Pialligo, Australian Capital Territory

Pialligo
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Coordinates 35°18′23″S 149°10′48″E / 35.30639°S 149.18000°ECoordinates: 35°18′23″S 149°10′48″E / 35.30639°S 149.18000°E
Population 249 (2011 census)[1]
 • Density 51.13/km2 (132.4/sq mi)
Established 1928
Gazetted 20 September 1928
Postcode(s) 2609
Area 4.87 km2 (1.9 sq mi)
District Majura
Suburbs around Pialligo:
Campbell
Fyshwick Pialligo Queanbeyan
Fyshwick Fyshwick

Pialligo (postcode: 2609) is a rural suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The name Pialligo has been used for the area since at least 1820, and is probably of Aboriginal origin. It was also the name for the parish in the area. Streets in Pialligo are named with Aboriginal words.[2]

Beltana Road in Pialligo is home to many of Canberra's nurseries. Canberra International Airport is located adjacent to Pialligo across Pialligo Avenue.

Geology

Quaternary alluvium covers the main western part of Pialligo. Calcareous shales from the Canberra Formation are deep underneath. The Woolshed Creek runs into the north end of Pialligo. This is a significant place, because in the bed of the creek the Rev W B Clarke first recognised Silurian fossils. These fossils were brachiopods, mostly Atrypa duntroonensis. He discovered them around 1844 century and it was the first time that Silurian rocks were identified in Australia, and at the time were the oldest known rocks in Australia. This mudstone is from the Canberra Formation.

Living history

Pialligo Redwood Forest looking south

Aside from the city's design, arguably Walter Burley Griffin's longest-living legacy in Canberra is the forest of Redwood trees (both Sequoia sempervirens and Sequoiadendron giganteum) that was planted in 1918 by Walter Burley Griffin and arborist Thomas Charles Weston on Pialligo Avenue.

Footnotes

  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Pialligo (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
  2. "Suburb Name search results". ACT Environment and Sustainable Development. Retrieved 13 February 2014.