Gowrie, Australian Capital Territory Explained

Type:suburb
Gowrie
City:Canberra
State:act
Lga:Tuggeranong
Stategov:Brindabella
Fedgov:Bean
Est:1981
Gazetted:5 August 1975
Postcode:2904
Area:1.9
Pop:3,140
Coordinates:-35.412°N 149.11°W
Near-Nw:Wanniassa
Near-Ne:Fadden
Near-W:Monash
Near-Sw:Isabella Plains
Near-S:Richardson

Gowrie is a suburb of Canberra, Australia, located in the northern end of the Tuggeranong Valley. Tuggeranong suburbs are the southernmost of Australia's capital city. Gowrie is named after Brigadier-General Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie (1872–1955), Governor-General of Australia from 1936 to 1944.[1]

Gowrie's streets are all named after members of the Australian Defence Force who won decorations, including the Victoria Cross.[1] Gowrie is the former site of the Athllon Homestead.

Demographics

At the, Gowrie had a population of 3,140 people. The median age of people in Gowrie was 38 years, compared to a median age of 35 for Canberra. The median individual income for Gowrie in 2021 was $1,207, almost equal with the ACT median of $1,203, while the median household income was $2,228. In 2021, the median monthly housing loan repayment in Gowrie was $2,674.

The residents of Gowrie are predominantly Australian born, with 77.4% being born in Australia. The main countries of birth for those born overseas were England (3.3%), India (2.0%), New Zealand (1.2%), Philippines (1.2%) and Italy (0.7%). The most popular religious affiliations in descending order are no religion, Catholic, Anglican and Islam.

Suburb amenities

Gowrie Primary School, located on Jeffries Street, opened in 1983. The school's design has a rural theme, and each of the buildings are named after properties in the Tuggeranong Valley.[2] The Catholic Holy Family Parish Primary School and the Holy Family Church, both part of the South Tuggeranong Corpus Christi Parish, are located on Bugden Avenue.[3] Tuggeranong Presbyterian Church meets at Gowrie Primary School in Jeffries Street.[4]

The Gowrie local shopping centre is located on Jeffries Street. The centre includes a supermarket, pharmacy, hairdresser and the Common Grounds cafe. Jeffries Street is also the site of a child care centre and the Gowrie Preschool. The Erindale Scout Hall is in Finlay Place.[5] The Gowrie District Playing fields also are located in the suburb.

Gowrie is serviced by several ACTION bus routes. Routes 76 and 77 connect Gowrie to Tuggeranong Town Centre and Erindale Centre.[6] [7] Route R5 travels along Ashley Drive with several bus stops along it.[8]

Politics

2022 Federal Election[9]
 Labor38.46%
 Liberal29.87%
 Greens16.70%
 Independent8.32%
2020 ACT Election[10]
 Liberal40.0%
 Labor35.2%
 Greens14.0%
 Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party2.9%
Sustainable Australia2.7%
Gowrie is located within the federal electorate of Bean, which is represented by David Smith in the House of Representatives. In the ACT Legislative Assembly, Gowrie is part of the electorate of Brindabella, which elects five members on the basis of proportional representation, currently two Liberal, two Labor and one Greens.[11] Polling place statistics are shown to the right for the Gowrie polling place at Gowrie Primary School in the 2022 federal[9] and 2020 ACT[10] elections.

Geology

The west of Gowrie is built on Deakin Volcanics green-grey and purple rhyodacite. In the east, Gowrie is built on green-grey, purple and cream rhyolite. These rocks are 414 million years old from the Silurian period.[12]

Looking north-west towards the Brindabella Ranges on the left and Gowrie on the rightFile:Gowrie Aerial.jpgAerial photo from the east

Notes and References

  1. Book: Canberra's suburb and street names : origins and meanings. 1992. Department of the Environment, Land and Planning. 1-86331-128-9 . 54.
  2. Web site: Gowrie Primary School . Gowrie Primary School: Our School . 15 February 2014.
  3. Web site: Gowrie Primary School . Holy Family School in Gowrie . 15 February 2014.
  4. Web site: Tuggeranong Presbyterian Church. Tuggeranong Presbyterian Church. 15 November 2014.
  5. Erindale Scout Group (2006) Home. Retrieved 1 July 2006
  6. Web site: Route 76. Transport Canberra. 9 September 2022.
  7. Web site: Route 77 . Transport Canberra. 9 September 2022.
  8. Web site: Route R5 . Transport Canberra. 9 September 2022.
  9. Web site: Federal Election 2022 – Polling Place Gowrie . Australian Electoral Commission. 10 June 2022. 9 September 2022 .
  10. Web site: 2020 Results for Brindabella Candidates at Gowrie Polling Place . 13 November 2020 . . 17 November 2021.
  11. Web site: . List of elected candidates - 2020 Election. 9 September 2022.
  12. Henderson G A M and Matveev G, Geology of Canberra, Queanbeyan and Environs 1:50000 1980.