Bonner, Australian Capital Territory
Encyclopedia
Bonner is a planned suburb in the district of Gungahlin in Canberra
. The suburb is named in memory after Senator Neville Bonner
, Australia's first Indigenous parliamentarian who served the people of Queensland during the years 1971-1984. The suburb is bounded by Horse Park and Gundaroo Drives and is approximately 4 km from the Gungahlin Town Centre and 16 km from the centre of Canberra. It is adjacent to the suburbs of Jacka
, Amaroo
and Forde
.
to kerb the practice.
Their son James Gillespie was instrumental in establishing the Mulligans Flat Public School. The remnants of the school are located in the nearby Mulligans Flat Reserve. Gillespie was also a regularly contributor to the Goulburn Evening Penny Post under the pseudonym “The Wizard”. 'Horse Park' homestead which has been nominated for the ACT Heritage Register is situated a kilometre west in the suburb of Jacka
.
, to the east, and Jacka
to the west. The school will be close to the Local Centre, Community Facilities, the playing fields. The Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve is situated on the north-eastern edge of the suburb.
. 'Oak Hill' dominates the northern horizon which is 800 metres ASL and situated on the north-west boundary of the Australian Capital Territory
.
period and are called Canberra Formation. They are mostly slate
y shale
and mudstone
. A band of dacite
follows a ridge in the north east direction in the western third. Also ashstone
occurs on a hill top in the north west corner of Bonner.
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. The suburb is named in memory after Senator Neville Bonner
Neville Bonner
Neville Thomas Bonner AO was an Australian politician, and the first indigenous Australian to become a member of the Parliament of Australia...
, Australia's first Indigenous parliamentarian who served the people of Queensland during the years 1971-1984. The suburb is bounded by Horse Park and Gundaroo Drives and is approximately 4 km from the Gungahlin Town Centre and 16 km from the centre of Canberra. It is adjacent to the suburbs of Jacka
Jacka, Australian Capital Territory
Jacka is a designated suburb of Gungahlin, Canberra, the National Capital of Australia. The suburb was gazetted in April 1991 though an official announcement is yet to be made about the first land release...
, Amaroo
Amaroo, Australian Capital Territory
Amaroo is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district of Gungahlin and was gazetted on 18 October 1991. Amaroo – which means ‘a beautiful place’ in one of the local Aboriginal dialects. Place names in Amaroo such as Shoalhaven Avenue are named after Australian rivers and lakes. Amaroo is adjacent...
and Forde
Forde, Australian Capital Territory
Forde is a northern suburb of the Canberra, Australia district of Gungahlin. It is named in honour of Frank Forde, a politician who was Prime Minister of Australia for a week in 1945 following the death of John Curtin. Forde is adjacent to the suburbs of Amaroo, Throsby and Bonner. It is bounded...
.
History
Bonner is situated on the former paddocks of a sheep property called 'Horse Park' that was established by Irish immigrants John and Ann Gillespie in 1853. From these humble beginnings, this pioneering family and their son, James Gillespie acquired the neighbouring property 'Elm Grove' (located in present-day Forde). The Gillespie family was typical of a number of very astute small and medium scale graziers who built up their pastoral holdings through the judicious acquisitions of neighbouring properties. These practices forced the hands of legislators in colonial New South Wales to enact the Robertson Land ActsRobertson Land Acts
The Crown Lands Acts 1861 were introduced by the New South Wales Premier, John Robertson, in 1861 to reform land holdings and in particular to break the squatters' domination of land tenure...
to kerb the practice.
Their son James Gillespie was instrumental in establishing the Mulligans Flat Public School. The remnants of the school are located in the nearby Mulligans Flat Reserve. Gillespie was also a regularly contributor to the Goulburn Evening Penny Post under the pseudonym “The Wizard”. 'Horse Park' homestead which has been nominated for the ACT Heritage Register is situated a kilometre west in the suburb of Jacka
Jacka, Australian Capital Territory
Jacka is a designated suburb of Gungahlin, Canberra, the National Capital of Australia. The suburb was gazetted in April 1991 though an official announcement is yet to be made about the first land release...
.
Local facilities
A local shopping centre will be positioned at the geographical centre of the suburb close to the areas designated for medium density housing. The local Primary School is at the centre of its catchment, which comprises Bonner, Forde and the southern portion of Jacka. It adjoins the Local Centre and playing fields. Taken together these facilities create a social nucleus for the new suburb. A local primary school site will be located at the centre of Bonner to also serve FordeForde, Australian Capital Territory
Forde is a northern suburb of the Canberra, Australia district of Gungahlin. It is named in honour of Frank Forde, a politician who was Prime Minister of Australia for a week in 1945 following the death of John Curtin. Forde is adjacent to the suburbs of Amaroo, Throsby and Bonner. It is bounded...
, to the east, and Jacka
Jacka, Australian Capital Territory
Jacka is a designated suburb of Gungahlin, Canberra, the National Capital of Australia. The suburb was gazetted in April 1991 though an official announcement is yet to be made about the first land release...
to the west. The school will be close to the Local Centre, Community Facilities, the playing fields. The Mulligans Flat Nature Reserve is situated on the north-eastern edge of the suburb.
Geography
Bonner occupies 283 hectares and at its highest point is situated is 715 metres above sea level (ASL) while its lowest point on the southernmost reach is 624 metres. The suburb slopes southward towards Ginninderra CreekGinninderra Creek
Ginninderra Creek is a water course that flows across the Ginninderra Plain through the Gungahlin and Belconnen regions in Canberra, Australia....
. 'Oak Hill' dominates the northern horizon which is 800 metres ASL and situated on the north-west boundary of the Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
.
Geology
Rocks in Bonner are from the late middle SilurianSilurian
The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician Period, about 443.7 ± 1.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Devonian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya . As with other geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period's start and end are well identified, but the...
period and are called Canberra Formation. They are mostly slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
y shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
and mudstone
Mudstone
Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Grain size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope. With increased pressure over time the platey clay minerals may become aligned, with the...
. A band of dacite
Dacite
Dacite is an igneous, volcanic rock. It has an aphanitic to porphyritic texture and is intermediate in composition between andesite and rhyolite. The relative proportions of feldspars and quartz in dacite, and in many other volcanic rocks, are illustrated in the QAPF diagram...
follows a ridge in the north east direction in the western third. Also ashstone
Ashstone
Ashstone is a kind of volcanic rock formed from fine volcanic ash.During an explosive volcanic eruption, fragmentation of the magma can result in the formation of volcanic ash, consisting of sand-sized or smaller particles....
occurs on a hill top in the north west corner of Bonner.