Kambah, Canberra's biggest suburb, turns 50 this year and celebrations have started with a nostalgic stroll down memory lane. Well, down Attiwell Circuit, to be exact.
No. 4 Attiwell Circuit in Kambah was the first home completed in then new frontier of Tuggeranong, officially opened in 1974 by member for the ACT Kep Enderby.
It was just the first of thousands of new homes that were built in Tuggeranong, with Kambah the first of its suburbs to be developed, named after the Kambah Homestead. (The Kambah Woolshed near the Kambah Adventure Park is a remnant of the original property.)
The home in Attiwell Street was built for the first owners Kevin and Eileen Delmenico who moved in with their sons Mark and Paul. It cost $18,000.
Now living in Yarralumla, Mr Delmenico returned to Attiwell Circuit to see the home 50 years on and to meet the current owners, Tina and James Hay.
The meeting was organised by Kambah historian Glenn Schwinghamer, kickstarting celebrations for Kambah's 50th anniversary. Bean MP David Smith was also there on Saturday, representing the modern equivalent of Kep Enderby.
Mr Delmenico, well-known in Canberra for his Aussie Rules prowess, playing for Footscray in the VFL and being a triple premiership player for Manuka, had driven past his first house in Kambah but never been back inside since his family left the area.
There was a lot of reminiscing when he returned on Saturday - seeing the barbecue he built out the back had still survived 50 years on; being surprised by extensions to the house; telling the current owners a thrilling story about the time a wild alley cat "with a head like a panther" got into the lounge room; enjoying seeing how well the trees he had planted had grown.
Mr Delmenico, 79, who used to work at the Government Printing Office in Kingston, said the significance of the home being the first built in Tuggeranong probably meant more to him now than back in 1974 when the young family just got on with life.
"We were the first to live in Tuggeranong - it's something special," he said.
"But when we first moved out here, we didn't care less about it. We just went with the flow."
Being pioneers was not always easy.
In the greenfields of early Tuggers, there was a feeling of isolation and services were not fully developed.
Mrs Delmenico had to walk to Namatjira Drive to catch the bus to get one of their sons to preschool in Fisher, which was then the closed one to them.
"But it didn't take long [to feel at home]. People were moving in all the time," Mr Delmenico said.
The current owners Tina and James Hay have owned the No.4 Attiwell Circuit for two years but it's been a homecoming for James.
James grew up in Attiwell Circuit. His parents still live in the original family home and two sisters also have homes in the street.
James, a physiotherapist, and Tina, a high school teacher, have three children - Michael, seven; Noah, four; and Ben, two.
The same things James loved as a kid is what they love now about Kambah - its space, its friendliness, its access to nature and the feeling of belonging.
"This house is just perfect to grow a family in," James said.
"We're really lucky," Tina said.
Mr Schwinghamer said the Canberra News put a photograph of builder Ned Vidovic and Mr Enderby officially opening No.4 Attiwell Circuit on its front page in May, 1974.
The newspaper described the Tuggeranong Valley then as "spectacular" and "breathtakingly beautiful" ahead of its development as a basically a satellite city for Canberra.
Mr Swiinghamer said the completion of the first home was a significant milestone and, 50 years later, the community of Kambah was ready to celebrate its vast neighbourhood, and its many quirks and qualities.
Some of the events would shed light on some of the more unknown attractions of Canberra including the Firestorm Story Tree near Mount Taylor and the 5 Ways community gardens, while drawing attention to idiosyncrasies such as the fact there are no straight roads in Kambah.
Some of the Kambah Turns 50 events include:
- Family Winter Lantern Walk on August 10 at the Lake Tuggeranong Sea Scouts. Make a lantern from 4pm and go for the walk at 5.30pm
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Kambah Turns 50 exhibition at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre opening on August 16
- Long Table Picnic Lunch - a BYO lunch at the Diversity Hub on Springbett Street. RSVP for a free ticket via eventbrite. The link is here.
- Celebration at the Kambah Village on August 31
- Dogs' picnic at the Woolshed on September 8 from 10am
- Champagne sunrise walk on Mount Taylor with the parkcare group at 6am on September 15
- Bush dance and community celebration at Namadgi School on September 14
- Follow all the news on the Kambah Turns 50 Facebook page
