1930s–2000s
Farm trees, neighbourhoods and the work of recovery
A few surviving trees can say a great deal in Weston Creek. At the Weston homestead site in Holder, pines once sheltered the farm's orchard. The De Salis family bought the property in 1937, and a family account preserved by Canberra Tracks describes the city approaching across the hills during the 1960s.1
Nearby Cooleman has another farming story. The Champion family moved to the property in 1936 after Phillip Champion received a soldier-settler lease. They renamed the place, previously called Allawah. Harvesting, shearing and lamb marking relied on neighbours working together, giving a glimpse of a community organised around seasonal work.2
Suburban development became part of the wider Woden–Weston Creek new-town project. Its neighbourhoods acquired a centre at Weston, better known as Cooleman Court. The 2023 district strategy describes that centre as the district's main concentration of employment and higher-order services, also serving the growing Molonglo Valley.3, 4
The 2003 bushfires are remembered nearby at Stromlo's ACT Bushfire Memorial. Dedicated in January 2006, it incorporates bricks, inscriptions and photographs contributed by the community. Those personal contributions make recovery visible alongside the older stories of farming and the expanding city.5