Building a community

The building of the city of Canberra meant that the landscape and way of life on the Limestone Plains changed dramatically once again. Construction workers, tradespeople, public servants and business people arrived to create the beginnings of the capital and stayed to live in it.

In the vicinity of the Power House temporary accommodation and government houses formed the nucleus of the growing suburb of Kingston.

After the first private auction of land, the shops that became Canberra’s first shopping centre were established. Newcomers became neighbours. They developed gardens and got to know each other, started clubs and associations, and celebrated family and local occasions.

This pattern of suburban development was repeated across Canberra and added to by successive generations. As early residents have said, Kingston was where Canberra began.