Thursday 28th November

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Hello Canberra,

🌦️ Weather: 31°. A 50% chance of showers.

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🏡 Gungahlin Homestead Open Day

The Gungahlin Homestead, a little-known historic site located 10km north of the CBD in Crace, was built in 1862. From the early 1950s to 2022, it served as a scientific wildlife research station for the CSIRO and has always been closed to the public. In 2002, the Howard Government offloaded the estate to a private owner and the CSIRO was given a 10-year lease that expired in 2022. While there had been plans to develop the site, I haven’t heard any recent news on this.

On December 8, the Homestead will host a rare public open day. Visitors can explore the rendered brick Georgian house, the Victorian addition, the surrounding grounds, and the coach house. Details here.

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Sport: 🏏 The Prime Minister’s XI

The Prime Minister’s XI will be taking on India at Manuka Oval in a two-day, day-night match. It’s happening this Saturday and Sunday. Details here.

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📖 Canberra Reads:

Some literary happenings around Canberra:

Griffin Weston Forest Trail: Trevor Lipscombe’s new book explores a 30km elevated walk through Canberra that can be completed in four half-day stages. This trail offers unique glimpses from Canberra’s Inner Hills, showcasing the city’s visionary design by Walter and Marion Griffin and the often-overlooked contributions of Charles Weston, who transformed the area into the green bush capital we know today.

The book is available at The Book Cow, the NLA Bookshop, the Arboretum, the Botanic Gardens, and Booklore Lyneham.

Read To Me: Celebrate the art of Australian graphic storytellers (cartoonists and comic artists) as they read their work for you live! Details here.

Silent Book Club: Unlike traditional book clubs, there is no assigned reading or discussion—just a peaceful space to read your book among fellow book lovers. Cafe Stepping Stone hosts a fortnightly Silent Book Club. Bring your current read, order a drink, and enjoy the opportunity for uninterrupted reading time. Details here.

Connected Species Book Launch: Join the Canberra launch of Dr Mark Williams’ best-seller, Connected Species - How the Evolution of the Human Brain Can Save the World. He’ll be in conversation with Toni Hassan on the topic Children and Screens: Making It Through the Holidays. Details here.

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Something to do: 🐲 Try Dragon Boating

Invictus Dragon Boat Club was established in 2020 with the goal of introducing dragon boating to more Canberrans. They are a friendly and welcoming club0. You can try dragon boating for free at their “Come & Try” sessions happening over the coming weekends. All equipment is provided. Details here.

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Kids: 📚 Storytime in the Gardens

On the first Friday of every month, the Botanic Gardens runs a story time session where stories, songs, rhymes and creative activities are brought to life in the Gardens’ beautiful natural surroundings. Details here.

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Tidbits

Fare Free Fridays: One of Labor’s key election promises was fare-free travel on Fridays. Transport Minister Chris Steel has announced that free public transport on Fridays will begin next Friday, December 6. You will still be required to tap on and off (so the ACT Government can track usage), but you won’t be charged a fare.

Direct Flights to Coffs Harbour: Link Airways has announced direct flights between Canberra and Coffs Harbour will resume in January. They will fly twice weekly on Thursday and Sunday until the end of April. Link Airways is a Canberra-owned airline.

Disastrous Start for MyWay+: Transport Canberra and contractor NEC misjudged the number of people who would use the MyWay+ app instead of tapping on with a credit or debit card during its launch yesterday. This led to QR code malfunctions and several reader failures.

Thank you to everyone who replied yesterday and shared their experiences of MyWay+. The most common complaint was the difficulty obtaining and setting up a physical MyWay+ card, especially for children. NEC has promised bug fixes are on the way.

Red Hill Post Office is Closing: The Red Hill Post Office that has been open for 50 years will close on December 20. Australia Post encouraged the current licensee to hand back their license under the Voluntary License Handback Program (cost cutting). A petition protesting the closure attracted over 200 signatures and local Member Alicia Payne has written to Australia Post.

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Classifieds:

Meals Delivered in Canberra

The Dinner Ladies make dinners that taste homemade (only kinda better). Use code CANBERRADIGEST20 to get $20 off your first order (new customers only). See the Menu

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Classifieds are paid ads that support Canberra Digest. Book yours here.