Canberra Street Names

The theory that you have to be dead before you get a street named after you must be worrying the hell out of Robert De Castella.

If they’re hiring people with that kind of deductive logic as Surveillance Officers, I forsee a huge demand for intelligence analysts.

“While I was walking through Garema Place I saw on a fantale wrapper that Heath Ledger had died. I noticed that the sky was blue and the clouds were of the nimbus variety, that the paving was an off-grey colour, and there were at least five people were dealing drugs right under the police’s noses at King O’Malleys, ALL WITHOUT LOOKING DOWN.
Is any of this relevant to any ongoing or cold investigations?”

If you want to suggest someone worthy of commemoration through a place name, email Lorraine.Bayliss@act.gov.au, with some background on the person. The permission of relatives must be obtained before a person’s name can be used.

The streets in each suburb are named according to a theme. ACTPLA is currently looking for names of people associated with ‘community service’, for instance.

Caf – Your powers of observation are just what ASIO needs…

There’s a street in the Canberra Centre named ‘Scotts Crossing’ (not Stuart), so the Csg is short for Crossing. It is named after the old Scotts Crossing which ran from near Blundalls Cottage to the National Library. The other Crossing in old Canberra was Lennox Crossing.

The newest streets aren’t on ACTPLA’s website yet.

Streets in Dunlop are named after Australian inventions, inventors and artists. Hence Notepad Place and Stumpjump Cres. And David Branson got a street named after him in Dunlop.

One of the rules is that names can’t sound similar, so John Gorton will never get a suburb named after him ‘cos it sounds too much like Gordon.

Menzies will never have a suburb named sfter him ‘cos that would be against his express wishes. And you have to be dead at least 12 months before your name can be considered.

ACTPLA is currently calling for nominations of names of prominent Canberrans (or Australians, or people who have contributed to Australia’s development, but locals in particular). See ACTPLA’s website.

Caf – probably Crossing.

Near my folks place in Orange, there is a Lesbos Pl

Has anyone else ever noticed that the first 9 streets branching off Limestone Avenue, starting at Ainslie Avenue and going north, are alphabetical? Ainslie Av, Batman St*, Chapman St, Donaldson St, Elder St, Farrer St, Girrawheen St, Henty St, Ipima St.

Also, I thought the Bogan Pl (Kaleen) sign was the most stolen one in Canberra.

And one more thing – I’ve noticed that one of the new roads in the new Canberra Centre development is signposted “Stuarts Csg” – what on earth does Csg abbreviate?

* Not named after the Dark Knight.

There is a “Lovers Lane” near my place up in QLD. The local council got sick of replacing the sign so they made a huge concrete post and attached the sigh with a heap of fancy steel scrollwork. They also made a number of identical “Lovers Lane” street signs and used to sell them commercially.

There was also a James Kirk in WWI awarded a VC for single-handedly providing covering machine-gun fire for a bridging operation.

James Tiberius Kirk was not the first, nor will he be the last.

*lives on a street named after a tin mine*

Cool – Or could the justification be simpler than that – Maybe I am an ACT public servant who has been able to leave my mark on the planing process??? Could be???

On the subject of dual names – I agree, we would prefer to name streets West 34th street – Much simpler, tidier, and more clinical, just the way that the ACT should be –

We should have never allowed TV antennas – or front fences. %$##%%^$#

And I thought Hoff Place Dunlop was named after the Hoff.

Named after:
GEORGE RAYNER HOFF

Born:
1894

Died: 1937
Gazettal date:
30-JUN-94

Degazettal date: N/A
Details:
British sculptor who was appointed head of East Sydney Technical College in 1923; won prizes at Royal College of Art; in Sydney he reorganised the Sculpture and Drawing School; elected a Member of NSW Artists Society and exhibited there and designed the Society’s medal; sculpted the ANZAC Memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney, and the 6′ high carved figures for the South Australian War Memorial in 1927; other works include four medallion portraits of scientists on the facade of the Department of Physics Building, University of Sydney; in 1934 he was commissioned to design the Victorian Centenary Medal; he made busts of several of his colleagues including one of Norman Lindsay; represented in the Art Gallery of NSW; awarded the Prix de Rome; awarded the Wynne Prize for Sculpture in 1927.

Suburb(s): DUNLOP

There’s a Kumm Pl in Cook – The suburb entrance signs regularly get spray painted to read Cock.

There’s a Holden Pl in FLynn. Only thing of note about that is that it’s the most replaced street sign in Canberra as it gets nicked almost weekly.

There are too roads in Canberra! In Pialligo. They’re all Roads there.

Hahaha, EXCELLENT thread.

I’ve driven past that street a number of times myself and wondered the same thing.

Can anyone think of any other funny street names in Canberra?

Its puzzling that there are no roads in Canberra.
Its up your Avenue, right down my Drive, take both Ways, drag at the bottom of the Gardens, then back to your Place via the short Circuit and curse the Cresent. No, Lets just take a quick route.

No doubt they would later move to Mike Hunt Avenue

Wow, we’re mature

… Was that before they moved on to 4 King St?

I knew someone who lived at 69 Chewings St, Scullin.

Anywhere care to try and explain ‘Joy Cummings pl’ in Belconnen.

Fair to say I just proved my maturity 😛

“If there were to be a Stanhope street, in which suburb would it be situated?”

No, there is also no Carnell st. Praise the street naming gods!

Ah yes,

I belive there’s a Watta street there.

Downer.

If there were to be a Stanhope street, in which suburb would it be situated?

-Just wonderin’.

Perhaps I’ve been away too long….

ASP – thanks for that. I found a street in Higgins named after my great-grandfather, and now I’m searching the surnames of pretty much everyone I know.

Thanks for the link Asp.
We looked up our unusual street name only to discover it was named after some obscure piece of machinery.

Place name of doubtful meaning, associated with the foundation of settlement in Canberra; the name first appeared on Surveyor Robert Dixon’s map of 1829; “Pialligo” is said to be an Aboriginal word for `a place for a pow-wow’, and is also said to mean `I’ll tell you by and by’.

Heh. Pialligo. There are many pow-wows goin on regarding roads there.

Would James Kirk have originated from the same ACTPLA staffer that gave us “Harrison” & “Forde” ??
Star Wars & Star Trek ?

Seconded, Heavs.

Double barrel street names should be banned. Just make it Kirk Street. Or James Street. Not James Kirk, it’s just gay and smacks of a povo housing estate.

Such street names should be canned & banned.

The streets in Gungahlin are named after industrialists and pioneers. If I was a betting man I’d put money on the ACT Place Names Committee having no idea who James T Kirk is.

I didn’t think it would have been named after any of these James Kirks.

A couple of things,

PALM changed its name to ACTPLA a few years ago. Just wanted to clear up any confusion.

I tried a few searches to see who it is but could only find heaps of nerds gushing about Startrek’s James Tiberius (in case you wanted to know what the T stood for) Kirk and a Canadian actor named James Kirk.

I did however remember that ACTPLA has a database where you can find who the streets in Canberra are named for, here’s what it says:

Named after:

JAMES FRANK KIRK

Born:
1920

Died: 1997

Gazettal date:
17-DEC-02

Details:
Oil Industry. Chief Executive of Esso and Australian Bicentennial Authority. Kirk was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, awarded an honorary DSc from Newcastle University and became a champion of the environment as chairman of the Landcare Australia Limited.

In case anyone want to find the store behind a street name, here’s the link: http://apps.actpla.act.gov.au/actlic/places/search/originsSearch_new.htm