The Ginninderra site and surrounding suburbs
The Ginninderra Experiment Station was established in 1958 as a site for CSIRO’s agricultural research. This was in anticipation of the closure of the Dickson Experiment Station to make way for urban development in that area, which eventually occurred in 1962.
Ginninderra is located in the northern area of ACT, adjacent to the Barton Highway, between existing suburbs in Belconnen and Gungahlin. The northwestern boundary of the property aligns with the ACT/NSW border. Neighbouring suburbs include Hall and Nicholls to the north-east, Giralang to the south-east, and Evatt, Spence and Fraser to the south-west.
The site is 701 hectares.
The purpose of the Ginninderra Experiment Station has been to facilitate agriculture and farming research. Research conducted on the site has included:
- wheat and other plant breeding trials
- sustainable agriculture and pastoral trials
- studies on the effects of climate change on crop production
- field trials on genetically modified crops and other plants
- dryland and irrigation farming experiments, and
- carbon dioxide storage trials
Agricultural research which was a focus of Ginninderra is now being carried out at our agricultural research station at Boorowa.
Over recent years, CSIRO has commissioned a multi-stage, expert-led process to investigate the environmental conditions of the site and suitability for urban development.