19 June 2020

My Gungahlin 2015 in review

| My Gungahlin
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What a year 2015 was for Gungahlin. 2015 saw some exciting developments finalise and some start which will continue more growth in Gungahlin.

We have continued to see the growth in the area with Moncrieff now ready for homes to be built. Infrastructure is being put in place for Throsby and we can expect the same to start soon in Taylor.

We saw the start of some major roadworks on Horse Park Drive, Gungahlin Drive and at the roundabout on the Barton Highway.

Bunnings opened it’s doors and this development will bring in new retailers to the town centre in the first quarter of 2016. The Marketplace extension has commenced that will see K Mart and other speciality retailers be open in time for Christmas 2016. The new underground car park for The Marketplace will open months prior to the new retailers opening. Casey Market Town is expected to open in March 2016. I am expecting Amaroo shops to be open later in 2016 as well as Harrison shops.

Hopefully this year we will see construction start for the cinema complex after the developer settled on the sale of the block of land in November.

In 2015 we saw Winyu House opening which brought hundreds of ACT Government staff to the town centre. This boost in numbers provide a much needed boost for the businesses in the town centre.

In 2016 we can expect to see construction commence on light rail. Preparatory works should commence in coming months along the corridor from Gungahlin to Civic.

This year we will go to the polling booths for the Federal and ACT elections. With the new Yerrabi electorate, this will provide Gungahlin an opportunity to get greater representation in the Assembly.

2015 was also a big year for My Gungahlin. In December we hit 12,000 Facebook followers which is awesome!

In compiling this review of 2015 one thing I have noticed is the number of small yet lovely gestures people have shared with us that reinforces what a great community we live it. How great it would be if we see more of this in 2016 and it becomes the way of life in Gungahlin. Some of these gestures have been people stopping at car accidents, helping a mum with a young baby to unload a trolley, helping reunite lost property and misdirected mail/parcels. We also received a report of someone paying for someone else’s petrol as the person was unable for some reason. We ourselves were on the receiving end of one of these gestures when someone paid for our afternoon tea. We have also been blessed with wonderful neighbours who have dropped over biscuits or given eggs us and milk for late night baking.

The following is some of the highlights throughout 2015.

January

Motorists using Majura Road on Monday enjoyed their first taste of the new Majura Parkway when traffic was diverted along the northern end of the four-lane carriageway.

Gungahlin resident Meegan Fitzgharris has been announced as the successful candidate into the ACT Legislative assembly replacing Katy Gallagher.

February

The My Gungahlin truck is ready for Convoy for Cancer Families.

Convoy!

Covoy for Cancer Families 2015 – Overall Photography’s Drone Shots.

Madness! This car park is used for a very popular playground in Forde.

Wow, hello Canberra. National Multicultural Festival

Canberra Prosperous Mountain Lion Dance at Ginger and Spice.

Canberra, the bush Capital.

March

Hundreds of ACT Government workers moving into Gungahlin. This will be a great boost for Gungahlin.

Pig racing at the ActewAGL Royal Canberra Show. One pig has been scratched, pulled a hamstring

Good news on the car park at Heritage Parke in Forde.

Construction has commenced at the Casey group centre. Hopefully Amaroo will be soon.

During Skyfire we pointed out via one of our statuses Overall Photography Australia had a drone up filming. This video is a taste of what they were doing. They are a Gungahlin based company.

Aerial pictures of Moncrieff.

Help our friends are trying to convert us!

Did you make it to the Parties at the Shops Crace today? What a great afternoon!

April

The Belconnen suburbs of Evatt, McKellar, Lawson, Kaleen and Giralang have been carved off the Ginninderra electorate and added to a new Gungahlin electorate, which has been given the name “Yerrabi”.

Video footage of the ram raid this morning at Gungahlin Village.

Crace was the fastest growing suburb in Australia in 2013-14 as Gungahlin’s population surged dramatically, new ABS figures show.

Tourist farm operator Craig Starr woke early on Easter Sunday morning to find flames and grey smoke billowing from the Gold Creek Station’s function centre at Hall.

