Last month a group of year 7 students from Radford College were set the task of comparing and contrasting the liveability of an existing suburb (Lyneham) and a newly established suburb (Whitlam).
Gordon McAllister, long-term local and LCA committee member, graciously offered to talk to the students when they visited Lyneham. Here are some of Gordon’s notes on why he likes living in Lyneham.

Lyneham has layers of history. The original Ngunnawal people lived here for thousands of years and there are still traces of their habitation across Canberra, as well as their continuing connection to country. The British settlers took over the area in the 1840s and there were well established farms and small settlements by the 1860s. The Old Canberra Inn and St Ninians Church are remaining buildings from that time. The Lyneham Heritage Map at the shops highlights other interesting places around the suburb.

The suburb as we know it was first delineated in Walter Burley Griffin’s 1912 plan for Canberra, with Macarthur Ave, Wattle St, and Northbourne Ave being major road axes. Development started in the late 1950s with North Lyneham added in the 1980s. There are still many houses and buildings here from the early days as well as newer buildings, particularly the apartment blocks between Sullivans Creek and Northbourne Ave.

What makes Lyneham a special place for me compared to the outer suburbs is its greenness. We have big street trees, residential gardens and lots of open space along Sullivans Creek, as well as the bushland of O’Connor and Lyneham Ridges. The Lyneham wetlands built in 2012 have become a centrepiece and a haven for birdlife.

Lyneham is also the centre of North Canberra for everything!  We have good transport links – the light rail and two bus routes to Dickson and Civic. We have the Sullivans Creek bike path to Civic and over the ridge to Belconnen. There is easy access to Gungahlin Drive and Tuggeranong Parkway for longer trips North and South.

We are well provided with shops, cafes and other services. There are local shops with Dickson, Braddon, Civic and the EPIC markets not far away. Health services are at the shops, in Dickson, and the North Canberra Hospital is just over the ridge.

There are also many schools in the area – Lyneham Primary and High, Brindabella Christian College, and St Josephs Primary. Dickson and Daramalan Colleges are not far away, as well as ANU, Bruce CIT and University of Canberra within cycling distance.

If you like sport then we have great sporting facilities. North Lyneham has the tennis centre, hockey centre, netball centre, soccer ovals and a golf course, Bruce Stadium is just over the Ridge.

Perhaps one thing we lack is a community centre, but there are lots of places in the suburb for people to gather. We have a surprisingly diverse range of religious institutions, including two Buddhist temples. Tilleys cafe has been at the shops since 1984 and has become a defacto community meeting place.

Why would you want to live anywhere else in Canberra?

Let us know what you like about Lyneham.