Ainslie, Australian Capital Territory

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Ainslie
state = ACT
city = Canberra

---

caption =
lga = North Canberra
postcode = 2602
est = 1928
propval = $460,000
pop = 4,500 (2001 census)
ACTgov = Molonglo
fedgov = Fraser
near-nw = Dickson
near-n =
near-ne = Hackett
near-e = "Canberra Nature Park"
near-w = Braddon
near-sw = Reid
near-s = Campbell
near-se = "Canberra Nature Park"

Ainslie (postcode: 2602) is a leafy suburb in the Inner North of Canberra, Australia.

The suburb is bounded by Limestone Ave and Majura Ave to the west, Mount Ainslie to the east, the Australian War Memorial to the south and the suburb of Hackett to the north.

Its position being immediately adjacent to Braddon puts it in walking distance of the Canberra CBD (called Civic). Its proximity to Reid, and near the Australian War Memorial makes it a desirable location to live.

uburb amenities

The Ainslie local shops are located in the middle of the suburb.

The suburb, which is gradually gentrifying, has a preschool (Baker Gardens Preschool), the Ainslie Football Club, and the Ainslie Fire Station which serves North Canberra. The North Ainslie Primary School is located in the suburb, but the Ainslie Primary School, one of Canberra's oldest, is actually located in Braddon on the western side of Limestone Ave.

Ainslie residents can access Mount Ainslie for walks simply by walking uphill. There is an easy paved walk to the top, and also a "goat track" straight up the side of the hill. Kangaroos come down from the mountain at night and eat grass from the nature strips in front of each house.

The Anglican All Saints Church is located on Cowper street in Ainslie, a building which was transported from Sydney in 1957 that originally served as a railway station at the Rookwood Cemetery.

Design

The suburb is characterised by leafy streets, detached single dwelling houses, and a "village" atmosphere around some of the many small parks. Small blocks of flats are located in the south of the suburb, as is "Ainslie Village" an ACT Government centre which provides accommodation for people with special needs. The suburb has recently experienced 'in-fill' development in recent years, sometimes in the case of dual occupancy dwellings (where two dwellings are constructed on a lot which previously contained one house).

History

The suburb was named for James Ainslie. According to the ACT Planning and Land Authority] ref|Planning:
James Ainslie was the "First overseer of 'Duntroon Station' in Canberra; employed by Robert Campbell to drive a mob of sheep south from Bathurst 'until he found suitable land', 1825; Ainslie chose the Limestone Plains (the Canberra district) about 1825; was overseer for ten years before returning to Scotland."

Ainslie was gazetted by the Government in 1928. It has many heritage listed homes, and parts of the suburb was gazetted onto the ACT Government's Heritage Register in 2004. ref|Heritage

In 1980 "The Questacon" opened at Ainslie Primary School. Questacon was founded by the ANU's Professor Mike Gore and moved to its present location in the parliamentary triangle in 1988.

In 1985 a group house at no. 30 [verification needed] Cox Street was the site of a murder, when a Thai national stabbed a woman he felt had scorned him, to death after first wounding a young art student whom he mistook for his intended victim. In September 2005, there was a fire at the Ainslie shops which caused up to $500,000 damage to a laundromat. [http://the-riotact.com/?p=1077] Ainslie residents include The Hon. Robert Francis (Bob) McMullan MP, Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, former ACT politician Lucy Horodny (Greens) and film-maker Tony Ayres.

Open space

Ainslie has many parks and open spaces.
* Corroboree Park is a large public space, which contains a community hall, as well as some sporting facilities such as several tennis courts, and a basketball court.
* It contains several sports ovals, one of which is part of the Ainslie Football Club.
* It contains North Ainslie Primary School which has a generous oval.
* It contains the Ainslie Tennis Club attached to Corroboree Park.

Geology

Calcareous shales from the Canberra Formation from the Silurian period is overlain by Quaternary alluvium.This rock is the limestone of the original title of Canberra "Limestone Plains".

References

# [http://allhomes.com.au/c/ah?a=uisu&i=4 Property values in Ainslie]
# [http://www.actpla.act.gov.au ACT Planning and Land Authority]
# [http://www.tams.act.gov.au/live/heritage/act_heritage_register ACT Government Heritage Register]