We have had a few messages about the shops that have closed down on the western side of The Marketplace Gungahlin. These shops have been vacated to make way for the extension of The Marketplace.

K Mart has been confirmed as the new major tenant in The Marketplace Gungahlin as part of the new development.

Final works continue on the Common Ground project, Canberra’s experiment in low-cost supportive public housing, ahead of planned completion this month.

Celebrate Gungahlin Festival

Celebrate Gungahlin Festival in pictures

The Chapel At Gold Creek heads top 10 wedding list as couples move away from religious weddings.

Gungahlin jewellery store ram-raid accused pleads not guilty

May

Update on Nicholls Supportive Housing Development.

ACT Fire & Rescue is currently on scene at Hoskins Street, Mitchell investigating a smell of fuel in a stormwater pipe.

How gorgeous is this! A couple of nights ago we shared Ellie’s Everyday Hero page where she is raising money for Cerebral Palsy Alliance. A very generous donor who saw this on our page donated enough money for Ellie to achieve her goal! Thank you!! I’m sure Cerebral Palsy Alliance won’t mind if she goes way over her goal if you would like to contribute

More than 1,000 people support duplication of Gundaroo Drive

It is great to see this part of Majura Parkway open. Now we need Mick Gentleman MLA to commit design money to duplicate Horsepark Drive to Gundaroo Drive (not just to Well Station Drive as planned) next financial year so the works can be undertaken the following financial year. This would allow Gundaroo Drive to be funded for duplication next financial year as the design work is already complete. These works need to be undertaken before more residential development in Gungahlin.

Gungahlin is set to have its first high rise residential towers as plans are lodged with the ACT government. Development applications have been lodged for three separate apartment towers of 22, 20 and 19 storeys which will comprise more than 600 units in total.

The ACT government’s preferred “salt and pepper” approach to placement of new public housing looks set to face significant community opposition, as hundreds of Gungahlin residents reject plans for a 14-unit development.

Gungahlin gets ready to welcome new retailers.

Chief Minister officially opens Winyu House and first Access Canberra Service Centre

Gungahlin Centre News sold the winning $50 million ticket in last nights Powerball! Congratulations to the winner!

June

Jessica supports Communities at Work Community Pantry.

ACT Government budget 2015 – Gungahlin. Announcements on road upgrades in this budget, see link for details.

Gungahlin Cinema – no action

We are at the Beyond Bank Christmas in June Gala dinner hosted by Dainere’s Rainbow Brain Tumour Research Fund and bumped into this jolly fellow.

Two new schools for north Gungahlin

Public housing developments announced for Amaroo, Moncrieff and Nicholls.

July

We have received reports over the last couple of days about cars being vandalised in Bonner and Amaroo. If you see or hear anything suspicious report to Police on 131 444. All instances of vandalism should be reported to Police.

Gungahlin United Football Club eager to make its mark on FFA Cup round of 32

Three aggravated burglaries overnight

Op Armscote dismantles grow houses across the ACT

Independent grocery and liquor shops will ask the Australian competition watchdog to block Coles proposed acquisition of Canberra’s independent supermarket chain Supabarn

This is a great photo of the town centre. Will be good to look back on in a couple of years particularly when The Marketplace Gungahlin extension is finished. Photo thanks to Overall Photography Australia.

Crime declining across Canberra’s North

August

Raize the roof breaks ground

Bus advertising campaign raising awareness of paediatric brain tumour research and funding

Congratulations to Liam Thompson from The George Harcourt Inn, winner of the 2015 AHA Award, Best Bar Service Staff.

Today I headed down to the The Marketplace Gungahlin and noticed they certainly haven’t mucked around with clearing the open air car park for the new development. Exciting times!

Canberra’s involvement in the FFA Cup is over after Gungahlin United Football Club suffered a 1-0 loss to Sydney Olympic FC at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval on Tuesday night.

What a great photo of Gungahlin Enclosed oval whilst Gungahlin Jets were playing by Overall Photography Australia.

Donna is reporting snow in Nicholls. Anyone else?

Gungahlin Business Over Breakfast was launched this morning at neighbourhood food.

