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Lyneham Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Population:	4,132[1]
Established:	1928
Postcode:	2602
Area:	5.5 km² (2.1 sq mi)
Property Value:	AUD $377,000[2]
LGA:	North Canberra
Assembly Electorate:	Molonglo
Federal Division:	Fraser[3]
Suburbs around Lyneham: Kaleen Mitchell Downer Bruce Lyneham Dickson O'Connor Turner Braddon

Lyneham is a suburb of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. It is named after Sir William Lyne, premier of the Australian state of New South Wales from 1899 to 1901. The suburb was gazetted in 1928, but development did not commence until 1958.

Contents 1 Demographics 2 Points of interest 3 Lyneham High School 4 Lyneham Primary School 5 North Lyneham 6 Geology 7 Notes

In 2001, the population of Lyneham was 4,136, including 58 (1.4%) Indigenous persons and 2,820 (68.2%) Australian-born persons. Only 40.3% of dwellings were separate houses (compared to the Australian average of 75.3%), while 29.2% were semi-detached (average: 8.9%), row or terrace houses and 26.6% were flats (average: 13.1%). 19.3% of the population were professionals, compared to the Australian average of 10.2%. Notably 12.3% worked in government administration, compared to the Australian average of 2.1%, although the Canberra-wide average is a very similar 12.6%. Lyneham is favoured by students and young adults with 18.6% of its population in the 15-24 year old age group (compared to the Australian average of 13.7%). The suburb has relatively few children under 15: 13.7%, compared to 20.6% Australia-wide. 34.9% of the dwellings are occupied by single person households, compared to the Australian average of 22.9%.^[1]

The suburb has experienced increasing popularity in recent years, evidenced by its high turnover rate: only 1,709 (42%) of its residents were at the same address 5 years prior to the 2001 Census. This is probably due to the large number of students in the suburb (Lyneham is a short distance from both the Australian National University in Acton and the University of Canberra in Bruce) as well as the changing cost of living in the suburb (in the last 10 years the median house price has risen from $145,000 to $377,000.^[2]

Lyneham boasts many attractions for young and old including nature parks and bushland, proximity to the centre of Canberra, the famous Tilley's Devine Cafe and Gallery and a number of sporting facilities including the National Hockey Centre, Canberra Racecourse and the ACT Netball Centre. Every year Australia's best known car festival, Summernats, is held at the neighbouring Exhibition Park In Canberra (EPIC) and nearby Dickson plays host to some of the best multicultural restaurants to be found in Australia's capital.

St Ninian's Uniting Church in Brigalow Street is the second oldest church in Canberra opened in 1873. It was founded as a Presbyterian Church by the Scottish community, many of whom had come to the area as shepherds.^[4]

The style of the suburb has been evolving since development commenced in 1958. Older heritage style homes sit beside modern townhouse developments. Being one of the older suburbs in Canberra, Lyneham residents enjoy its leafy streets and established gardens. The streets are mostly named after artists and those associated with the development of Canberra in the early years.^[5]

Lyneham is home to Lyneham High School, Lyneham Primary School and Brindabella Christian College.

Lyneham High[1] has just over 1000 students, and is at full capacity. It has two enrichment programs running: a selective gifted and talented academic program called LEAP (Lyneham Enriched Academic Program), and a similar program aimed at sporting achievers called SEAL (Sporting Excellence At Lyneham). This allows students time to train in their chosen sport during school hours but also provides catch-up lessons during PE lessons. The school also runs a Learning Support Unit for students with learning difficulties, as well as an ESL unit for students learning English as a second language.

The school is known for its band program, in which almost half the school's students participate. The school's bands have achieved numerous awards in the National Eisteddfod over past years and are known throughout the territory. As well as the band program, the school offers several other performing arts programs, including a music course based around smaller ensembles and solo acts, a drama program, and a dance program on which most of the school is part of, and now students even have the opportunity to learn string instruments in another program. As the school gains more of a reputation in performing arts, the school has been granted five million dollars from the ACT Government to build a performing arts centre, which will include extra performing space, new rehearsal rooms, and several other features.

Since 2004 the school has performed productions of 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat', 'Return to the Forbidden Planet' and 'Jesus Christ Superstar', all directed by John Batterham. These three productions alone have received a total of 20 nominations for Canberra Area Theatre Awards. They have won four in total, including the award for Best School or Youth Musical twice (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar). In 2007, the school staged a version of West Side Story. Lyneham High's musicals are unique in that they use a larger cast than many amateur and professional productions, with an emphasis upon what is going on around the hall, as well as what is happening on the stage.

Lyneham primary has 300 to 400 students. After many years of declining enrolments there was a dramatic increase in enrolments in 2005. This was the first school in the ACT to increase enrolments after a long period of decline.^{[citation needed]}

The part of Lyneham north of Ginninderra Drive was a relatively recent addition to the suburb of Lyneham, being built in the mid to late 1980s, while the rest of Lyneham dates back to the 1960s.

Residents of this area sometimes think of it as a separate suburb, even though it is part of the suburb of Lyneham. The area has one main road, Cossington Smith Crescent, which loops through the area with other streets coming off it. It also has a small shopping centre housing shops, a couple of restaurants and a number of small businesses.

North Lyneham backs onto a bush reserve which separates it from the suburb of Kaleen. The walking trails in the reserve are popular with the local residents and provide scenic views of the inner northern suburbs of Canberra to the east and south and Belconnen and the Brindabella Ranges to the west.

Calcareous shales from the Canberra Formation is overlain by Quaternary alluvium. This rock is the limestone of the original title of Canberra "Limestone Plains". Greywacke from the Ordovician age Pittman Formation is in the north west.

See also: Geology of the Australian Capital Territory

Coordinates: 35°15′00″S 149°07′01″E / -35.250, 149.117