Kingston is the oldest and most densely populated suburb of Canberra

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...

, 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...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The suburb is named after Charles Cameron Kingston

Charles Kingston

Charles Cameron Kingston, Australian politician, was an early liberal Premier of South Australia serving from 1893 to 1899 with the support of Labor led by John McPherson from 1893 and Lee Batchelor from 1897 in the House of Assembly, winning the 1893, 1896, and 1899 state elections against the...

, the former Premier of South Australia and minister in the first Australian Commonwealth Government. It is adjacent to the suburbs of Barton

Barton, Australian Capital Territory

Barton is a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Barton is named after Sir Edmund Barton, Australia's first Prime Minister. Streets in Barton are named after Governors....

, Fyshwick

Fyshwick, Australian Capital Territory

Fyshwick is an industrial suburb of Canberra, located east of the South Canberra district. On Census night 2006, Fyshwick had a population of 54 people....

, Griffith

Griffith, Australian Capital Territory

Griffith is an early inner-south suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Griffith is named after Sir Samuel Griffith, who was chosen in 1903 as the first Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia and retained his position until retirement in 1919...

 and Manuka

Manuka, Australian Capital Territory

Manuka is an area in the Inner South district of Canberra, Australia covering parts of the suburbs of Griffith and Forrest. Manuka Shops, Manuka Oval, Manuka Swimming Pool, and Manuka Circle take their name from the park in the area.- Origin of name :...

. The suburb of Kingston is situated about 4 km from the centre of Canberra

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...

.

History

In the early years of Canberra's development, Eastlake occupied the area now known as Kingston. Eastlake Football and Cricket club is one of the few reminders of Kingston long past. Eastlake was designated as a workers living quarters while the suburb of Forrest was reserved for middle and higher ranking public servants. About 120 portable wooden cottages for construction workers were built at the Causeway in 1925 and 1926. Canberra's first hall for community gatherings and entertainment was at the Causeway where the recreation hall was completed in 1926 with voluntary labour using materials provided by the Federal Capital Commission. After the second world war, housing at the Causeway and Westlake was considered sub-standard. Although all of the original Westlake cottage have been demolished, the Causeway survives with the original temporary wooden cottages now replaced with brick veneer cottages. As it was separated from the rest of the suburb by Wentworth Avenue and was situated to the north of the railway station the Causeway was a distinct district within the suburb of Kingston, however, it is now abutted by the new Kingston foreshore development.
The Causeway was given its name because it was near the Causeway across the Molonglo River that was used for the train line built in 1917 and washed away in the 1922 flood. The cottages at Causeway were designed by HM Rolland and were first erected at Westlake in 1924, then Acton and finally at the Causeway in 1925-1926. The Westlake cottages were sold off from the mid 1950s - last cottage removed in 1965. A number are now in Queanbeyan and down the South Coast. One also sits with a new coat of paint, in River Street, Oaks Estate. A photograph showing one of the cottages on the move is in Westlake One of the Vanished Suburbs of Canberra - Gugler, A. The timber cottages at the Causeway were pulled down [I am not sure about the Acton Cottages]. The cottage design, referred to as portable timber cottages, designed by Rolland were based on the cottages erected at Westlake (present site, Block 3, Section 128 Stirling Park, Yarralumla)by Contractor John Howie for his married men - built 1922. He also built nearby 18 or more timber huts for his single men, known as the Hostel Camp. The Burns Club was founded there in 1924.

Current development

In recent years Kingston has been largely redeveloped with medium density housing including townhouses and units. The most recent development is the Kingston Foreshores development in which large numbers of high-value apartments are being built along the foreshores of Lake Burley Griffin

Lake Burley Griffin

Lake Burley Griffin is an artificial lake in the centre of Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was completed in 1963 after the Molonglo River—which ran between the city centre and Parliamentary Triangle—was dammed...

. The area had previously been used for industrial purposes and is located between the Canberra railway station

Canberra railway station

Canberra railway station is located in Kingston, Australian Capital Territory. The station is the terminus for CountryLink rail services from Sydney...

 and the Kingston Powerhouse. These new developments and the rise of a café society have reformed Kingston as one of the most exclusive suburbs in Canberra.

Suburb amenities

Kingston contains the Kingston Shopping Centre, one of the earliest shopping areas built in Canberra. Other places of note in Kingston include the Kingston Powerhouse opened in 1915 and the Canberra railway station. The Old Bus Depot Markets, showing handcrafted goods and foodstuffs, are held on the lakeside every Sunday and have become a regular destination for locals and tourists. Kingston's streets are named after Australia's early European explorers.

Kingston is also noted for a lively nightlife and bar scene.

Major Roads

The major road in Kingston is Wentworth Avenue which carries traffic through Kingston from the northwest to the southeast. Telopea Park East forms the northwest boundary of the suburb. Access to the shopping precinct is via Eyre Street or Giles Street.