Prominent Australians Faith Bandler AC and Sir John Sulman will be commemorated by having two new suburbs within the Molonglo Valley named in their honour.
Ida Lessing Faith Bandler was a human rights activist, social justice advocate and author who helped raise public awareness and understanding of the cultural heritage of South Sea Islanders, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as well as women’s issues.
Sir John Sulman was an architect and town planner who helped shape Canberra in its early development and influenced the design of the city. He was appointed Knight Bachelor of the British Empire in 1924 in recognition of his influence and contributions in architecture.
Minister for Planning Chris Steel said these new suburbs will sit within the Molonglo Valley 3 East development, which is the next significant stage of suburban development in the area. This will bring the number of suburbs in the district to seven.
“Naming suburbs and other places in Canberra is a great opportunity to commemorate influential people from all backgrounds and their significant contributions to our community,” Minister Steel said.
“Each suburb in the ACT has a theme that is used to help name the streets within them. For Bandler, the theme will be ‘Australian Social and Cultural Life’ and in Sulman it will be ‘Humanities and Social Sciences’.
“The new suburbs of Bandler and Sulman will remind future generations of Canberrans of the contributions these extraordinary people have made to the ACT and Australia.
“I look forward to seeing the future development of Bandler and Sulman. Bandler will be the first suburb developed, which be located East of Whitlam across John Gorton Drive.”
“The growing population across these seven suburbs, and another expected suburb (yet to be named), warrants the reclassification of the commercial centre of Molonglo as a Town Centre. This is currently under consideration by the NCA.”
The ACT Place Names Advisory Committee welcomes suggestions of names and feedback from the Canberra community.
