Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is Australia’s smallest state (territory, area, whatever) covering an area of just 2,358 km². Even if it were a country in its own right, it would still be a small country. It would be slightly smaller than Luxembourg but twice the size of Hong Kong. It is about 100 times smaller than the UK and if it were an American state, it would be the smallest.

It’s small!

It has a population of around 380,000 people. It is known as “The Nation’s Capital” but it is also known as “The Porn Capital of Australia”. I think this is a reference to the relaxed laws of the territory.

Australian Capital Territory MapBeing so small, there isn’t an abundance of attractions to enjoy. Being land locked, there are no beaches to go to either. So what can you do in ACT? Well, there are quite a few things you can do that you can’t do elsewhere in Australia, thanks to those relaxed laws.

But now I will just suggest taking a bike ride or going for a walk around the man-made lake in the centre of the city.

I thought I would struggle to find anybody famous from Australian Capital Territory, but I hadn’t counted on one great man. The name’s Bond. James Bond! George Lazenby, the second actor to play the part of Bond was born in Queanbeyan in 1939. Bond saves the day again.

Only problem is, Queanbeyan appears to be on the border between ACT and NSW. Which part did George live in? No matter.

Update:

There are two problems with my above statement. First, Queanbeyan is not in the ACT, it’s in NSW. Thanks to moom and some others elsewhere on this website who have pointed that out to me. Then Al came along and explained that George Lazenby was actually born in Goulburn, NSW.

So I have had to rethink…..

According to the IMDB, Mia Wasikowska, who played Alice in Alice in Wonderland (the 2010 version with Johnny Depp) was born in Canberra. So, until anyone can come up with somebody more famous, she is our chosen celeb from the ACT.

Places in Australian Capital Territory

Apart from Canberra, the capital, there aren’t any other towns in the ACT with a population of more than 10,000 people.

Very close to it though, but NOT in it is, you guessed it….

  • Queanbeyan – approaching 40,000 (As at 2011)

If you live anywhere within the ACT, or even in Queanbeyan, why not tell us about it in the comments below…

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{ 37 comments… add one }
  • chris May 22, 2023, 8:54 pm |

    I moved to Canberra in 1968 and stayed. I married and persuaded hubby to move to Canberra because of the better lifestyle than Sydney. We brought up 4 kids who enjoyed the excellent education, sports in and out of school, social activities, jobs and finding partners.
    Canberra experiences 4 seasons, occasionally flooding, bushfires every 10 years or so, but generally has predictable weather: warm to hot in summer (but the coast is only max 2 hours away), beautiful autumns with warm days and cool nights and spectacular decidious trees, cold winters (again 1 hour from Corin Forest with sleds and some skiing and 3 hrs to the NSW snowfields), and Floriade in Spring with masses of tulips and other flowering bulbs.
    There is nightlife here, movies, a casino, wide variety of international foods at cafes and restaurants eg Asian, Indian, Middle East, Western and Eastern European, and even some Australian. There are clubs, hotels, speedboating, canoeing, sailing, hockey, tennis, football, soccer, golf, archery, Summernats for Revheads, hillclimbing, walking, running, BMX racing etc. etc Our own tennis star is Nick Kyrgios.
    btw ACT does have a small coastal strip at Jervis Bay, but residential areas are limited.
    Canberra is not just the capital of Australia with our old and new parliament houses, national museums and galleries, but offers a multicultural society to newcomers. Currently housing is difficult to come by and rents are high, but wages are mostly commensurate. Like everywhere else in Australia and really the world, we have our downside with some homelessness and poverty.
    Is Australia the Lucky Country? For the most part it is – we offer almost every type of weather, landscape, environment found throughout the world – all on one large island and our smaller island of Tasmania.

  • Ace October 22, 2019, 11:08 pm |

    Hi,
    i’ve been working on my presentation, so i’am searching for some information about ACT. I need a comparison between whats like the best about ACT and worst. Is there any progress over the years. Whats new about ACT.
    Best regards!

