Corinna’s Canberra: Forrest

The affluent suburb of Forrest is the focus of this month’s Corinna’s Canberra. Forrest is located on the southern side of Lake Burley Griffin in the prestigious inner-south of Canberra.

The suburb is named after two brothers, John and Alexander Forrest, who were both political figures in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. John Forrest was one of the founders of the Constitution, the first premier of Western Australia and held the Prime Minister portfolio in 1907. Alexander Forrest was a legislator, surveyor and explorer, and was also a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 1890 to 1901. You can read more about this here.

This beautiful, established suburb is steeped in history and culture, and many of Forrest’s streets are named after explorers and governors of the past. Some examples of these include

• Arthur Circle which is named in honour of Colonel Sir George Arthur, Governor of Tasmania from 1824-36.
• Dampier Crescent which is named after William Dampier, a British navigator who explored the Eastern coast of Australia in 1688 and was the first to realise that Australia was actually a separate continent. You can find out more information about this here.

There are several cultural attractions which can be visited in the vicinity of Forrest such as the National Gallery, National Library, and the family favourite- Questacon, the Science and Technology Centre.

Forrest is also home to two lovely parks: Rous Crescent Park and Collins Park, which has been designated as National Capital Land. As well as this, there are many churches and other religious facilities in the suburb. These include the National Jewish Centre, the Wesley Uniting Church and St George Free Serbian Orthodox Church which are located on National Circuit, St Christopher’s Cathedral on Franklin Street and St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on State Circle.

Forrest Primary School, situated in Hobart Avenue, can also be found in this suburb.

As well as picturesque open spaces, cultural and religious facilities, shops, restaurants, cafes and schools, the area also has some magnificent homes. In fact, one such family home in Tennyson Crescent achieved the Guinness World Record for the most Christmas lights on a residential property in 2011 – there were more than half a million Christmas lights .

Forrest is located about 8km from Corinna Dental’s Woden practice and just 2.5km from Corinna Dental Deakin.