Rediscovering Ginninderra:
Percival Hill
Percival Hill is found just to the north of the intersection of Ginninderra Creek with the Yass-Queanbeyan Road - now the Barton Highway. The Hill is named after surveyor, Arthur Percival, a member of Charles Scrivener's team who went on to become Commonwealth Surveyor-General in 1929.
It was an important Ngunawal site as evinced by its proximity to Ginninderra Creek and the axe-grinding sites located high up on the southeastern side of the hill above the remains of a destroyed cave, which was known locally up until the 1970s as 'Cat's Cave'.
The hill was part of the land usually owned by the Ginninderra blacksmiths and was farmed by them from the time of James Hatch in the early 1860s. When it was owned by the last professional blacksmith of the ACT, Harry Curran, it was resumed by the Commonwealth in 1913.
It was part of the Deasland leasehold wool station built up by prominent grazier, Babe Curran, from 1927 to 1964.
Related Photos
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References
- Gillespie, L. L., Aborigines of the Canberra Region, Campbell, 1984
- Gillespie, L. L., Ginninderra: Forerunner to Canberra, Campbell, 1992
- McDonald, J., 'When Ginninderra Grew the Golden Fleece', Canberra History Journal, no. 75 (2015), pp. 15-23