    • BobinOz October 23, 2019, 6:52 pm |

      Read the comments here, you might find something worth writing about, other than that I can’t help.

  • Kavinda July 16, 2019, 9:09 pm |

    Regarding a celebrity from Canberra, you can look up on the famous middle-order batsman and cricket star Michael Bevan 🙂 Apparently he was born in Belconnen, Canberra

    • BobinOz July 18, 2019, 6:11 pm |

      Well, I’ve just googled him, because I’d never heard of him, and he played 232 One Day Internationals for Australia. So, yes, pretty famous I suppose, if only I had known. That said, I think Bond is hard to beat 🙂

      • Kavinda July 18, 2019, 6:24 pm |

        I agree. Bond is always timeless.

        I’ve been a fan of your blog ever since I started reading and imagined myself of migrating to Australia, and here I am. Happily moved in and settled in Australia as a resident. Started with Adelaide, lived there for 3 years and moved to Canberra last year.
        Your blog has helped a lot and seems that now it has become a comprehensive guide that covers almost everything about life is Australia. Bouncing back here time to time whenever I feel like reading something I don’t know about this this great land down under.
        Thanks Bob!

        • BobinOz July 18, 2019, 6:45 pm |

          Sounds like you are having as much fun living here in Australia as I am. And why not? As you say, it is the great land down under.

          Thanks for the very kind words and glad I was able to help you with your decision to move to Australia. Enjoy Canberra, Cheers, Bob

  • Christine July 18, 2017, 1:03 pm |

    Hi. I am looking for some small town or a place that is relatively restful (i.e. low crime, small population, good for raising a family). My family and I are living in a small town in Central Queensland and we want a change of scenery. I have 3 young kids and I am a health care professional. We are seeking somewhere coastal where we can enjoy the outdoors, and where tertiary hospitals and universities are within easy access. ACT is one of the places we’re considering, just wondering if this is a good place for us to settle for their growing years at least.

    • BobinOz July 18, 2017, 11:16 pm |

      Well, there’s nothing in the ACT other than Canberra, and I don’t think we can call that a small town or coastal. I think you will be further limited if you want easy access to universities as well, so I’m not sure what to suggest.

      There are plenty of small towns along the Victorian coast though, from Batemans Bay further south, I think you just need to find one that is close to the other things you need.

      • BP April 9, 2018, 4:42 pm |

        Hi Christine,
        I’ve lived in Canberra for the last 18 months and absolutely love it!
        Canberra has a population of just over 400k and has low population density. So it feels like a large country town with all the amenities and necessary infrastructure.
        As for education and healthcare, there are a number of large hospitals and three universities (one of which is world class) as well as other vocational institutes. The public schooling system is very good for primary and secondary education due to the overall demographic of Canberra and low unemployment rate.
        The ACT is about a 2 hour drive from the coast. It’s a comfortable day trip but with kids you do need to plan in advance (unfortunately you can’t just drive down the road).

        BobinOz – if you’re wanting to give people an accurate sense of where in live in Australia, then I STRONGLY recomend you do further research.
        Firstly, Batemans Bay is located in NSW (not Victoria). It has one hospital, which means you usually have to travel to Canberra or Sydney for specialist services. There is one rural campus for the University of Wollongong which only has a limited selection of courses on offer (majority of students relocate to either Wollongong or Canberra to study). Furthermore, Batemans Bay has a far poorer demographic and high unemployment rate which reflects on the quality of the schools.

        All in all, Batemans Bay/ South Coast is a lovely area to retire to, but doesn’t offer much for a young family.
        I hope you found this helpful!

        • BobinOz April 9, 2018, 7:51 pm |

          Well, saying Batemans Bay is in Victoria was a stupid mistake, I was trying to remember where it was from when I drove through it, but I was about 280 kilometres out. I wasn’t specifically recommending Batemans Bay, I was suggesting to look at towns south of that along the coast.

          The question confused me really, the original poster is looking for things that just don’t normally go together, like restful and small with a university. Like coastal but looking at ACT.

