Манука: район Канберры и его история

Neighbourhood of Canberra, Australia

Manuka (/'//m//ɑː//n//ə//k//ə/ MAHnə kə, sometimes pronounced as /m//ɑː/'/n//uː//k//ə/ MaNOO ka) is an area in the Inner South district of Canberra, Australia covering parts of the suburbs of Griffith and Forrest. Manuka Shops, Manuka Oval, Manuka Swimming Pool, and Manuka Circle take their name from the park in the area.

The precinct is named after Manuka Circle, the street which forms the northern boundary of the precinct. Manuka Circle was on Walter Burley Griffin's original plan for Canberra and named after the Leptospermum scoparium, a flowering tree native to New Zealand and south eastern Australia. The name Manuka is pronounced by most local Canberrans differently from the tree after which both street and suburb are named: '/m//ɑː//n//ə//k//ə/ (compared to /m//ɑː/'/n//uː//k//ə/ for the tree). The common name of the tree species comes from the Māori word for it, mānuka, and is sometimes written with the macron included, as mānuka, in New Zealand English. When Griffin drew up his plans in 1912, there was still some optimism that New Zealand might join the Federation of Australia. Griffin's plans included eight avenues radiating out from Capital Hill named after the capitals of the six states, the capital of the Northern Territory and the capital of New Zealand. Before the name Wellington Avenue was gazetted it was realised that New Zealand was not going to become part of a federation of Australasia and the name was replaced by Canberra Avenue. Griffin planned that the state capital city avenues were terminated with a park named after the generic botanical name for a native plant from that particular site; for example, Telopea Park is named after the waratah, the floral emblem of New South Wales, and is at the end of Sydney Avenue, named after the capital of New South Wales. Another remnant of Griffin's nomenclature was the Wellington Hotel, formerly on the corner of Canberra Avenue and National Circuit which was demolished and replaced by the hotel known in 2005 as "Rydges Capital Hill Canberra".

Shops were first built in Manuka between 1925 and 1930. In recent years a collection of outdoor cafes has taken over the more utilitarian shops that dominated the area up to the late 1970s. In the 1960s the precinct included a hardware shop, two supermarkets, a large delicatessen, two butchers, a fishmongers, at least one green grocer, several florists, a boot shop and repairer, clothes shops, home wares and furniture shops, several shoe shops, chemists, newsagents, several barbers and hairdressers and a shop selling church candles. Manuka is now known for its restaurants and for some nightclubs.

Building work commenced on the pool in July 1930. It was the first swimming pool to be built for the city. Before its completion, Canberrans swam in the Molonglo River and other local swimming holes at the Cotter and Murrumbidgee Rivers. Canberra's first pool was built on the south side as it was closer to more Canberra residents than any northside location. The pool was officially opened on 26 January 1931.

Manuka Oval has a seating capacity of 13,550 people and an overall capacity of 16,000 people, although this is lower for some sports depending on the configuration used. The area on which the ground is situated has been used for sport since the early 20th century, but was only enclosed in 1929. It has undergone several redevelopments, most recently beginning in 2011.

St Christopher's Cathedral is adjacent to the shopping district, and is technically located in the suburb of Forrest. The first stage of St Christopher's Cathedral which was completed in 1939. St Christopher's was finally extended to its present size in 1973, when it became the co cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, and more recently the sole cathedral when the former cathedral in Goulburn ceased to be a cathedral of the archdiocese. It was listed by the ACT Heritage Council in 1998.

Founded in 1939 it part of the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn. It is listed in the ACT Heritage Register as an " excellent example of an Inter War Gothic church with Art Deco influences". It was the first place in Australia to install a combination organ and has one of a small number of rings of bells in the Australian Capital Territory. It is situated on the corner of Canberra Avenue and Captain Cook Crescent, opposite Manuka Oval.

The Capitol Theatre was one of Canberra's most important centres for entertainment in the early life of the city, with many plays and films. The design was to the requirements of the theatre impresario J. C. Williamson. It was opened in 1927 and hosted a reception for the arrival of aviator Bert Hinkler in Canberra in 1928. The theatre was later bulldozed in 1980 and a new cinema was built on the site. The decision to destroy such an important building of Canberra's heritage was controversial at the time and since. The second cinema space was eventually decommissioned in 2020, and the building was demolished between 2023 and 2024 to make way for a new hotel.