Various explorations took place in the part of New South Wales, now known as the Australian Capital Territory in the early 19th century which included the journeys by Joseph Wild, Charles Throsby and Hamilton Hume; and Captain Mark Currie, accompanied by Brigade Major Ovens.

The ACT was established from land ceded by New South Wales in 1911 to the Commonwealth of Australia as the Seat of Government. The area was excised from the Counties of Murray and Cowley, District of Queanbeyan and the Parishes of Keewong and Cuppacumbalong and the Shire of Yarrowlumla. The area included the existing villages of Hall and Tharwa and large land holdings and homesteads such as Belconnen, Ginninderra, Gungahlin, Kambah, Lanyon, Woden, Wanniassa and Weetangera.

Town planning in the ACT was controlled by the Commonwealth until Self-Government on 11 March 1989. Various Commonwealth agencies had administrative responsibility for the ACT including the National Capital Development Commission which was established in 1957 and abolished in 1989. On Self-Government responsibility for planning was split between the Commonwealth and the Territory governments. The National Capital Authority is the Commonwealth agency which manages the Australian Government’s continuing interest in the planning and maintenance of Canberra as the national capital. 

The Commonwealth of Australia Ordinance No. 18 of 1928 established the National Memorials Committee to deal with the character and location of national memorials and the nomenclature of divisions of and public places in the Australian Capital Territory.  The original plan of Canberra contained a number of local names and others which had been applied. The Committee adopted a unique scheme of nomenclature, the principle of which was the grouping together in separate areas of classes of names, for example, governors, statesmen, explorers, navigators, scientists and others to perpetuate the memory of names associated with Australian patriotism and national sentiment. The scheme was defined in the Districts Ordinance 1927 which divided Canberra into 23 divisions, which eventually became suburbs.

The names of those statesmen who were directly associated with, and who are mainly responsible for the establishment of federation of the Commonwealth are as follows:
Barton	Fysh	Parkes	
Braddon	Griffith	Reid	
Deakin	Kingston	Symon	
Dickson	Lyne	Turner	
Forrest	O’Connor		
A suffix has been added where the name did not sound like a place name, so there is now Lyneham, Fyshwick and Symonston. 

It was decided to retain some names connected with local Aboriginal place names and Canberra’s pioneers and white settlement.

Acton	Duntroon	Narrabundah	
Ainslie	Jerrabomberra	Pialligo	
Canberra	Mugga	Yarralumla	

The ACT Place Names Committee terms of reference are to:
•	Establish policies and guidelines for the determination of place names for territory land in the ACT, including divisions, roads, public places and geographic features; and
•	Provide recommendations to the Minister or his delegate on place names for territory land in the ACT.

The ACT is divided into Districts which are subdivided into divisions (suburbs). District names are derived from properties that existed prior to acquisition by the Commonwealth and natural features. They are:  Belconnen, Booth, Canberra, Corree, Cotter River, Gungahlin, Hall, Jerrabomberra, Kowen, Majura, Mount Clear, Paddys River, Rendezvous Creek, Stromlo, Tennent, Tuggeranong, Weston Creek and Woden Valley. 

For information on the origin and meaning of Canberra place names see:
http://www.actpla.act.gov.au/tools_resources/maps_land_survey/place_names/place_search

For maps including of Districts see:
http://apps.actpla.act.gov.au/tplan/index.htm

