O'Connor is an affluent suburb of Canberra, Australia in the North Canberra district characterised by its leafy, heritage listed streets. It was named after Richard Edward O'Connor, who was a judge in the High Court and a founder of the Australian constitution. Street names in O'Connor are named after explorers, Australian flora, legislators and pioneers. The suburb name was gazetted on 20 September 1928. O'Connor is bounded by Wattle and David streets, and also includes the Bruce/O'Connor ridge nature reserve, the hilly area with many trees that lies between the houses in O'Connor, and the Australian Institute of Sport. Sports such as soccer, rugby and cricket are often played at the ovals at O'Connor district playing fields. O'Connor has a small shopping centre with a pub/bar, small grocery store, a couple of restaurants and a pharmacy.
Character
The suburb is characterised by leafy streets and detached single dwelling houses. In the central part of O'Connor are a series of cul de sacs which contain houses which are known as Tocumwal Houses. These are heritage listed ex-government housing which were transported from RAAF Station Tocumwal after the Second World War to cover the housing shortage in Canberra in the 1950s. The ACT Heritage Council has also listed the Scout Hall at the corner of Hovea Street and Boronia Drive. It was originally built as a mess hall for construction workers at Old Parliament House and was later moved to Kingston and used as an office of the United Friendly Society. In 1959, it was moved to O'Connor to become a Scout Hall. A number of Aboriginal places on the Bruce and O’Connor Ridges are also on the heritage list. The small part of the suburb to the east of Sullivans Creek is beginning to be redeveloped under a policy permitting two and three-storey flats.
Suburb Amenities
The O'Connor Cooperative School and St Joseph's primary school are both located in O'Connor. The Anglican church of St Philip's in O'Connor was dedicated in 1961, and consecrated in 1981. The O'Connor Ridge is a large strip of land that is use for bush walking and mountain biking and is a part of the Canberra Nature Park. At the O'Connor shops there can be found, the "Duxton" bar and restaurant, an IGA supermarket, a hairdresser, a bicycle shop, a pharmacy, a bar and restaurant the "39 Steps", and a Vietnamese restaurant the "Tu Do". Along the road from these are Canberra's Alliance Française, a Croatian Club and a Polish Club.
Demographics
At the, the population of O'Connor was 5,481, including 53 Indigenous persons and 3,843 Australian-born persons. 65.8% of dwellings were separate houses, while 14.4% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses and 19.3% were flats, units or apartments. 41.1% of the population were professionals, compared to the Australian average of 22.2%. Notably 21.3% worked in central government administration, compared to the Australian average of 1.2%, although the ACT-wide average is a very similar 18.4%. 51.1% of the population had no religion, compared to the ACT average of 36.2% and the Australian average of 29.6%.
Calcareous shales from the Canberra Formation is overlain by Quaternary alluvium. This rock is the limestone of the original title of Canberra "Limestone Plains". The higher parts of O'Connor in the west are different. Towards the south near Black Mountain is the Black Mountain Sandstone. Towards the north, and including O'Connor Ridge can be found Greywacke from the Ordovician age Pittman Formation.
Gallery
Education
O'Connor residents get preference for:
O'Connor Co-Operative School
Depending on the address: Lyneham Primary or Turner Primary
