General Information:

Tourist Drive 2 consisted of a mix of multi-laned divided arterial roadway and also of 2-lane single carriageway road, which passes through commercial and residential areas. It also takes in parklands and the Parlimentary Triangle.

Between the spans on the southern side of the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge over Lake Burley Griffin, there's two granite stones from the 1817 Waterloo Bridge across the River Thames in London. These were presented to Australia after the 1817 Waterloo Bridge was demolished in the 1940s and replaced by a modern structure. A plaque reads, in part, "Stones such as these from the bridge were presented to Australia and other parts of the British world to further historic links in the British Commonwealth of Nations".

Barry Drive:

Barry Drive was named after Redmond Barry (1813-1880), who was a judge, and was admitted to the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1841, and was appointed Judge in 1852. He held position of Senior Puisne Judge until his death and presided over the trial of several Eureka Stockade rebels and in 1880 over the trial of Ned Kelly. Redmond Barry was also the first Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, and first President of the Trustees of the Public Library of Victoria. 1

Clunies Ross Street:

Clunies Ross Street was named after Ian Clunies Ross, the chairman of the CSIRO from 1949 until his death. He was previously a Professor of Veterinary Science at Sydney University, he made vast and valued research in veterinary field and was knighted in 1954. 2

Lady Denman Drive:

Lady Denman Drive was named after Gertrude Mary Denman (Nee Gertrude Mary Pearson) GBE. She is the wife of Lord Denman, Governor-General, 1911-1914. After a nationwide competition for the choice of a name for the National Capital, Lady Denman made the announcement of the chosen name, Canberra, during the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of Canberra, 1913. 3

Cotter Road:

Cotter Road was named after Garrett Cotter. Born in Ireland, he arrived in New South Wales in 1822 aboard the 'Mangles 2. After working in the Campbelltown and Lake George areas, he was granted a ticket-of-leave in 1832, conditional on him staying on the western side of the Murrumbidgee; he lived alone there and was accepted by the Aborigines of the area. In 1841 he married Ann Russell. Cotter was given a conditional pardon in 1846 that gave him freedom of movement, except in Britain and Ireland; with his wife, Ann, he became a pioneer of the mountainous region of the present Namadgi National Park, the Cotter River is named after Garrett Cotter and the name was first officially used in 1839. 4

Dudley Street:

Dudley Street was named after William Humble Dudley, the Governor-General of the Commonwealth, 1908-11. 5

Novar Street:

Novar Street was named after Ronald Munro Ferguson (Viscount Novar of Raith), who was the Governor-General, from 1914 till 1920. He promoted a national interest in afforestation for Australia. 6

Alexandrina Drive:

Alexandrina Drive was named after Lake Alexandrina, which is located in South Australia. The lake was named after Princess Alexandrina (later Queen Victoria). 7

Coronation Drive:

Coronation Drive commemorates the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. 8

History:

• 1911: Planning of Commonwealth Avenue, Vernon Circle and Northbourne Avenue by Walter Burley Griffin. 9
• 1916: The first Commonwealth Avenue Bridge, completed 1916. 10
• 1922: The first Commonwealth Avenue Bridge was damaged by flood. 10
• 1923-1924: The second Commonwealth Avenue Bridge built, using three NSW 'Leychester' type trusses. The second bridge was built using materials that had been intended for a bridge near Kings Avenue but not on the current Kings Avenue alignment. 11
• 1925: The second Commonwealth Avenue Bridge damaged by flood. 10
• 1927: The completion of the third Commonwealth Avenue Bridge was a modification of the previous bridge. It was by a metre and had an added fourth truss. 9
• May 1927: The third Commonwealth Avenue Bridge opened to traffic. 11
• 20 September 1928: Northbourne Avenue name gazetted. 12 Dudley Street name gazetted. 5 Novar Street name gazetted. 6
• 15 October 1953: Coronation Drive name gazetted. 8
• 21 July 1960: Vernon Circle name gazetted, named after Walter Liberty Vernon, former New South Wales Government architect, Member of Advisory Board on Federal Capital site in 1909. 13 Clunies Ross Street name gazetted. 2
• 1963: The fourth and current high-level concrete Commonwealth Avenue Bridge completed. 10
• November 1963: The fourth Commonwealth Avenue Bridge opened to traffic. 14
• 17 September 1964: Lady Denman Drive name gazetted. 3
• 4 May 1967: Alexandrina Drive name gazetted. 7
• 13 April 1972: Barry Drive name gazetted. 1
• 4 June 1982: Commonwealth Avenue name gazetted. 15

1 ACT Planning & Land Authority, Place Name Search, Barry Drive
2 ACT Planning & Land Authority, Place Name Search, Clunies Ross Street
3 ACT Planning & Land Authority, Place Name Search, Lady Denman Drive
4 ACT Planning & Land Authority, Place Name Search, Cotter Road
5 ACT Planning & Land Authority, Place Name Search, Dudley Street
6 ACT Planning & Land Authority, Place Name Search, Novar Street
7 ACT Planning & Land Authority, Place Name Search, Alexandrina Drive
8 ACT Planning & Land Authority, Place Name Search, Coronation Drive
9 Canberra - Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow, John Overall, p. 12, ISBN 0-9593910-6-1
10 ACT Heritage Library, ImagesACT, Second Commonwealth Avenue Bridge
11 Canberra’s Engineering Heritage, 2nd edition, 1990
12 ACT Planning & Land Authority, Place Name Search, Northbourne Avenue
13 ACT Planning & Land Authority, Place Name Search, Vernon Circle
14 ACT Heritage Library, ImagesACT, Commonwealth Avenue bridge, with Scotts Crossing in the foreground, the Albert Hall at left and the Canadian flagpole at Regatta Point at right
15 ACT Planning & Land Authority, Place Name Search, Commonwealth Avenue

Last updated: 16-Feb-2019 18:47

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