Suburb	Gazettal Date	Street theme for suburb	
ACTON	20 September 1928	Named before individual themes were adopted.	
AINSLIE	20 September 1928	Pioneers, legislators	
AMAROO	18 October 1991	Australian rivers and lakes	
ARANDA	22 June 1967	Names of Aboriginal tribal units	
BANKS	12 March 1987	Botanists, things botanical or relating to natural history.	
BARTON	24 May 1956	Governors	
BEARD	11 May 2009	Australian geological resources	
BELCONNEN	22 August 1968	Lord Mayors and mayors	
BONNER	12 July 2001	Indigenous leaders and their supporters	
BONYTHON	17 October 1986	Notable South Australians, particularly journalists, and South Australian place names	
BRADDON	280 September 1928	Aboriginal words; legislators and pioneers	
BRUCE	6 June 1968	Australian tertiary education	
CALWELL	5 August 1975	Victorian politicians	
CAMPBELL	14 June 1956	Defence personnel	
CAPITAL HILL	20 September 1928	Monarchs and constitutional references	
CASEY	18 October 1991	Diplomats, public servants and administrators	
CHAPMAN	2 July 1970	Film industry	
CHARNWOOD	9 September 1971	NSW pioneers	
CHIFLEY	12 May 1966	Scientists and educationalists	
CHISHOLM	5 August 1975	Notable women	
CITY	20 September 1928	Aboriginal words; pioneers and capital cities	
CONDER	12 March 1987	Members of the Heidelberg School; towns associated with the Heidelberg School; directors and trustees of state and national galleries, patrons and benefactors and other artists.	
COOK	6 June 1968	Notable women	
CRACE	18 October 1991	Parishes and land divisions	
CURTIN	20 September 1928	State Premiers	
DEAKIN	20 September 1928	Governors and Governors-General and diplomats	
DICKSON	20 September 1928	No specific theme	
DOWNER	7 April 1960	No specific theme	
DUFFY	2 July 1970	Dams and reservoirs	
DUNLOP	22 September 1993	Inventors and inventions; artists	
DUNTROON	20 September 1928
DEGAZETTED
14 June 1956 (in favour of Campbell)	Remains in place as a ‘locality’ rather than as a ‘suburb or division’ name.	
EVATT	2 November 1972	Legal profession	
FADDEN	5 August 1975	Queensland politicians	
FARRER	12 May 1966	Agriculturalists	
FISHER	6 June 1968	Mines and mining towns	
FLOREY	5 August 1975	Scientists	
FLYNN	9 September 1971	Royal Flying Doctor Service and Inland Mission	
FORDE	27 July 1992	Community service	
FORREST	20 September 1928	Governors and explorers	
FRANKLIN	18 October 1991	Writers, particularly women 	
FRASER	15 January 1974	Early ACT residents	
FYSHWICK	20 September 1928	Industrial towns	
GARRAN	12 May 1966	Writers	
GILMORE	5 August 1975	Journalists, particularly women	
GIRALANG	15 January 1974	Aboriginal words for stars, astronomers and constellations seen from the southern hemisphere	
GORDON	12 March 1987	Sportsmen and sportswomen	
GOWRIE	5 August 1975	Armed Service personnel	
GREENWAY	17 October 1986	Architects	
GRIFFITH	20 September 1928	Explorers	
GUNGAHLIN 	24 February 1992	Industrialists, aspects of industry, and Gungahlin district pioneers, homesteads and sites	
HACKETT	7 April 1960	Mainly scientists	
HALL	18 May 1984	N/A	
HARRISON	18 October 1991	Natural features such as waterfalls, plains, tablelands and plateaux	
HAWKER	15 April 1971	NT pastoral stations	
HIGGINS	6 June 1968	Judges	
HOLDER	2 July 1970	Surveyors	
HOLT	2 July 1970	Sportsmen and sportswomen	
HUGHES	20 September 1928	World War I armed services personnel and contemporaries of William Hughes	
HUME	22 March 1982	 Industry and business	
ISAACS	12 May 1966	Educationalists	
ISABELLA PLAINS	5 August 1975	NSW parish names	
JACKA	25 April 2001	Valour and community Service	
KALEEN	15 January 1974	Australian rivers	
KAMBAH	22 March 1973	Interstate pioneers; theme in   Gleneagles estate is Australian golfers and golf courses	
KENNY	18 October 1991	Proposed theme:  Nurses and nursing administrators	
KINGSTON	20 September 1928	Explorers	
KINLYSIDE	18 October 1991	 Australian country towns	
LATHAM	6 June 1968	Judges	
LAWSON	17 October 1986	Characters and places from the works of Henry Lawson	
LYNEHAM	20 September 1928	Mainly artists and people associated with the development of early Canberra	
LYONS	12 May 1966	Tasmanian towns and place names	
MACARTHUR	22 March 1982	Names associated with the wool industry	
MACGREGOR	9 September 1971	Medical profession	
MACQUARIE	22 June 1967	Contemporaries of Governor Macquarie	
McKELLAR	15 January 1974	Journalists	
MAWSON	12 May 1966	Antarctic exploration	
MELBA	9 September 1971	Musicians	
MITCHELL	5 August 1975	Industrialists	
MONASH	5 August 1975	Engineers	
MONCRIEFF	18 October 1991	Musicians and those associated with the field of music	
MULANGGARI	18 October 1991	Notable Aboriginal women and Aboriginal words – this suburb will not be developed and will remain as grasslands.	
NARRABUNDAH	20 September 1928	Indigenous names; explorers and pioneers	
NGUNNAWAL	18 October 1991	Notable Aboriginal people and Aboriginal words	
NICHOLLS	18 October 1991	Sportsmen and sportswomen; theme for the pond side Promenade estate is Australian fauna	
OAKS ESTATE	18 May 1984	N/A	
O'CONNOR	20 September 1928	Australian flora, legislators, pioneers, explorers	
O'MALLEY	12 May 1966	Aboriginal tribes words	
OXLEY	22 May 1982	Social reformers	
PAGE	6 June 1968	Scientists	
PALMERSTON	20 March 1991	Mountains of Australia	
PARKES	20 September 1928	Monarchs and constitutional references	
PEARCE	12 May 19966	Contemporaries of Sir George Pearce	
PHILLIP	12 May 1966	Names associated with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Fleets; theme for the streets in the area of Swinger Hill is architects	
PIALLIGO	20 September 1928	Aboriginal words	
RED HILL	20 September 1928	Ships and explorers	
REID	20 September 1928	Aboriginal words	
RICHARDSON	5 August 1975	Notable women, particularly writers	
RIVETT	2 July 1970	Australian flora	
RUSSELL	12 May 1966	Armed services personnel	
SCULLIN	6 June 1968	Aviators	
SPENCE	2 November 1972	Trade unionists	
STIRLING	2 July 1970	WA pioneers	
Swinger Hill
(Phillip)

	As a ‘Suburb’ Swinger Hill is not gazetted but the ‘hill’ is, as a geographical feature.	Architects
(Note that Swinger Hill is a local unofficial name for the hill on which Swinger Trig Station is located - Swinger Trig Station is named after Louis Swinger)	
SYMONSTON	20 September 1928	Industry and business	
TAYLOR	18 October 1991	Architects, town planners and urban designers	
THARWA	18 May 1984	N/A	
THEODORE	5 August 1975	Civilian war effort during WWI and WWII	
THROSBY	12 May 1966	Theme: tba	
TORRENS	20 September 1928	Contemporaries of Sir Robert Torrens;  SA pioneers and politicians	
TURNER	20 September 1928	Mainly writers, pioneers and legislators	
WANNIASSA	21 May 1974	Victorian state politicians	
WARAMANGA	6 June 1968	Names of Aboriginal tribal units	
WATSON	7 April 1960	Judges and members of the legal profession	
WEETANGERA	22 August 1968	ACT Pioneers	
WESTON	2 July 1970	Artists	
YARRALUMLA	20 September 1928	Governors and botanists