In brief:

• Street names in most ACT suburbs follow a theme.
• Selecting street names is a rigorous process.
• This article includes examples from a small sample of Canberra suburbs.

Did you know street names in nearly every ACT suburb follow a theme?

This policy was proposed in 1927, making it one of the oldest in the ACT.

The ACT Place Names Advisory Committee carries out the rigorous process of selecting themes and names.

Themes include:

• people who have made notable contributions to Australia
• geography and geographical features
• Australian flora and fauna
• words from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander vocabulary
• things important to Australian history.

Sometimes there is a link between the suburb and its street names.

Streets in some suburbs, like Acton, were named before individual themes were adopted.

Naming a street after a person

Some people commemorated in street names are well known. Others made their mark as quiet achievers.

When naming a street after a person, there are some things to consider.

• Only the names of people who are deceased may be used, and at least 12 months must pass before they can be commemorated.
• Street names must not honour a commercial or industrial name.
• Arterial roads are generally given a more significant name.
• Duplicated names are avoided.
• Names that would likely cause offence or confusion are avoided.
• All reasonable steps must be taken to obtain permission, where possible, to commemorate a name of a person.

Read on for examples from some of Canberra’s 123 suburbs.

AMAROO

• Suburb name: an Aboriginal word translating in English as 'beautiful place'
• Theme: Australian rivers and lakes
• Example: Shoalhaven Avenue
• Similarly themed: streets in Duffy are named after Australian dams and reservoirs. Streets in Kaleen are named after Australian rivers.

ARANDA

• Suburb named after: an Aboriginal cultural group of Central Australia. It is also known as Arunta.
• Theme: names of Aboriginal cultural groups
• Example: Bandjalong Crescent
• Similarly themed: streets in Waramanga honour the names of Aboriginal cultural groups. Streets in O’Malley, Pialligo and Reid are named after Aboriginal words.

BANKS

• Suburb named after: Sir Joseph Banks KCB, the botanist who accompanied Captain James Cook to Botany Bay in 1770
• Theme: Botanists, things botanical or relating to natural history
• Example: Olive Pink Crescent, after the Australian botanical artist and anthropologist
• Similarly themed: some streets in Yarralumla are named after Australian botanists.

BEARD

• Suburb named after: ex-convict and European settler Timothy Beard
• Theme: Australian geological resources
• Example: Nickel Street
• Similarly themed: streets in Fisher are named for Australian mines and mining towns.

BRUCE

• Suburb named after: Stanley Melbourne Bruce PC CH MC (Viscount Bruce of Melbourne), former Australian Prime Minister and the first Chancellor of the Australian National University
• Theme: Australian tertiary education
• Example: College Street
• Similarly themed: streets in Isaacs and Chifley are named after educationalists.

CHAPMAN

• Suburb named after: Minister for Defence (1903–1904) Sir Austin Chapman
• Theme: Australian film industry
• Example: Monkman Street, for Noel Monkman, a film director, underwater photographer, musician, author, marine biologist and cinematographer

CHISHOLM

• Suburb named after: philanthropist and social reformer Caroline Chisholm
• Theme: Notable women
• Example: Lucy Gullett Circuit, named for the doctor who served as a surgeon in France during World War I
• Similarly themed: Streets in Cook are also named after notable women.

DENMAN PROSPECT

• Suburb named after: Lady Denman and Lord Denman, fifth Governor-General of Australia
• Theme: Activism and reform
• Example: Ada Norris Avenue, after the women’s rights and community advocate, Dame Ada Norris DBE, CMG
• Similarly themed: Oxley features streets named after social reformers.

DUNLOP

• Suburb named after: doctor and war hero Colonel Sir Ernest Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop AC CMG OBE
• Theme: Inventors and inventions; artists
• Example: Percy Begg Circuit, after orthodontic pioneer Percy Begg

FLYNN

• Suburb named after: Reverend John Flynn OBE, founder of what would become the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (RFDS)
• Theme: Flying Doctor Service and inland missions
• Example: Day Place, after RFDS nursing assistant Frances Day
• Similarly themed: streets in Macgregor are named after people in the medical profession. Streets in Scullin are themed after aviators.

FRASER

• Suburb named after: ACT politician James (Jim) Fraser
• Theme: Early ACT residents
• Example: Tillyard Street, named after Robin and Patricia Tillyard, early ACT residents
• Similarly themed: some streets in Lyneham commemorate people associated with the development of early Canberra.

GARRAN

• Suburb named after: Federation campaigner Sir Robert Garran GCMG
• Theme: Writers
• Example: Curlewis Street, after Ethel Curlewis (born Ethel Turner) who wrote the classic novel Seven Little Australians
• Similarly themed: many streets in Franklin and Richardson are named after writers, particularly women. Lawson street names reflect aspects of poet Henry Lawson’s writing.

GORDON

• Suburb named after: poet and horseman Adam Lindsay Gordon
• Theme: Sportsmen and sportswomen
• Example: Jim Pike Avenue. Pike was the jockey best known for riding Phar Lap to victory in the 1930 Melbourne Cup.
• Similarly themed: streets in Holt and Nicholls are named after sportsmen and sportswomen.

HIGGINS

• Suburb named after: politician and Justice of High Court Henry Bournes Higgins KC
• Theme: Judges
• Example: Fullagar Crescent, after Judge of High Court of Australia Sir Wilfred Kelsham Fullagar KBE
• Similarly themed: streets in Watson and Evatt are named after judges and members of the legal profession.

MAWSON

• Suburb named after: Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson OBE
• Theme: Antarctic exploration
• Example: Bernacchi Street, after meteorologist and Antarctic explorer Louis Bernacchi

McKELLAR

• Suburb named after: former Senator Gerald Colin McKellar
• Theme: Journalists
• Example: Buzacott Place, after Charles Hardie Buzacott, journalist, newspaper publisher and politician
• Similarly themed: streets in Gilmore are named after journalists, particularly women.

MELBA

• Suburb named after: opera soprano Dame Nellie Melba
• Theme: Musicians
• Example: Grainger Street, named for composer and pianist Percy Grainger
• Similarly themed: streets in Moncrieff honour musicians and those associated with the field of music.

RED HILL

• Suburb name: associated with the hill since the time of the early settlers
• Theme: Ships and explorers
• Example: Endeavour Street
• Similarly themed: Many streets in Phillip are associated with the First, Second and Third Fleets.

TAYLOR

• Suburb named after: architect Florence Mary Taylor CBE
• Theme: Architecture, town planning and urban design
• Example: Robin Boyd Crescent, after the architect, critic and social commentator
• Similarly themed: streets in Greenway and Swinger Hill are named after architects.

THROSBY

• Suburb named after: Dr Charles Throsby, a ship's surgeon and local explorer
• Theme: Native fauna
• Example: Barramundi Street

WESTON

• Suburb named after: Weston Homestead, established in the area by Captain Edward Nicholas Weston
• Theme: Artists
• Example: Fullwood Street, for painter and official Australian war artist, World War I, Albert Fullwood
• Similarly themed: some of the streets in Whitlam and Lyneham are named after artists. Streets in Conder are named after members of the Heidelberg School, including artists.

You can search more ACT suburb and street names on the ACT Planning website.

You can also make a nomination.

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