What you’ll see
New towns
Tuggeranong emerged in 1973, the third of Canberra's planned 'new towns'. The dry stone wall not far from here is a reminder that this was once the edge of large pastoral landholdings.
Carefully laid out in the open fields of the Isabella Plains, Tuggeranong was established with a town centre focused around the created Lake Tuggeranong.
To many, the new towns were ideal. The ordered streets and houses were a refreshing change from the narrow streets and cramped housing of Australia's older cities.
Between the suburbs – Canberra's remnant native woodlands
This part of the trail follows the suburbs of Tuggeranong to Isaacs Ridge and Mount Mugga Mugga Nature Reserve. The lower slopes of Mount Mugga Mugga are part of the nationally endangered Box-Gum woodland ecological community that survives across the ACT.
Box-Gum woodlands once covered large areas of the lower slopes of the eastern Australian tablelands from Queensland to Victoria. These open landscapes with grassy ground cover were likely the result of Aboriginal land management practices and were highly valued by early pastoralists. Land clearing and grazing damaged the carefully balanced ecological communities; and today few areas of intact woodland remain.
The nature reserves in this area are part of the Canberra Nature Park. An important part of our city's planning, the Canberra Nature Park forms a network throughout urban Canberra and protects native ecosystems like the grassy woodlands.
Natural values
Look out for pictures of the trail's flora and fauna on each of the trail head signs and learn about Canberra's plants and animals. Bring a pencil and your own printed copy of the Whose Backyard activity sheet (1.9 MB) to collect a special pencil rubbing for each trail section.
In this section, you may see:
- Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax)
Add a sighting to the NatureMapr or visit the Canberra Birds website.
