In addition to Acton, there were three settlements of small weatherboard cottages reserved for tradesmen and their families at the Causeway (near the Canberra Railway Station),Molonglo (Fyshwick) and Westlake (near Yarralumla). There were two small areasof brick houses in Franklin Street, Forrest and in Reid near the tennis courts. Much basic work had been done on the water supply, roads, the supply of bricks and tiles, sewerage and the provision of a freight depot at the railway station. The Cotter Dam was in place as was the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge. There were about 1,000 people living in the city, and another 2,500 in the rural areas of the Territory.

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The permanent structures in place by 1920 were Canberra House at Acton (1913), the Power House at Eastlake (1915), the Oddie Telescope at Mt Stromlo(1911), RMC Duntroon (from 1911), the Brickworks at Westridge (1913) and the Pumping Station at the Cotter. There were a few substantial wooden buildings at Acton (Administrative Offices and Bachelors Quarters), the Power House Mess, the Nursery at Eastlake and the camp at Molonglo. The hospital at Acton had been re-opened and the Canberra Railway Stationwas providing freight services. There were several rural dwellings and small schools dotted in and around the city area.

By 1920, a number of influential men were agitating for the resumption of work on the capital and these included Sir Austin Chapman, the Member for Eden-Monaro, and local Queanbeyan businessman, J B Young, who later bought the fast store site at Eastlake (Kingston) in the initial land auction of 12 December 1924.

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Adapted from On Solid Foundations: the building and construction of the Nation’s Capital 1920 to 1950 by David Andrew, Phil Johnstone and Alan Foskett.

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