Braddon's Lonsdale Street: How decades have changed the Canberra street

It's the meme that took over social media in 2020, with users taking two bookending photos to show how time had affected things such as relationships, ageing and even voting preferences. And, thanks to some historical photos from ArchivesACT, we can give the same treatment to Braddon's Lonsdale Street.

Taken at the intersection of Cooyong and Lonsdale streets, the two photos - captured in 1952 and 1968 - show a different Braddon than the hipster haven filled with makers, roasters, brewers and eateries that we know today.

And yet, when placed side by side, it's easy to recognise the bones which have held strong decades later.

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The 1950s brought a boom to the ACT, with the population jumping from 13,000 in 1945 to 50,000 in 1960. With such a significant jump in population comes an increased demand for industry.

It was also during this time where Lonsdale Street's first incarnation as an industrial area came to fruition.

In 1949, the Department of Interior made the decision to extend Braddon's industrial area - rather than a proposed industrial subdivision at McKay Gardens in Turner.

If this decision wasn't made, we wouldn't have the Lonsdale Street we have today, as the land was originally earmarked for a railway reserve. In early 1950, the pine trees were removed from the reserved land, and a gravel road was constructed and named Lonsdale Street, after colonist William Lonsdale.

In April 1950, applications opened for leases on 33 blocks along Lonsdale Street, which attracted proposals for businesses such as an auto repair, food processing, building and haulage contractors, concrete brick and furniture manufacturing, a rubber works and a sawmill. Leases continued to be auctioned throughout the 1950s, as some applicants had trouble to establish their businesses or had their leases terminated for failing to comply with building covenants.

The 1952 image from ArchivesACT was taken two years after the release of the first sites along Lonsdale Street and was still relatively empty - and therefore still had plenty of car parks to choose from (a far cry on what Braddon parking can be like today).

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