O'Connor, Australian Capital Territory

Character

The suburb is characterised by leafy streets and detached single dwelling houses. In the central part of O'Connor are a series of cul de sacs which contain houses which are known as Tocumwal Houses. These are heritage listed ex-government housing which were transported from RAAF Station Tocumwal after the Second World War to cover the housing shortage in Canberra in the 1950s.

The ACT Heritage Council has also listed the Scout Hall at the corner of Hovea Street and Boronia Drive. It was originally built as a mess hall for construction workers at Old Parliament House and was later moved to Kingston and used as an office of the United Friendly Society. In 1959, it was moved to O'Connor to become a Scout Hall.

A number of Aboriginal places on the Bruce and O’Connor Ridges are also on the heritage list.

The small part of the suburb to the east of Sullivans Creek has been redeveloped under a policy permitting two and three-storey flats.

Suburb amenities

The O'Connor Cooperative School (a government run early childhood school) and St Joseph's primary school (run by the Catholic Church) are both located in O'Connor. The Anglican church of St Philip's in O'Connor was dedicated in 1961, and consecrated in 1981. The O'Connor Ridge is a large strip of land that is use for bush walking and mountain biking and is a part of the Canberra Nature Park. At the O'Connor shops there can be found, a bar and restaurant, a supermarket, a hairdresser, a bicycle shop, a dentist, a pharmacy, a florist, and a Vietnamese restaurant. Along the road from these are Canberra's Alliance Française, a Croatian Club and a Polish Club.

Demographics

At the , the population of O'Connor was 5,917, including 81 (1.4%) Indigenous persons and 4,289 (72.5%) Australian-born persons. 66.0% of dwellings were separate houses (compared to the Australian average of 72.3%), while 15.7% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses (Australian average: 12.6%) and 18.5% were flats, units or apartments (Australian average: 14.2%). 40.2% of the population were professionals, compared to the Australian average of 24.0%. Notably 18.9% worked in central government administration, compared to the Australian average of 1.1%, although the ACT-wide average is a similar 17.1%. 57.1% of the population had no religion, compared to the ACT average of 43.5% and the Australian average of 38.4%.

The weekly median family income was $3,463 and the weekly median household income was $2,518, against ACT values of $2,872 and $2,372 respectively.

The Statistical Areas Level 1 (SAL1) data for the 2021 Census indicated a median weekly family income variability across O'Connor's SAL1 divisions of $2,625 to $4,166.

Politics

O'Connor is located within the federal electorate of Canberra and it is represented by Alicia Payne for the Labor Party. In the ACT Legislative Assembly, Lyneham is part of the electorate of Kurrajong, which elects five members on the basis of proportional representation, two Labor, two Greens and one Liberal.

Geology

Calcareous shales from the Canberra Formation is overlain by Quaternary alluvium. This rock is the limestone of the original title of Canberra "Limestone Plains". The higher parts of O'Connor in the west are different. Towards the south near Black Mountain is the Black Mountain Sandstone. Towards the north, and including O'Connor Ridge can be found Greywacke from the Ordovician age Pittman Formation.

Gallery

File:OConnor Uniting Church November 2012.jpg|O'Connor Uniting Church with solar panels File:David Street looking south west.jpg|David Street, looking south west, the boundary street between Turner and O'Connor. File:North O'Connor wetland 4.JPG|Banksia Street wetland in northern O'Connor File:North O'Connor wetland 3.JPG|Banksia Street wetland File:O'Connor South wetlands 2.JPG|David Street wetland in southern O'Connor

Education

O'Connor residents get preference for:

• O'Connor Co-Operative School
• Depending on the address: Lyneham Primary or Turner Primary
• Lyneham High School
• Dickson College

References

References

1. {{Census 2021 AUS
2. "Suburb Name search results". ACT Planning & Land Authority.
3. "The Tocumwal Archive". ACT Heritage Council.
4. "20043. Tocumwal Housing Precinct (Entry to the ACT Heritage Register)". ACT Heritage Council.
5. "Heritage (Decision about Registration of 13th Canberra Scout Hall, O’Connor) Notice 2010". ACT Heritage Council.
6. "20130. Aboriginal Places – Bruce and O’Connor Ridges (Entry to the ACT Heritage Register)". ACT Heritage Council.
7. (29 November 2013). "Inner North Precinct Code". ACT Planning and Land Authority.
8. "Welcome". O'Connor Cooperative School.
9. "History of the buildings". St Philip's Anglican Church, O'Connor.
10. "List of elected candidates - 2020 Election". [[ACT Legislative Assembly]].
11. Henderson G A M and Matveev G, Geology of Canberra, Queanbeyan and Environs 1:50000 1980.
12. "[http://www.det.act.gov.au/school_education/enrolling_in_an_act_public_school/priority_placement_areas/priority-enrolment-areas-2015-by-suburb Priority Enrolment Areas 2015 by Suburb] {{Webarchive. link. (14 February 2016 " ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160214184237/http://www.det.act.gov.au/school_education/enrolling_in_an_act_public_school/priority_placement_areas/priority-enrolment-areas-2015-by-suburb Archive]). Education Directorate, Australian Capital Territory. Retrieved on 8 February 2016.)