Giralang, Australian Capital Territory

Infobox Australian Place | type = suburb
name = Giralang
state = Australian Capital Territory
city = Canberra

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caption =
lga = Belconnen
postcode = 2617
est = 1974
propval = $344,000 (2005) [http://allhomes.com.au/c/ah?a=uisu&i=331]
pop = 3,564 (2001 census)
ACTgov = Ginninderra
fedgov = Fraser
near-nw = Evatt
near-n = Nicholls
near-ne = Crace
near-e = Kaleen
near-w = Evatt
near-sw = McKellar
near-s = Lawson
near-se = Kaleen

Giralang is a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen. The postcode is 2617. The suburb is named after the word in the language of the Wirahuri Aboriginal tribe of the Central West of New South Wales, meaning ‘star.’ It was gazetted on 15 January 1974. Streets are named after Aboriginal words for stars seen from the southern hemisphere.

It lies next to the suburbs of Kaleen, Lawson and McKellar. In the suburb is the Giralang District Playing fields, and adjacent Giralang Primary School. The suburb is bordered by Baldwin Drive, William Slim Drive and the Barton Highway.

January 2003 fires

At around 2:30pm January 18 2003 the combination of heat and wind from the 2003 Canberra bushfires caused an over head power line to arc and spark a fire in a near by tree. The fire in the tree top had soon spread to the shrubs below. A pocket of sap in the tree exploded sending a fireball from the tree which flew down wind into the tanbark front yard of a home in Baracchi Crescent. The owner of the tree, with the support of neighbours, doused the tree and shrubs with garden hoses putting out the flames.

The tanbark in the yard in Baracchi Crescent continued to burn with the wind pushing it towards the neighbouring home to the south. The northern side of the house caught alight while the occupants evacuated. The first fire engine arrived shortly after and started hosing down the area down wind of the home on fire. A fire fighter was quoted as saying "I'm sorry mam' we can't save your house. We are trying to stop the fire spreading." when questioned by the owner of the burning home. A second fire engine arrived soon after and started defending the homes the row behind. The fire spread via the back yard of the burning home into the back yard of the home further south and progressed on to the timber deck and then inside the second home.

The fire fighters on the ground were aided by water bombing helicopters that were unable to work on the south side of Canberra due to the dense smoke from the bush fires. By 3:30PM fire fighters were successful in containing the fire to the two homes on Baracchi Crescent largely due to the availability of the water bombers.

The two destroyed homes (amongst the first to be built in the suburb) were later demolished. The owners of the first home decided to rebuild a new home while the owners of the second sold their land after having the home demolished.Fact|date=February 2007

Geology

Ordovician age Pittman Formation greywacke and turbidites are found in the far east and northwest including a band of Acton
Shale occurring right on the eastern border of the suburb.Next in the center, south and north west of Giralang there are late Silurian sedimentary rocks. From the east to west there are,
mudstone, State Circle Shale, and then micaceous Black Mountain Sandstone that contains lenses of shale.In the south west of Giralang is calcareous shale from the Canberra Formation.A long fault heading north west roughly parallel to Ginninderra Creek is marked on the surface by an iron oxide reef. In the south of Giralang this fault separates the Canberra formation from State Circle Shale uplifted on the east side.

References

*Henderson G A M and Matveev G, Geology of Canberra, Queanbeyan and Environs 1:50000 1980.