Campbell home hits the market for the first time in 53 years

When driving through the streets of Campbell, it’s obvious the suburb is steeped in history. 

Diverse streetscapes show off charming homes nearing over half a century in age, neighboured by brilliant knockdown-rebuilds that make the most of the enchanting landscape. 

There’s no doubt this is one of the best suburbs in all of Canberra.

Beyond the rich facades are over 6000 stories from local residents, some of whom are as old as the homes they inhabit and who have seen the suburb grow and transform around them. 

At 33 Glossop Crescent, opposite the popular Victoria Cross Park, lives a lovely lady by the name of Beth, an 89-year-old horse lover who is moving back to her home town of Cohuna to be closer to her pony. 

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Her three-bedroom, one-bathroom abode is now up for sale and it’s a home that she and her niece Carolyn share the fondest memories of.

“I moved here after living in Canada in 1970,” Beth says. 

“It was really easy to get to work, especially when they decided to add two bridges to get across the lake,” she says, referring to the Commonwealth and Kings Avenue bridges. 

At the time, Beth worked as a librarian, first at Parliament House and then at the National Library. She says seeing all the monuments appear around the war memorial has been very special, but her favourite thing about living in Campbell is the suburb’s access to the nearby horse paddocks. 

“That’s where I wanted to be; I rode horses right up until I was 87 years old,” she says. 

Not having any children of her own, Beth would often drive down to Cohuna to pick up her five nieces and nephews from their dairy farm and take them back to Canberra to stay with her for weeks at a time. 

“Imagine five kids piled into the back of the car for the seven-hour journey back to Canberra, but we were always so excited,” Carolyn says. 

“We absolutely loved to play in Victoria Cross Park. The trees are quite a bit [or a lot] bigger than they were back then. 

“At the time, the milkman delivered milk in glass bottles, which we thought was the best treat. Even though we grew up on a dairy farm and had access to all the milk we wanted, we never got to see it like that.”

Carolyn’s favourite part about being at Beth’s house was the wonderful sunroom at the back. 

“It’s such a beautiful place to curl up with a good book, especially when the sun is out,” she says. 

“Eventually, you’ll be ready for an afternoon nap, and so will the cat, so you’ll doze off together in the sun.”