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July 2015

Today a Mighty Development has Taken Place

Fourth Auction Sale of ACT Business & Residential Sites 14th July 1951


Residential Leases Sold

The 1951 auction offered business sites in Griffith, Ainslie and O'Connor, as well as residential land in Deakin, O'Connor and Yarralumla. The tables below shows the successful bidders for each of the residential and commercial blocks.


Purchaser - Residential Division Section Block Reserve Value £ Sale Price £ Ground Rent £.s. Premium £ Survey Fee £ Amount Paid £.s.
Merritt, Morris Joseph Deakin 9 5 800 1450 32 650 2 684
Pollard, James Deakin 9 6 800 1400 32 600 2 634
Campbell, George Blomfield & Nancy Victoria Dyce Deakin 9 7 600 1200 24 600 2 626
Bowden, Ivor Gordon Deakin 9 8 550 1050 22 500 2 524
Herald & Weekly Times Deakin 9 9 450 1000 18 550 2 570
Compressed Cork Sheet Company Deakin 9 10 450 1050 18 600 2 620
Jamieson, Arthur Barkley Deakin 9 11 400 1000 16 600 2 618
Herde, Kenneth Howard Deakin 9 12 450 1300 18 850 2 870
Curran, Amy Florence Deakin 9 13 450 1300 18 850 2 870
McCraken, Dr James Murray Deakin 9 `4 500 1150 20 650 2 672
Herald & Weekly Times Deakin 9 15 600 1900 24 1300 2 1326
Thomson, Mary Patricia Deakin 9 16 600 2100 24 1500 2 1526
Snow, Robert Alva & Jessica Ann Deakin 9 17 700 2000 28 1300 2 1330
Evans, Gwilyn Thomas Deakin 9 18 800 2150 32 1350 2 1384
Sawer, Professor Geoffrey Deakin 10 2 400 950 16 550 2 568
MacDonald, Ian Keith Deakin 10 3 350 675 14 325 2 341
Webb, Leicester Chisholm Deakin 10 4 400 700 16 300 2 318
Hoffman, Earle Samuel & Anna Deakin 10 5 350 525 14 175 2 191
Comans, Charles Kennedy Deakin 10 6 350 550 14 200 2 216
Davidson, Allan Clifton Deakin 10 7 350 575 14 225 2 241
Casement, Brabozon Islet Perrett Deakin 10 8 350 825 14 475 2 491
Cairns, Keith Scott Deakin 10 9 350 675 14 325 2 341
Bourchier, Murray Goulburn Madden Deakin 10 10 375 750 15 375 2 392
Federal Capital Press of Australia O'Connor 60 2 150 210 6 60 2 68
Van Barneveld, William O'Connor 60 3 150 230 6 80 2 88
Campbell, Leonard O'Connor 60 4 150 230 6 80 2 88
Compressed Cork Sheet Company O'Connor 60 5 150 360 6 210 2 218
Compressed Cork Sheet Company O'Connor 60 6 150 340 6 190 2 198
Piechocki, Stanislav Yarralumla 55 8 120 200 4.16 80 2 86.16
Kestel, Leo Charles Yarralumla 55 19 120 210 4.16 90 2 96.16
Sedlar, Frank Yarralumla 55 20 110 180 4.8 70 2 78.8
Joplin, Germaine Anne Yarralumla 68 1 150 250 6 100 2 108
Adams, Francis Leonard Yarralumla 68 7 150 260 6 110 2 118
Divola, Henry Laurence Thomas Yarralumla 68 8 150 250 6 100 2 108
Mills, Phillip Victor Yarralumla 68 9 150 220 6 70 2 78
Barnett, June Hyett Yarralumla 69 1 150 180 6 30 2 38
Australian National University Yarralumla 69 23 130 150 5.4 20 2 27.4
Mills, Phillip Victor Yarralumla 69 24 130 160 5.4 30 2 37.4
Cross, Andrew Davidson Yarralumla 69 25 130 160 5.4 30 2 37.4
Australian National University Yarralumla 69 26 130 170 5.4 40 2 47.4
McDonald, Louisa Augusta Yarralumla 69 27 150 180 6 30 2 38
Brown, Stanley Edwin Yarralumla 69 28 150 190 6 40 2 48
Woodcock, Francis Robert Yarralumla 69 29 150 180 6 30 2 38
Monsma, Eelker Yarralumla 69 30 150 200 6 50 2 58
Parvey, Alexander Frederwick Yarralumla 69 31 150 180 6 30 2 38
Compressed Cork Sheet Company Yarralumla 88 5 140 240 5.12 100 2 107.12
Compressed Cork Sheet Company Yarralumla 88 6 140 240 5.12 100 2 107.12
Chinn, Albert S. Yarralumla 88 7 150 230 6 80 2 88
Chinn, Albert S. Yarralumla 89 6 130 210 5.4 80 2 87.4
Embelton, George P Yarralumla 89 7 130 230 5.4 100 2 107.4
Embelton, George P Yarralumla 89 8 140 260 5.12 120 2 127.12