          Anyway, thanks for clearing it up for me. By the way, why can’t you just drive from Canberra to Batemans Bay without planning? Just looks like any other straight road to me, so it would be interesting to know why.

          Cheers, Bob

  • Bella April 27, 2016, 3:46 pm |

    I lived in Canberra for a few years. It is a very comfortable place. There are wonderful galleries and museums, most of which are free. There is a relaxed lifestyle, not too much traffic, an abundance of relatively convenient amenities and an educated population. Public transport is terrible, but there is an excellent world class university (ANU)

    HOWEVER, a lot of people really really hate Canberra. They find it to be deathly boring, not very cosmopolitan and every stale.

    This is sort of true. However, if your main aim is to find a relatively well-paying but relaxed public service job (which you probably need to be a resident to get) and you don’t care too much about liveliness and culture (beyond the national institutions) and your main activities are a few bush walks and bike rides and time at home with the kids, Canberra offers a pretty good lifestyle.

    Canberrans can be very cliquey. People complain that the population is transient and suggest that this is why it is hard to make and keep friends, but that wasn’t my experience. By contrast, I encountered many people who had established their friendship groups at school and weren’t interested in newcomers. If you don’t find your niche it is a very depressing place to live.

    If you want to have a cosmopolitan lifestyle, avoid, avoid, avoid.

    • BobinOz April 27, 2016, 5:15 pm |

      Good overview and advice about Canberra, thanks Bella, I’m sure lots of my readers will find this useful.

      Cheers, Bob

  • anshull October 29, 2015, 2:10 am |

    hello sir,
    me and my mother want to go to australia as soon as possible on pr from india. but i am very much confused in all these different types of visas. can u help me out here sir.and forgot to tell you that i am under 18 and still dependent.

    • BobinOz October 29, 2015, 11:18 pm |

      No, that’s something you would need to discuss with a MARA registered migration agent, I can’t help with this for the reasons given above in my important notices. See Would I Qualify?

  • Sunny December 19, 2013, 8:03 pm |

    Hello everyone involved with this site and the conversations here.

    Well, first, please accept my appreciation on the great work all you guys are doing with this site & the patience and details with the responses to people I’m sure you’re aware value this information extremely highly. This is a seriously great service to all those exploring potential opportunities and need to understand all the possible pros & cons to be able to arrive at a decent evaluation of their decisions and the likely outcomes of those. Much appreciated!!

    We (wife, two daughters 4 & 11) are from India. Both me and my wife are recruiters with 9 & 5 years domain experience each. This skills category seems open at the moment for a 190 state nominated PR visa with South Australia and Canberra.

    Unfamiliar with either of these places (Adelaide & Canberra) and without any family / friends’ presence there, we really wouldn’t know which one to consider for important parameters such as long term career prospects, children’s education and well being, earning and savings potential, cost of living, quality of life etc. Another important factor being how welcomed are Asians / Indians there? Apologies if that sounds a bit inappropriate to ask.

    Would much appreciate if anyone could help with some relevant information here!!

    Best!
    Sunny

  • Sally October 7, 2013, 7:43 am |

    If you’re looking for famous Canberrans don’t forget actress Sigrid Thornton (Man from Snowy River and Seachange),

    • BobinOz October 7, 2013, 7:22 pm |

      Sigrid who? Just kidding, I Googled it, I know who she is now.

