHES AND LAND DIVISIONS PIONEERS, LEGISLATORS QUEENSLAND POLITICIANS SCIENTISTS SCIENTISTS AND EDUCATIONALISTS SHIPS AND EXPLORERS SOCIAL REFORMERS SPORTSMEN AND SPORTSWOMEN STATE PREMIERS SURVEYORS TASMANIAN TOWNS AND PLACE NAMES TRADE UNIONISTS VICTORIAN POLITICIANS VICTORIAN STATE POLITICIANS WESTERN AUSTRALIAN PIONEERS WORLD WAR I ARMED SERVICES PERSONNEL, AND CONTEMPORARIES OF WRITERS WRITERS, PARTICULARLY WOMEN

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Keyword:

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Street name: