Acton Walkways

An idea that originated during a walk by the lake developed into a substantial project, with funding from key stakeholders and prominent Acton 'residents' - The Australian National University, The Molonglo Group (NewActon), The National Film and Sound Archive, and the ACT Government. In addition, numerous organisations assisted with in-kind support, including RSM Bird Cameron, Minter Ellison, Griffin Legal, ACT National Trust, Walter Burley Griffin Society, ACT Geological Society, Heart Foundation, Australia Business Arts Foundation (AbaF), Lake Burley Griffin Cruises, and Biginelli Espresso. The active guided tour program ran between 2010 and 2013. During these three years over 3,000 people joined us in over 250 guided walks across such themes as architecture, art deco, arts, design, film and sound preservation, gardens and landscapes, geology, heritage and history, music, museums, photography, science, sculpture, and sustainability. During this time our website (listed as one of the top twenty inspiring Australian made web designs) registered over 30,000 visits, and has been promoted on a host of other cultural and tourist sites. We have received significant printed and digital media promotion, including many feature articles in the Canberra Times , Capital Magazine , the ANU Reporter , In the City , and the Chronicle , and interviews and stories with ABC TV and ABC 666. Further promotion was achieved through collaboration with the ACT Government, enabling Acton to feature on seven signs around Lake Burley Griffin, and one sign in Childers Street, with the assistance of the ANU Exchange. Additionally, presentations have been given for the ACT Heritage Festival, and in collaboration with Jon Stanhope for the launch of the CanWalk portal, and Katy Gallagher for the Heart Foundation. Since beginning this project I have had the pleasure of working with many people and met a wealth of interesting and interested fellow Canberrans. The enthusiasm from everyone involved has been inspiring. In particular, the efforts of a few key people must be mentioned: - All of our tour guides, many of whom have given their time, expertise and enthusiasm free of charge; - James Collet, Jesse Adams Stein, and Belinda Bentley for their enthusiastic assistance with admininstration, research and tours. - Bradley Cummings for the beautiful photos in our maps section, taken over numerous expeditions, and Roy Hill for his generous and expert assistance with online mapping programs and solutions. - Allen Mawer, Linda Roberts, Peter Dowling, Lorraine Ball, Tony Muckle, Warwick Williams, Lois Fordham, Hugh Patton, Adam Black and many others for their ongoing support of this project and advice.