Map of Deakin Sections 9 and 10        Map of O'Connor Section 60        Map of Yarralumla residential blocks

Posters for the Residential Sites on offer in the Fourth Auction. Click on each poster for a larger view.

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Business Leases Sold


Purchaser - Business Division Section Block Reserve Value £ Sale Price £ Ground Rent £ Premium £ Survey Fee £ Amount Paid £
McDonald, Warren D'Arcy Griffith 78 20 200 1000 8 800 3 811
Driver, Albert Griffith 78 21 200 800 8 600 3 611
Cavill, Walter
(Goodlands Pty Ltd)		 Griffith 78 22 200 850 8 650 3 661
Green, Anthony Griffith 78 23 200 900 8 700 3 711
Haydon, John Alfred Griffith 78 24 200 950 8 750 3 761
Campbell, Leonard Anthony Griffith 78 25 200 600 8 400 3 411
Griffith Properties Limited Griffith 78 26 200 750 8 550 3 561
Makin & Bearse Ainslie 27 2 200 800 8 600 3 611
McDonald, Warren D'Arcy Ainslie 27 3 200 800 8 600 3 611
Green, Anthony Ainslie 27 4 200 900 8 700 3 711
Cavill, Walter
(Goodlands Pty Ltd)		 Ainslie 27 5 200 800 8 600 3 611
Mason, Hubert Johnston Ainslie 27 6 200 800 8 600 3 611
Sack's Limited Ainslie 27 7 200 700 8 500 3 511
Ainslie Properties Limited Ainslie 27 8 200 800 8 600 3 611
Cavill, Walter
(Goodlands Pty Ltd)		 O'Connor 45 2 200 1625 8 1425 3 1436
McDonald, Warren D'Arcy O'Connor 45 3 200 1350 8 1150 3 1161
Pitt, George O'Connor 45 4 200 1250 8 1050 3 1061
T.L. Adams Limited O'Connor 45 5 200 1200 8 1000 3 1011

Map of Griffith Section 78        Map of Ainslie Section 27        Map of O'Connor Section 45

Posters for the Business Sites on offer in the Fourth Auction. Click on each poster for a larger view.

In a memorandum dated 18th July 1951, F.A. Mitchell reported that there was "keen demand for the four business sites in O'Connor which were sold for a total of £5425 or £4625 above the total Reserve Value of £800." He also listed the types of businesses that lessees would establish in the three suburban business centres:

  • Ainslie: plumbing, mercery, grocery and furniture.
  • Griffith: butchery, chemist, green grocery, furniture, mercery or cloth merchant, and grocery.
  • O'Connor: grocery, electrical and butchery.

At the end of the auction all 18 business blocks and 51 residential blocks on offer had been sold for a combined total of £31,190.

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A de-facto freehold scheme

After such a long delay between the third and fourth auctions, the pace picked up significantly. The Department of the Interior held the fifth auction on the 8th December 1951 and by 1973, over 90 land lease public auctions had been conducted since 1924. The ACT Government holds files documenting most of these auctions.

The Commonwealth Government continued to charge land rent on residential and non-residential leases until it abolished the rental scheme in 1970 and instead increased municipal rates. This effectively created a de-facto freehold scheme for the purchase of land in the ACT, still limited to a 99-year lease.

When Commonwealth granted the ACT self-government on 11 May 1989, it passed the 'Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988 (Cwlth)'. This Act provided for land within the ACT to be 'national' or 'territory' land. Section 29 of the Act states that the ACT Executive is responsible for the management of territory land on behalf of the Commonwealth. Section 29(3) provides that the lease term "shall not exceed 99 years or such longer period as is prescribed, but the estate may be renewed." This change meant that, while we continue to have a leasehold system in name, Canberra property entitlements are more or less the same as other freehold systems. It's a mighty development indeed from the first 1924 lease auction.

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Links to newspaper articles

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