Hackett street names

In 1927, the Canberra National Memorials Committee, in a report to the Federal Parliament on the Naming of Canberra’s Streets and Suburbs, proposed that street names in Canberra’s suburbs follow a theme. This policy (one of the oldest in the ACT) has been followed to this day.

In keeping with this thematic approach, Hackett streets were named after prominent Australian scientists. In some cases, there are two namesakes for the same street. In more recent times the ACT Government has dedicated several streets to commemorate Victoria Cross (VC) winners with the same name by adding a VC symbol to these streets. These include French Street, Kenny Place and Newton Street.

Hackett’s street names were gazetted on 21 September 1961 under the National Memorials Ordinance 1928-1959. But it was not simply a list of the street names. The gazette included a description of the direction of each street such as Madigan St – From Phillip Avenue, north of Kellaway Street, generally north-easterly and north-westerly to Antill Street.

Information on street namesakes has been obtained from the ACT Government, Australian Dictionary of Biography and Wikipedia.

Street name Named after When lived Short biography
Antill Street Henry Colden Antill 1779-1852 Aide-de-camp to Governor Macquarie; soldier and pioneer settler of New South Wales
Bragg Street William Henry Bragg 1862-1942 Physicist; after distinguished academic career in Australia and England he became Director of the Royal Institution, 1923; awarded Nobel Prize in 1915, in conjunction with his son, William
Brennan Street Christopher John Brennan

Louis Brennan

 1870-1932

1852-1932
Inventor. Invented torpedo 1874 and subsequently was engaged on its development. Also worked on aircraft design.
Burrell Street Henry James

Burrell

 1873-1945 OBE; Naturalist; studied the platypus and the spiny anteater and became the chief authority on them; wrote `The Platypus’, 1927; collaborated in writing `The Wild Animals of Australasia’, 1926; Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society of London.
Caldwell Street William Hay

Caldwell

 1859-1941 Noted zoologist who carried out important research on Australian marsupials and lungfish.
Dakin Place William John Dakin 1883-1950 William Dakin – Noted zoologist; Professor of Zoology, University of Sydney, 1928-48; adviser to Commonwealth Government on whaling and fisheries
Dunlop Street James Dunlop 1793-1848 Astronomer; assisted in establishment of observatory at Parramatta in 1821; appointed Superintendent in 1830
Dunn Place Edward John Dunn 1844-1937 Geologist educated in Australia; prepared first geological map of South Africa, 1872; returned to Victoria, 1886; Director of Geological Survey of Victoria, 1904-12
Fison Street Lorimar Fison 1832-1907 Missionary and anthropologist; undertook valuable work on Australian anthropology
French Street Charles French
Sir George Arthur French
Cpl John Alexander R French		 1842-1933

1841-1921
NA

 Charles French – horticulturalist, naturalist and entomologist;

George: Soldier. Commandant Queensland Military Forces 1883-1891 and New South Wales Military Forces 1896-1902.

Cpl John French awarded Victoria Cross, 4 September 1942, at Milne Bay, New Guinea Services.
Gilbert Street John Gilbert 1815-1845 Naturalist; worked with John Gould in connection with his work, `Birds of Australia’; researched bird life of Tasmania, Western Australia and Northern Territory; joined Leichhardt’s 1844 expedition.
Gilruth Street John Anderson

Gilruth

 1871-1937 Scientist and administrator; Administrator of the Northern Territory, 1912-20; Chief of Division of Animal Health, CSIR, 1930-37.
Grayson Street Henry Joseph Grayson c1856-1918 Scientist who accompanied J W Gregory on 1901 expedition to central Australia; developed machines assisting plant microscopy
Hackett Place Sir John Winthrop Hackett 1848-1916 Legislator, pioneer of Federation, educationalist and philanthropist of Western Australia; Editor of `West Australian’ newspaper; elected to the State Legislative Council in 1894 and remained a Member until his death
Haddon Street Alfred Cort Haddon 1855-1940 Ethnologist; led an expedition to Torres Strait and New Guinea in 1888-89
Harris Place John Harris 1754- 1838 Pioneer surgeon; surgeon to New South Wales Corps, 1792; appointed Magistrate, 1800; took part in several early explorations of New South Wales.
Harris Street Laurance Hershel Levi Harris 1871-1920 Radiologist and surgeon; pioneer and one of the leaders of science of radiology in Australia.
Hedley Street Charles Hedley 1862-1926 Prominent naturalist who carried out valuable research on the Great Barrier Reef
Helms Place Richard Helms 1842-1914 Naturalist with Sir Thomas Elder’s expedition to central Australia, 1891-92; biologist, Department of Agriculture, 1896-99; wrote many papers on flora and fauna
Holtze Place Maurice Holtze 1840-1923 ISO; Botanist; arrived in Australia, 1872; worked for the Government at the Palmerston Botanic Gardens, 1878-91; appointed Director and Secretary, Adelaide Botanic Gardens, 1891, and was the first Director to open the Gardens to the public; had many species named after him including Sida holtzia.
Hull Place Arthur Francis Bassett Hull
Hugh Munro Hull		 1862-1945 Arthur Hull – noted ornithologist and philatelist.

