Ngunnawal
Ngunnawal is one of Canberra's newer suburbs, and as such its development has set the tone for much of the Gungahlin region in the Territory's north.Building in the suburb first began in 1993, and a flurry of subsequent development in the region has ensured the supply of modern, newly built homes is maintained.
The suburb offers a place for many young families and first-home buyers to get a foothold in the heated ACT property market. Recent figures put the median price for a house at a relatively affordable $305,000, and a unit at $270,000.
Ngunnawal is bordered by Amaroo and Nicholls, with the yet to be developed
suburb of Casey at its rear.
The locale boasts a range of recreational areas, including the Gungahlin Lakes Golf Course which stretches across the south of the suburb and the Hill Reserve bisecting the area.
Gungahlin's two main waterways, the Yerrabi and Gungahlin Ponds, are nearby, providing residents the opportunity to cycle, run or stroll around their perimeter.
The recently built Gungahlin Marketpalce, which includes a range of facilities such as a sports club, is only minutes away.
The suburb has only one school to date - Ngunnawal Primary School - however, Gold Creek Primary, Gold Creek High and Holy Spirit Catholic Primary schools, in Nicholls, are not far away, and there are plans to build more educational facilities in the region.
Before Gungahlin was developed, much of the area was covered by farmland. The historic Gold Creek Homestead, on Ngunnawal's northern fringes, serves as a reminder of the region's history. However, a tribute has been paid to the locale's original inhabitants in the naming of Ngunnawal, with the suburb deriving its moniker from the Aboriginal Ngunnawal tribe. The tribe members were the first inhabitants of the Canberra region, and artifacts at a rock shelter near Birrigai (in South Canberra) date back some 20,000 years.
In keeping with a Territory policy for Canberra suburbs, the streets of Ngunnawal are named according to a theme, and thus derive their titles from significant Aboriginal people and words.
Source: The Canberra Times - 24 March, 2005.