Waves Carwash has moved across the road opposite the car dealership. Recently I had the privilege of a behind the scenes tour of the whole facility. It is pretty awesome!

Awesome! Getting the car washed at the new Waves Carwash Gungahlin.

The need to get ice led a Canberra teenager on a northside crime spree that included two ram raids and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, a court has heard.

In collaboration with the ANU School of Music, Dramatic Productions’ artistic director Richard Block has brought together a cast of Canberra actors to mount the city’s first production of Stephen Sondheim’s musical, Into the Woods.

September

Tale of two cities: growing Gungahlin v ‘dying district’ Tuggeranong

Gungahlin Cinema – an update of sorts

Rangers have started culling territorial magpies near Yerrabi Pond in Gungahlin, after reports one of the birds stole food out of a child’s mouth.

Business and community groups have expressed strong support for light rail being extended to Russell with final bids for the extension yet to be received, according to Greens minister Shane Rattenbury.

Peter Elford, newly-elected president of the Gungahlin Community Council, stands on the Canberra street divided by internet envy. While most of Gungahlin has been wired for superfast NBN, one part of Casey was forgotten.

Construction has begun on the National Archives of Australia’s new preservation and storage facility at Mitchell.

Congratulations Gungahlin parkrun on the 100th running of this weekly event. It was great to see people dress up for the occasion. parkrun is a great way to get fit with a great bunch of people.

We are at the The Benny Wills Brain Tumour Research Program Gala Dinner where Jetson5 are performing with This Canberran Life Aquatots swim school Vertex Legal Group Canberra Painting Service and Meegan Fitzharris MLA

A ram-raider who drove a car on a rampage through two local shopping centres has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years jail.

The new Franklin playground is open!

October

Barton Highway & Gundaroo Drive roundabout upgrade

Hibberson Street survey showing strong support for change

Chris the sheep who was found near Mulligan’s Flat is a world record holder!

Hibberson Street to close for Gungahlin underground works

Barton Highway has been identified as one of the worst stretches of road in NSW and the ACT in a survey of almost 8000 road users. The highway, which links Canberra with the Hume Highway at Yass, ranked the eighth worst stretch for motorists in the NRMA’s annual Seeing Red on Roads survey.

Another baby born on Gungahlin Drive on the way to hospital! I think this is number 3 by my count.

Last night Elements4Life – Functional Gym & Personal Training had a SUPER celebration for their first birthday. Congratulations to Sab and Erin on the first year and congratulations to all their ‪#‎E4LTeam‬.

November

Gungahlin cinema one step closer with contract settlement

Some of Canberra’s busiest intersections will be closed for more than 50 hours at a time during light rail construction, and key city roads look set to be completely dug up and reconfigured.

‘Busybody’ group’s challenge to Gungahlin mosque thrown out of ACT Supreme Court

Barton Highway/Gundaroo Drive/William Slim Drive intersection upgrade traffic arrangements

Congratulations to Michael Braddon and the team at Peter Blackshaw Gungahlin on achieving a record sale in Gungahlin and Gungahlin’s first $2mil home!

Here is a video Josh has provided of the helicopter delivering the air conditioners to Bunnings today.

Construction at the Amaroo shops is looking good.

Gungahlin’s skyline will transform from next year after the ACT government approved the suburb’s first high-rise residential development.

We all know that the first stage of light rail will be from Gungahlin to the City, but the ACT Government is now seeking your views on where light rail should go next.

The price of small blocks of land in Gungahlin skyrocketed by 141 per cent in just over five years, far outstripping the growth in house prices during the same period.

December

Shane Rattenbury MLA is proposing to extend cat containment to Casey. You can provide feedback on this proposal. See link for details.

Land in the new Canberra suburb of Throsby will be released for sale next year and ready for development by mid-2017.

Franklin gets a new recreation facility

Hibberson Street Gungahlin to reopen to traffic from Monday

At the official opening of Bunnings Gungahlin.

The Bunnings Gungahlin team with Jamie Whincup at the official opening.

2014 Year in Review can be found here: Year in review 2014

Thank you to all the Gungahlin businesses that support My Gungahlin.

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