Hugh Hull – Pioneer of Tasmania 1819.
Jukes Place Joseph Beete Jukes 1811-1869 Geologist and naturalist with expedition surveying north-east coast of Australia, 1842-46, in HMS Fly.
Jukes Street See above See above See above
Kellaway Street Charles Halliley Kellaway 1889-1952 Medical scientist; Director of Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1923; Director of Pathology to Army during World War II
Kenny Place Elizabeth Kenny

 

Private Bede Kenny

 1880-1952 Nurse; responsible for devising a treatment for poliomyelitis during an epidemic in Queensland in 1933. Her methods were investigated and officially recognised by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in the USA in the 1940s.

Private Kenny awarded VC at Hermies, France on 9 April 1917.
Mackenzie Street Sir William Colin Mackenzie 1877-1938 Anatomist; founder of Colin Mackenzie Sanctuary for native animals at Healesville, Victoria; first Director of the Institute of Anatomy, Canberra.
Madigan Street Cecil Thomas Madigan 1889-1947 Geologist and explorer; member of Antarctic expedition, 1911-14; made a number of expeditions to central Australia, 1927-39
Maitland Street Andrew Gibb Maitland 1864-1951 Geologist; surveyed and mapped vast areas of Western Australia, 1903-06; successfully predicted artesian water on Nullarbor Plain and near Derby.
Mills Place Richard Charles Mills 1886-1952 Professor of Economics, University of Sydney, 1922; Member, Royal Commission on Banking, 1936; Chairman, Commonwealth Grants Commission, 1941, Uniform Taxation Committee, 1942, and Australian National Advisory Committee for UNESCO, 1947; led Australian Delegation to First Session of UNESCO in 1946 and again in 1951; Chairman of Interim Council during formation of Australian National University.
Mills Street See above See above See above
Newton Street Sir Hibbert Alan

Stephen Newton

F/Lt William Ellis
Newton

 1887-1949 Hibbert Newton – noted surgeon; President of the Walter and Eliza Hall Research Institute; Consulting Surgeon to the Army, 1940-42; Chairman, Medical Equipment Control Committee, 1939-45; Director of Clinical Studies at University of Melbourne.
F/Lt William Ellis Newton awarded the Victoria Cross in New Guinea, March 1943
Phillip Avenue Arthur Phillip 1738-1814 First Governor of New South Wales, 1788-92; chosen in 1786 to lead the expedition destined for Botany Bay, reaching the Bay on 18 January 1788; first Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of New South Wales; discovered and settled Sydney Cove at Port Jackson
Prell Place Charles Ernest Prell 1856-1946 Pastoralist of New South Wales; pioneered pasture improvement in Australia by use of fertilisers and subterranean clover.
Richards Street Henry Caselli Richards 1884-1947 Geologist associated with University of Queensland from 1911-47; involved with the foundation of the Great Barrier Reef Committee, 1922; published fifty-five research papers
Rivett Street Sir David Rivett 1885-1961 Rhodes Scholar, 1907; Professor of Chemistry, University of Melbourne, 1924-1927; Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CSIR, 1927-46; Chairman of the Council, CSIRO, 1946-49; President of Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science, 1937-39
Russell Street Henry Chamberlain Russell 1836-1907 Astronomer and meteorologist; Government Astronomer at Sydney Observatory, 1870-1905
Selwyn Street Alfred Richard Cecil Selwyn 1824-1902 Geologist; Geological Surveyor of Victoria, 1852-69.
Skeats Street Ernest Willington Skeats 1875-1953 Geologist associated with the University of Melbourne for thirty-seven years, from 1904-41; received Medal of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 1929; awarded Mueller Medal from the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science, 1937.
Stanley Street Sir Arthur Lyulph Stanley
Owen Stanley		 1875-1931

1811-1850

 Arthur Stanley – 5th Baron Stanley of Alderley and 5th Baron Sheffield of Roscommon, (1875-1931); Governor of Victoria, 1914-20.
Owen Stanley – Naval officer and marine surveyor. Carried out valuable hydrographic surveys along south coast of New Guinea
Steele Street Bertram Dillon Steele
Major General Sir Clive Steele		 1870-1934

1892-1955

 Bertram Steele – Scientist and inventor. Professor of Chemistry, University of Queensland 1910-1931. Played conspicuous part in successful campaign by Queensland Government for the eradication of prickly pear. Invented type of gas-mask and instrument for detection of submarines.
Major General Sir Clive Steele – Chief Engineer, Second A.I.F. 1939-1942. Engineer in Chief A.M.F. 1942-1946
Stott Street James Winchester Stott 1830-1907 Blacksmith of Alma, South Australia; in 1881 constructed an early model of a stump-jump plough.
Taylor Place George Augustine Taylor 1872-1928 Artist, inventor and journalist; pioneer of radio broadcast in Australia; made first Australian flight in a motorless aircraft constructed by himself at Narrabeen, New South Wales.
Tryon Street Sir George Tryon
Henry Tryon		 1832-1893
1856-1943		 George Tryon – First Admiral in charge of Australian Station, 1884; advocated formation of Australian Navy.
Henry Tryon – Prominent Naturalist and Scientist-Carried out work on sugar cane and prickly pear in Queensland
Verco Street Sir Joseph Cooke Verco 1851-1933 Leading physician of Adelaide for many years; prominent conchologist; presented extensive shell collection to South Australian Museum.

 

Source – Hackett Community Association (2019) Hackett – 50 years plus: Story of a North Canberra suburb.