Kippax Fair is a

shopping centre A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...

in the western

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

suburb of Holt,

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Named after cricketer

Alan Kippax Alan Falconer Kippax (25 May 1897 – 5 September 1972) was a cricketer for New South Wales cricket team, New South Wales (NSW) and Australian cricket team, Australia. Regarded as one of the great stylists of Australian cricket during the era ...

, it serves the West Belconnen region, and is anchored by a

Woolworths Supermarket Woolworths (colloquially known as "Woolies") is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Woolworths Group. Founded in 1924, Woolworths is currently Australia's largest supermarket chain with a market share of 32.5% as of 2023. Woolworths spec ...

, an

Aldi Aldi (German pronunciation: ), stylised as ALDI, is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and ...

discount supermarket, and other stores, restaurants, cafeterias, bars, and community services.

History

In 1974, as the region of West Belconnen was slowly emerging, an approach was made 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 branch of the Australian Capital Territory. The leader of the party or coalition with the Con ...

to build a sizeable shopping centre on a large plot of land neighbouring the Parkwood industrial estate. Its original design was to encompass one indoor shopping complex and two outdoor

strip mall A strip mall, strip center, strip plaza or simply plaza is a type of shopping mall, shopping center common in North America and Australia where the stores are arranged in a row, with a footpath in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a ...

s, now housing the majority of the centre's north-eastern wing. It opened in March 1976. In the late 1980s, with the area population growing steadily and competition arising from the newly opened Belconnen Mall (now Westfield Belconnen), development began on the area now housing Woolworths, as well as building another strip mall on Kippax Place, including a

Caltex Caltex is a petroleum brand name of Chevron Corporation used in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Southern Africa. Headquartered in Singapore, it is also the brand name of non-Chevron petroleum companies in some countries (such as ...

service station and the West Belconnen Leagues Club. This was furthered in 2005 when an expansion was made to house Aldi, and a completely separate building was developed next to the centre's playground to house the Kippax Public Library. The centre's facade was also modernised. In early 2019, a master plan was developed by the ACT Government, showing intent to expand the centre on the Kippax Playing Fields. This expansion would include another indoor shopping complex, housing another anchor tenant and a further range of stores. This plan was amidst controversy as it would force local sporting organisations to move their training facilities to other locations, such as the Higgins Oval, about to the centre's south.

Gallery

Kippax Fair2.JPG, The original façade stood until 2005 Kippax-newlibrary.jpg, The Kippax Public Library

References

{{Shopping centres in the Australian Capital Territory Shopping centres in the Australian Capital Territory Shopping malls established in 1976 1976 establishments in Australia