Canberra in 2029: Catherine Carter

Posted on 7 May, 2019

We’re a cool little capital with big ideas. But does pride come before a fall?

We asked three locals—with very different perspectives—to imagine what Canberra will look like in 2029. First up: Catherine Carter. 

For centuries, the dangers of nostalgia were well documented. Looking back with longing could trigger despair, delusions and even death.

Let that be a warning to the urban nostalgists among us who wistfully reminiscence about a period of Canberra past—whether that’s winter balls at the Albert Hall, a day’s fishing in Sullivan’s Creek or boozy lunches at The Lobby on the lawns of Old Parliament House—as its golden era.

The evolution I’ve witnessed over the last decade in Canberra gives me absolute confidence that our golden era awaits.

Ten years ago, my inner-city apartment was nothing more than a big hole in the ground. We were the first to move in, and for months navigated our way around trucks and tradies as it was still partly a construction site. It took a few years for the precinct to take shape, but today it hums with activity and is an amazing place to live.

In 2009, other parts of Canberra were forgotten corners, construction sites or car yards. Yes, Lonsdale Street had the occasional art gallery, quirky fashion shop or bakery, but it was far from being the hipster heaven it is in 2019.

At NewActon, the Nishi building’s origami façade and green walls were still years away. A city-wide light rail concept was sitting with Infrastructure Australia for consideration. And in Kingston, the two-year-old Canberra Glassworks was putting the finishing touches on a 22-metre high glass tower that would one day overlook more than 1,800 foreshore apartments.

Enlighten. Credit: Martin Ollman for VisitCanberra.

Other ideas were also just taking shape. The Handmade Markets, now a Canberra institution, were only a year old. Enlighten was yet to be illuminated and the National Arboretum was four years away from opening.

These examples serve as reminders of how much our city has changed in a decade and to illustrate the impossibility of predicting the future. I could never have foreseen how rapidly our city would become a “cool capital”. But I am prepared to make a few bold predictions.

Molonglo Group’s Dairy Road will be a bustling precinct within the next decade—although it will be far from complete. Once nothing more than warehouses and distribution centres in the far corner of Fyshwick, Dairy Road will be buzzing with artists’ residents and light manufacturing hubs, restaurants and cafés, offices and apartments. It will redefine Canberra’s approach to precinct development, in much the way NewActon has in the last decade.

Capital Brewing Co at Dairy Road. Credit: Kara Rosenlund for VisitCanberra.

Meanwhile, the Canberra Brickworks, a site that has laid partly derelict for decades, will be a people-magnet once more. New homes, cafés and craft spaces, retail and restaurants will bring the heritage area to life.

The down-at-heel Dickson motor registry will be a distant memory, with another thriving precinct in its place. Doma Group and Englobo already have the green light to start work on four buildings in the DKSN precinct. In a decade, we’ll be booking reservations at one of the many restaurants overlooking the new Civic Plaza and jumping on the light rail to get there.

Kingston Foreshore. Image: Martin Ollman

More Canberrans will live in apartments in a decade’s time, but those apartments will be better quality, thanks to ACT Government’s apartment design guidelines that will, by then, have been in force for most of the preceding decade.

But for those of us that prefer a backyard, Ginninderry, which is for the most part still green fields, will be home to almost 12,000 Canberrans looking for affordable housing and different lifestyle options in a great community.

There are many other changes that I hope we’ll make. Canberra didn’t have a plastic bag ban 10 years ago and our renewable energy industry was in its infancy—and I hope we take more serious strides towards sustainability. I also hope we tackle housing affordability head-on to ensure that, as our city grows, we don’t leave people behind.

While fantasising about a simpler time is a common reaction to rapid change, I don’t think there’s ever been a better time to live in our city. Right now, we are at the beginning of whatever happens next. What will Canberra look like in 10 years’ time? It’s up to us.

Photography: Martin Ollman. 

This article originally appeared in Magazine: FALL for Autumn/Winter 2019, available for free while stocks last. Find out more about Magazine here.

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