  • Sally October 7, 2013, 7:33 am |

    I emigrated from Manchester as a kid in 1969 and lived in Sydney, in 1999 I moved to Canberra and stayed for 12 years. I absolutely loved it. No it’s not the porn capital of Australia, there’s a small section in Fyshwick, but that’s about it. There’s far more going on in Kings Cross and Darwin. It is a GREAT place to bring up a family, great schools, great sporting facilities and plenty of work, my son had a great part time job from the time he was 14 at the Canberra stadium, he was well payed and got to see rugby, rugby league and soccer matches for free. The cost of living is quite high, however so are the wages. The down side is very cold winters. It also has hot summers but you can always sleep at night. You are two hours drive from the coast and believe me if you live in Western Sydney you can spend that long driving in traffic to the nearest beach. You are also two houe\rs drive from the snow in Thredbo and only 3 1/2 hours drive to Sydney. It’s like a huge country town with all the facilities of the city, but without the traffic jams and yes it does have it share of crime but compared to Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold coast it’s quite tame. It gets a bad wrap because of the politicians being in Canberra as it is the Capital of Australia and that’s where the Federal Government is, but there are lots of opportunities. Give it a try, I’m in Melbourne now because of work, which I’ve got to say leaves Sydney for dead, but I do miss Canberra terribly.

    • BobinOz October 7, 2013, 7:18 pm |

      Hi Sally

      Well, I’ll take that as a big thumbs up from you for the city of Canberra. Thanks for taking the time to share your opinion here, it’s always helpful to know what these places are like from people who have actually lived there.

      My write-up of this city, and the other cities in Australia are in no way based on the experience of having lived in these places (Brisbane aside) so information from people like yourself is far more useful than anything I can say.

      I only have two major cities left to visit, Perth and Canberra and they are both high on my list for 2014. I’m looking forward to seeing what Canberra is really like.

      Cheers, Bob

    • George September 6, 2016, 2:23 am |

      Canberra is likely the porn capital of Australia. For example, it continually demonstrates talent recruitment and lobbyists international. The kind of whom hands drizzle with cane toad like poison upon first and subsequent meetings; sweaty palms. An experience to be avoided down under.

      Canberra is okay. Better in November and March; gawd awfull bleak in winter, gawd awfull bleak most of the time. Except of course, for sweaty palmed recruitment types.

  • Tina June 1, 2013, 6:54 am |

    Very interesting and useful website….I have applied for my Australian PR and will be moving to ACT in a couple of months from India. I have a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old Oct born son. Per ACT edu sys, my oldest will start Pre-school only in 2014 right? Here in the Indian system, he is already in Upper KG and is writing words. Can you suggest any good schools in Act? Also how sooner should we apply for Public schools? Do all Private schools have a waiting list policy? I haven’t yet started on the school search. I looked up ur site and enjoyed reading all the posts. If you can help, that will be great.

    • BobinOz June 3, 2013, 11:50 pm |

      Hi Tina

      I can’t help you with schools personally as I do not know the area at all over there. Hopefully somebody from the ACT will help you out. I think you will find that state schools have a legal obligation to find a place for your child, private schools will each have different policies and waiting lists.

      My page Which school? might help you further. Cheers, Bob

    • Sunny December 19, 2013, 8:01 pm |

      Hello everyone involved with this site and the conversations here.

      Well, first, please accept my appreciation on the great work all you guys are doing with this site & the patience and details with the responses to people I’m sure you’re aware value this information extremely highly. This is a seriously great service to all those exploring potential opportunities and need to understand all the possible pros & cons to be able to arrive at a decent evaluation of their decisions and the likely outcomes of those. Much appreciated!!

      We (wife, two daughters 4 & 11) are from India. Both me and my wife are recruiters with 9 & 5 years domain experience each. This skills category seems open at the moment for a 190 state nominated PR visa with South Australia and Canberra.

      Unfamiliar with either of these places (Adelaide & Canberra) and without any family / friends’ presence there, we really wouldn’t know which one to consider for important parameters such as long term career prospects, children’s education and well being, earning and savings potential, cost of living, quality of life etc. Another important factor being how welcomed are Asians / Indians there? Apologies if that sounds a bit inappropriate to ask.

      Would much appreciate if anyone could help with some relevant information here!!

      Best!
      Sunny

      • moom December 19, 2013, 8:17 pm |

        Canberra obviously has 1/3 of the population of Adelaide but higher income per capita but dominated by the public sector and regional or local branches of other businesses. I don’t think you will find any real issues regarding being accepted in Canberra personally. Professionally might be a different issue. I don’t know how well your experience from India will be be considered as relevant. My guess is not that much, but you’d have to ask someone in your field. In other words, you might need to find other work and the Federal government requires workers to be citizens. State government, universities, private business etc. doesn’t of course.

