Previous Find of the Month

Find of the Month

June 2025

Always Be Curious:

ABC Flats

Have you ever stumbled upon something so amazing that you just had to share it with everyone? This month, we re-discovered the ABC Flats in Canberra - once gems of modern architecture, now part of the city’s architectural history.

The Allawah, Bega, and Currong Flats, colloquially known as the ABC Flats, were situated on the edge of Braddon, in Canberra’s city centre. Designed in 1954 by Richard Ure and Ian Slater from the Commonwealth Department of Works, the flats were examples of mid-century modernist architecture in Canberra.

Fig. 1. Currong Flats, c. 1980

Fig. 2. Allawah or Bega Flats, c. 1980

Allawah and Bega Courts (twin developments facing Ballumbir Street in the inner city) and Currong Apartments (located immediately behind Allawah) were built in the mid-1950s as part of the government’s efforts to house the growing numbers of public servants and other workers in Canberra.i

  • Allawah (114 two-bedroom flats) was completed in 1956.
  • Bega (also 114 two-bedroom flats) was completed the following year; and
  • The adjacent eight-storey Currong Apartments (184 one-bedroom flats and 28 of two bedrooms) were completed in 1959.

Architecture researchers Martin Miles and Justin Walsh note that the complex was significant in the context of mid-century modernism, demonstrating “the planning and design of Canberra’s first medium-density public housing, built as the city was emerging from the austerity of the immediate post World War II period. As a group, the buildings exhibited fine proportions, clean detailing and formed a strong architectural statement on the edge of Civic for several decades".ii

The eminent modernist photographer Wolfgang Sievers (Fig. 3) captured several images of the newly built Allawah flats in 1958, now held in the National Library of Australia. William Pedersen, of the Australian News and Information Bureau, also photographed the ABC flats, to promote Canberra’s improving living standards.

Fig. 3. Allawah Flats, Braddon, Canberra, 1958, by Wolfgang Sievers

Fig. 4. [Currong] Flats at Braddon, Canberra, 1960, by W. Pedersen

This month’s standout discovery comes from Mary Hutchison’s insightful book If These Walls Could Speak …: Currong Apartments from Construction to Decommission 1958-2004.iii In her preface, Hutchison shares a delightful moment from the records held at ArchivesACT:

“My personal favourite is John Overall’s minute to T.H. Willington about the need to give the Currong Flats some more ‘sparkle’.”  - Mary Hutchison, Author’s Preface, p.9.

Fig. 5. Minute from John Overall regarding ABC flats, 1958

This quote captures a rare blend of bureaucratic candour and visionary flair. Sir John Overall, then Commissioner of the National Capital Development Commission, wasn’t just building housing – he was imagining a city with character and charm. His call for “sparkle” reminds us that even in government memos, there’s room for imagination and aspiration.

Fig. 6. John Overall, NCDC Commissioner, speaking at the opening of Lake Burley Griffin, 1964

A minute addressed to The Commissioner offers a contrasting glimpse into the everyday realities of urban planning:

For your information I thought you should know about a strongly worded protest I have had from a resident in the flats at Braddon, Section 52, about the construction of a children’s playground has been put too near the block of flats and the noise of the children and their portable radios are driving them mad.

Fig. 7. Minute regarding location of playground and use of portable radios, 1959

This interplay - between grand vision and grassroots frustration - highlights the delicate balance between designing for a vibrant community and responding to the lived experience of its residents.

By the 1990s, the flats were out of favour. An extensive renovation program sought to bring them up to modern standards. See for example, Fig. 8, from the ArchivesACT collection, showing landscape plans for the ABC Flats in 1994.

Fig. 8. Drawings - ACT Landscapes - Allawah, Bega & Currong Flats - Concept Plan, 1994

However, by the time the ACT Government announced the demolition of the Currong Flats in 2014, the buildings were often referred to in the press as “eyesore flats.” Many Canberrans weren’t sad to see them go in 2016, citing neglect and a reputation for petty crime.

While not regarded as fit for 21st century living, when the flats were first built in 1959, they were considered by their new tenants to be the height of luxury. Each apartment had heating, a kitchen, spacious living areas and views of the developing city.

The buildings were home to thousands of people over its 50 years, from single workers to young families and those in need of emergency accommodation. Many of them lived there for decades, forging strong friendships and holding fond memories of the place.

Together with the Allawah and Bega Flats, the complex - known as the ABC Flats - was a fixture of the city landscape and reflected a key aspect of Canberra’s development and evolving needs - both architecturally and socially.

Fig. 9. Sign - Currong Apartments, Block A, steel and paint, c. 1960s

Figures

Fig. 1. ArchivesACT, NCDC image collection. Currong Flats, c. 1980

Fig. 2. ArchivesACT, NCDC image collection. Allawah or Bega Flats, c. 1980

Fig. 3. Allawah Flats, Braddon, Canberra, 1958, by Wolfgang Sievers. National Library of Australia, https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/22451532.

Fig. 4. Flats in Braddon, Canberra, 1960, by W. Pedersen. National Library of Australia, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-146745404

Fig. 5. ArchivesACT file 32552. Minute from John Overall regarding ABC flats, 1958

Fig. 6. John Overall, NCDC Commissioner, speaking at the opening of Lake Burley Griffin, 1964. From the Office of the Surveyor General photographic collection, ACT3-635

Fig. 7. ArchivesACT file 32552. Minute regarding location of playground and use of portable radios, 1959

Fig. 8. ArchivesACT 2024/3078, Concept Plan, colour copy. TERRITORY PLAN & STRATEGIC PLANNING POLICY - Planning Strategy - "DRAWINGS - ACT LANDSCAPES - Allawah, Bega & Currong Flats - Concept Plan - Part 1", 1994.

Fig. 9. Sign - Currong Apartments, Block A, steel and paint, c.1960s, exhibition Canberra Museum and Gallery (CMAG), 21 November 2020 - 20 February 2021, Home and Away — Exhibitions

ACT Government files used

ArchivesACT 2024/3078 - TERRITORY PLAN & STRATEGIC PLANNING POLICY - Planning Strategy - "DRAWINGS - ACT LANDSCAPES - Allawah, Bega & Currong Flats - Concept Plan - Part 1"

ArchivesACT 32552 - HOUSING BRANCH CURRONG FLATS - SECTION 52 BRADDON

ArchivesACT 06/668 - PUBLICATION - Marketing - Currong Social History Project - Images

ArchivesACT PC35/3/3 - BRADDON: SECTION 52 - FLATS BUILDING SCHEME

ArchivesACT SP4538#1 - BRADDON052-01

ArchivesACT SP4538#2 - BRADDON052-01

Other Sources

References

[i] Researching house history, Archives ACT finding aid, https://www.archives.act.gov.au/information/finding_aids

[ii] Martin Miles and Justin Walsh, ‘Canberra’s early mid-century modern houses’. National Trust of Australia, Heritage in Trust (ACT), March 2023, pp1-4.

[iii] Mary Hutchison, If These Walls Could Speak …: Currong Apartments from Construction to Decommission 1958-2004. Canberra : Dept. of Disability, Housing & Community Services, 2005.

Ready to start your own research?

Contact us through our Request a record - ArchivesACT and we will be happy to help.

File Readers/Viewers

If you do not already have compatible software on your computer, free file readers/viewers can be downloaded from the following links.