Population 1,583 (2011 census) Postcode(s) 2612 Territory electorate(s) Kurrajong Founded 1928 Postal code 2612 | Established 1928 District North Canberra Reid Campbell Area 3.5 km² Federal division Division of Canberra | |
 | ||
Reid (postcode: 2612) is a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. With a population of 1,583, located directly next to Civic, Reid is one of the oldest suburbs in Canberra.
Contents
Map of Reid ACT 2612, Australia
Separating the suburbs of Reid and Campbell is Anzac Parade, a ceremonial boulevarde running along Canberra's primary design axis (the land axis) from Lake Burley Griffin to the Australian War Memorial.
Located in Reid are the Canberra Institute of Technology and St John the Baptist Church, which is the oldest church in Canberra.
History
The foundation stone of St John the Baptist Church was laid in 1841 and it was consecrated on 12 March 1845. It listed by the ACT Heritage Council.
Most of the suburb was constructed in 1926 and 1927 to provide housing for public servants in preparation for the opening of the provisional Parliament House in 1927. It was a housing precinct planned on Garden City principles and is now heritage-listed. The Uniting Church (now the Canberra Korean Church) on Coranderrk Street was built in 1927 and is also heritage listed.
Reid was named in 1928 after Australia's fourth Prime Minister, Sir George Reid. It was previously considered to be part of Ainslie. The streets in Reid are named after aboriginal words.
The four-storey Bega flats (containing 114 two-bedroom flats) were completed east of Cooyong street and south of Ainslie in 1957 in order to cope with a critical lack of accommodation for public servants transferred to Canberra. The ACT Heritage Council described them as having been designed in the Post-War International style "similar to post-war housing in Europe, particularly in English new towns. The fine proportions, crisp detailing and low scale of [the Allawah Court] and their siting continuing the street pattern made them more architecturally successful than the three eight-storey blocks of flats along Currong Street" (nearby in Braddon). The Heritage Council declined to heritage list the buildings and despite some local opposition it is proposed that they be demolished and replaced by more modern and denser accommodation along with some commercial uses.
Demographics
In the 2011 Census, the population of Reid was 1,583, including 26 (1.6%) Indigenous persons and 969 (61.2%) Australian-born persons. 35.0% of dwellings were separate houses (compared to the Australian average of 75.6%), while 10.3% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses (Australian average: 9.9%) and 54.3% were flats, units or apartments (Australian average: 13.6%). 39.6% of the population were professionals, compared to the Australian average of 21.3%. Notably 20.1% worked in government administration, compared to the Australian average of 1.3%, although the Canberra-wide average was identical. Reid was favoured by students and young adults with 22.7% of its population in the 20- to 29-year-old age group (compared to the Australian average of 13.8%). 30.8% of the population had no religion (compared to the ACT average of 28.9% and the Australian average of 22.3%), 17.9% were Catholic and 14.8% were Anglican.
Politics
Reid is located within the federal electorate of Canberra, which is currently (2016) represented by Gai Brodtmann in the House of Representatives. In the ACT Legislative Assembly, Reid is part of the electorate of Kurrajong, which elects five members on the basis of proportional representation, currently two Labor, two Liberal and one Greens. Polling place statistics are shown to the right for the Braddon polling place at the Ainslie School, Donaldson St in the 2016 federal and 2016 ACT elections.
Geology
Calcareous shale from the Canberra Formation is overlain by Quaternary alluvium. This rock is the limestone of the original title of Canberra "Limestone Plains". Tertiary age pebbly gravels are around Anzac Parade left from when the Molonglo river was at a higher level.