        • Sunny December 19, 2013, 9:14 pm |

          Thanks, Moom! Much appreciate your prompt response.

          Just one more, if you don’t mind. We’d be open to taking up other jobs in the interim. How easy / difficult would it be to find one to cover just the basic costs say a 2 room rented accommodation, kids’ education etc.

          Best!

          • moom December 19, 2013, 9:25 pm |

            The problem in Canberra at the moment is that the Federal government, ANU, CSIRO (and maybe other agencies) all have hiring freezes in place. The government is trying to cut it’s budget as the deficit is almost $50 billion. Rents are higher in Canberra than Adelaide of course. So, you need a decent income to cover rent (www.allhomes.com.au can show you what things rent for). We spent about half our income on rent when we arrived in Canberra in 2007 and only my wife was working at first.

            • Sunny December 19, 2013, 9:42 pm |

              Oh! Would you suggest we don’t plan moving to Australia under the circumstances??

              Best!

  • berna carag November 2, 2012, 1:11 am |

    hi there, i am looking for a sponsor going there in Australia, where can i send my CV so you can assess my resume..many thanks and hope to hear from you soon

    • BobinOz November 2, 2012, 6:11 pm |

      You can’t, that is not something that I do here. You would probably need to search for a reputable recruitment company who works in the field in which you are skilled.

  • Al July 31, 2012, 5:22 pm |

    Hi,

    Jackie Chan (famous actor) lived in Canberra for a short while and even briefly attended school there.

    In Canberra, there are some great car events like Summernats and the Canberra International Electric Vehicle Festival which attracts some of the big names in the car industry.

    Regards
    Al

    • BobinOz August 1, 2012, 7:29 pm |

      Hi Al

      Looks like I’ve made a right mess of this page, not only was George Lazenby not born in Queanbeyan, as you have rightly pointed out, but Queanbeyan isn’t in the ACT, as moom pointed out.

      I’m going to do an update right now! I don’t want any more incidents similar to what went on over at my page about Canberra.

      I should recheck my original sources, but of course I’ve forgotten what they were. I can’t let you have Jackie Chan, I need people who were born in the ACT.

      According to IMDB, Mia Wasikowska, actress in Alice in Wonderland (the 2010 version with Johnny Depp) among other things, was born in Canberra. She actually played Alice, so she’s top of the list so far for the ACT.

      Can anyone come up with anything better?

      • Paul January 7, 2016, 11:53 pm |

        Hi There,

        I moved to Canberra, from the UK in 2006, and lived there for 8 years, however the NSW border is very close and we lived in a place called Jerrabomberra, which is NSW as is Queanbeyan.

        It is true about George Lazenby, but don’t forget the recently retired F1 driver Mark Webber, also comes from Queanbeyan ! , although strangley he now lives in
        Monte Carlo !

        Bestest

        Paul

        • BobinOz January 11, 2016, 4:46 pm |

          Ah, Mark Webber, even I’ve heard of him. Good addition to the list, thanks Paul.

  • Al July 31, 2012, 5:13 pm |

    Hi,

    I thought George Lazenby was born in Goulburn, NSW (which is approximately 80km from the northern border of the A.C.T. if driving on the Federal Highway), but moved to Queanbeyan at age 13. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lazenby)

    Regards
    Al

  • moom October 9, 2011, 11:11 pm |

    Queanbeyan is in NSW though part of the commuting zone of Canberra… We don’t have a beach but we do have mountains and art galleries and a bunch of national monuments. There are a few villages in the ACT like Hall and Tharwa that preceded the founding of Canberra.

    • BobinOz October 10, 2011, 9:18 pm |

      Hi moom

      Yes, that has been pointed out to me on my page about Canberra, I listed a couple of places there that suggested to me that Queanbeyan was part of Canberra. But of course, it’s not, I now know it is definitely in NWS.

      Cheers!

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