Kambah

Kambah is the northernmost suburb in the Canberra district of Tuggeranong. The name originates from a homestead, Kambah Farm,  located within the district, which took its name from Ngambri, the name of the clan that originally lived in the area before European occupation.  The same word is the origin for the name Canberra.

Kambah was not designed according to the ‘neighbourhood’ philosophy guiding the design of other Canberra suburbs and, with an area of 1130 ha, is the largest suburb in the city. The suburb was first settled in 1974, and consists predominantly of detached, single-storey houses. It was the first suburb in the satellite city of Tuggeranong. The Murrumbidgee Country Club is located in Kambah, and Kambah also has three district playing fields and a tennis club. The Kambah Pony Club and Vikings BMX Park are located in the north of the suburb. Kambah has two Scout halls, and the Kambah Woolshed is located in the suburb.

Several churches are located in Kambah. St. Stephen’s Anglican Church, St. Thomas Catholic Church, the Christian City Church and the Tuggeranong Baptist Church were joined in 2007 by Parkway, an Apostolic Church that had lost its building in Holder during the 2003 Canberra bushfires. The new building caused some controversy, as the imposing structure was built on what had been open grassland next to the fire station, and in a very prominent location on the Tuggeranong Parkway.

Located in the north of the suburb is the group centre called Kambah Village. It has a supermarket, service station, hotel, clubs and many smaller shops and businesses. Located in the south is the Drakeford Drive Corridor; this has evolved into the Kambah Centre, a medium sized community centre with a health centre, a storage facility, a service station, indoor sports facility, a Baptist Church, two Buddhist centres and a Jehovah’s Witnesses centre. One of the car parks is used for model car racing by the ACT Remote Control Car Club.  Kambah also has several smaller local centres scattered around the suburb.

In addition to public education, St. Thomas the Apostle Primary School is located in Kambah. St Thomas the Apostle Primary opened in 1977, and is a systemic Catholic primary school, under the direction of the Canberra Goulburn Catholic Education Office. St Thomas the Apostle Primary is attached to the St Thomas the Apostle Parish.

West of Kambah is the Murrumbidgee River, one of Australia’s major rivers. Surrounding hills include Mount Taylor, Arawang Hill, Mount Neighbour, McQuoids Hill, Forster Hill on the north side, and Urambi Hills on the south west side. Most of Kambah is occupied by the Village Creek Valley, but it also extends into Allens Creek and McQuoids Creek Valleys closer to the Murrumbidgee.

On the Murrumbidgee itself is the Red Rocks Gorge and Kambah Pool, a swimming hole. Kambah pool is the main swimming and fishing destination for South Canberrans.  Kambah is home to many different types of fish, particularly carp.

It is located just south of  Mount Taylor in the Canberra Nature Park and north of the suburbs of Greenway and Wanniassa.