Nicholls
Nicholls, established in 1994, is a suburb in the district of Gungahlin. It is named after Sir Douglas Nicholls, a former Governor of South Australia. The streets themselves are named after sports men and women.
Nicholls contains the remnants of Ginninderra Village, one of the earliest settlements in the Canberra region. The settlement included the former St Francis School of Ginninderra and the historic Ginninderra Schoolhouse, built in 1883. The village was located at the intersection of the Queanbeyan-Yass Road, now the Barton Highway, and Gold Creek Road, which until the founding of the suburb of Nicholls led to the Gold Creek Homestead.
In 1979, Cockington Green, a miniature English village, opened for business in Ginninderra Village. The private sector enterprise was the first of a number of tourism ventures to establish there over the coming years and in the early 1990s, the ACT Government approved an application to rename the precinct Gold Creek Village.
Some of the most prestigious houses in Nicholls are located against Harcourt Hill to the west. Also in Nicholls is the Senior Site portion of Gold Creek School, Perce Douglas Memorial playing fields, Nicholls Neighbourhood oval, Holy Spirit Primary School and Gold Creek Primary School. Although the suburb of Nicholls is newly established, this northern portion of the suburb including the Gold Creek School is sited on what was, until 1990, the former ‘Gold Creek’ rural property with the Gold Creek Homestead at its centre. The Gungahlin Pond is located in the east of the suburb, near the southern end of the Lakes Golf Club. A Canberra Nature Park including Percival Hill is located further south.
Gold Creek Village is located on the southern boundary of Nicholls, off the Barton Highway. It encompasses Gold Creek Square, Cockington Green, the Gold Creek Golf Course, the National Dinosaur Museum, Australian Reptile Centre, the George Harcourt Inn and Federation Square. An online private weather station is located in Nicholls.
Nicholls adjoins the suburbs of Kinlyside, Casey, Ngunnawal, Crace and Palmerston. The suburb is located approximately 2km from the Gungahlin Town Centre and about 13km from the centre of Canberra.