The District of Canberra Central is one of the original eighteen districts of the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding township#Aust ...

used in

land administration Land administration is the way in which the rules of land tenure are applied and made operational. Land administration, whether formal or informal, comprises an extensive range of systems and processes to administer. The processes of land administr ...

consisting of both the districts of

North Canberra North Canberra, also known as the Inner North, is a district of Canberra, the capital city of Australia, comprising 14 suburbs. At the , it had 26,699 dwellings housing 61,188 people of the 453,324 people in the Australian Capital Territory. Ma ...

and South Canberra. The district is subdivided into divisions (

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...

s), sections and blocks. The district of Canberra Central lies entirely within the bounds of the city of

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, the

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Establishment and governance

The traditional custodians of the district are the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

people of the Ngunawal tribe. Following the transfer of land from the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the States and territories of Australia, Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party o ...

to the

Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

in 1911, the district was established in 1966 by the Commonwealth via the

gazettal A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspaper ...

of the ''Districts Ordinance 1966'' (Cth) which, after the enactment of the ''Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act'' 1988, became the ''Districts Act'' 1966. This Act was subsequently repealed by the

ACT Government The Government of the Australian Capital Territory, also referred to as the Australian Capital Territory Government or ACT Government, is the executive authority of the Australian Capital Territory, one of the territories of Australia. The lea ...

and the district is now administered subject to the ''Districts Act'' 2002.

Location and urban structure

The district of Central Canberra is a set of contiguous residential suburbs consolidated around

Lake Burley Griffin Lake Burley Griffin is an artificial lake in the centre of Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was completed in 1963 after the Molonglo River, which ran between the city centre and Parliamentary Triangle, was dammed. It is named after Wal ...

, together with a

town centre A town centre is the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town. Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus s ...

located at

Canberra City Civic is the city centre or central business district of Canberra. "Civic" is a common name for the district, but it is also called Civic Centre, City Centre, Canberra City and Canberra, and its official division name is ''City''. Canberra's Ci ...

(also known as Civic), and a range of commercial suburbs, some of which form parts of the

Parliamentary Triangle The National Triangle, which is referred to as the Parliamentary Triangle, is the ceremonial precinct of Canberra, containing some of Australia's most significant buildings. The National Triangle is formed by Commonwealth, Kings and Constitutio ...

and contain many of Canberra's national monuments and institutions. The district is often known as two separate parts, being the Inner North and Inner South. While some of the other districts in the Australian Capital Territory and within the city of Canberra are well known (''e.g.''

Belconnen The District of Belconnen () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), used in land administration. The district is subdivided into 27 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. The district of Belconn ...

Gungahlin The District of Gungahlin () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory used in land administration. The Gungahlin Region is one of fastest growing regions within Australia. The district is subdivided into div ...

Tuggeranong The District of Tuggeranong () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory used in land administration. The district is subdivided into divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks and is the southernmost town cent ...

, Weston Creek,

Woden Valley The District of Woden Valley () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory used in land administration. The district is subdivided into divisions ( suburbs), sections and blocks. The district of Woden Valley ...

) Canberra Central would less often be thought of as a district outside of its administrative use: more often as the Inner North and Inner South. The district of Canberra Central is mentioned in various ACT legislation. Canberra Central is bounded on the north by the

district, the east by the Majura district, the south-east by the Jerrabombera district (as distinct from the suburb of that lies within the

Queanbeyan Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

within

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

), the south by the district of the

, the south-west by the Weston Creek district, and the west and north-west by the

district.

Inner north

The district includes the inner north divisions (suburbs) of Acton, Ainslie, Braddon, Campbell,

City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, Dickson, Downer, Hackett, Lyneham, O'Connor, Reid, Russell,

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...

and

Watson Watson may refer to: Companies * Actavis, a pharmaceutical company formerly known as Watson Pharmaceuticals * A.S. Watson Group, retail division of Hutchison Whampoa * Thomas J. Watson Research Center, IBM research center * Watson Systems, make ...

(except for the very north end near the Australian Heritage Village which is in the Majura district). Part of the nature park to the east and south of

Mount Majura Mount Majura is a small mountain with an elevation of that is located in the northern suburbs of Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Mount Majura lies close to the more prominent Mount Ainslie and is the highest point wit ...

is also in the district. It also includes Black Mountain and the land south of Lady Denman Drive around Yarramundi Reach, near Lake Burley Griffin.

Inner south

The district includes the inner south divisions (suburbs) of Barton, Capital Hill, Deakin, Forrest, Fyshwick, Griffith, Kingston,

Narrabundah Narrabundah () (postcode: 2604) is a leafy, medium density suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, located in the inner south of the city. Narrabundah is an established garden suburb, valued for its equal proximity to both Civic and t ...

Parkes Parkes may refer to: * Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation Named for Henry Parkes * Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town * Parkes Observatory, a radi ...

, Red Hill (except for the Federal Golf Course which is in Woden Valley district), and Yarralumla.

Demographics

At the , there were 92,780 people in the Canberra Central district. Population growth in the Canberra Central district between the 2001 census and the was 3.5%; in the five years to the 2011 census, the population grew by 9.7%; in the five years to the 2016 census, the population grew by 10.8%; and in the five years to the 2021 census, the population grew by 16.0%. Population growth in Canberra Central was slower than the national average during the first five years (the national average was 5.8%), but it has been significantly faster since (the national average was 8.3, 8.8% and 8.6% respectively in the last three periods). The median weekly income for residents within the Canberra Central district was significantly higher than the national average.

References

External links

ACTMAPi
{{ACT Districts and Suburbs 1966 establishments in Australia Districts of the Australian Capital Territory