Isabella Plains

Isabella Plains is a Canberra suburb in the district of Tuggeranong. The suburb is indirectly named after Isabella Maria Brisbane (1821-1849), who was the daughter of Thomas Brisbane the colonial Governor of New South Wales when the area was first explored by white settlers in 1823. Joseph Wild was employed by Brigade Major John Ovens and Captain Mark Currie to guide them to the Murrumbidgee River. They travelled south along the river and named the area now known as Tuggeranong “Isabella’s Plain”. This name was adopted, with a slight change of spelling, for the name of the new suburb. It was gazetted on 5 August 1975, with the streets named after New South Wales parishes.

Located in the suburb are a small group of shops, MacKillop Catholic College, Isabella Plains Primary School, the Tuggeranong automatic weather station and Isabella Plains neighbourhood oval.

A small shopping centre is located on the corner of Ellerston Avenue and Galloway Street. This includes a small supermarket, hairdresser, Chinese restaurant, pathology clinic, chemist and takeaway shop. There is also an Isabella Plains Neighbourhood house, and a small doctors surgery opposite and to the right of the shops.

Schools in the suburb include Isabella Plains Primary School, Isabella Plains Pre-school, and MacKillop Catholic College.

An early childhood centre exists next to Isabella Plains Primary School on Ellerston Avenue, offering day care and children’s health services. After school care is also available through Isabella Plains Primary School.

A Neighbourhood Centre shares a car park with the shops. This centre is available for general hire by the community and hosts, among other things, several daytime playgroups for mothers with young children in connection with the ACT Playgroups Association.

Isabella Plains lies next to the suburbs of Monash, Bonython, Richardson and Calwell. It is bounded by Isabella Drive, Drakeford Drive, Johnson Drive and Ashley Drive.