Skateboarding
The 'Bush Capital' sees itself as more of a 'big country town'- and is really skate-friendly. Luke Brown shows us around!
Designed capital cities are a rare but not unknown facet of modern societies. Newly-independent nations sometimes take a conscious decision to stop the commercial centre of the nation also becoming the administrative centre in order to stop all employment gravitating to one place which is how megacities occur over time.
Brasilia is one of the most famous examples of a designed capital, where wide architectural sweeps can be designed with a single flourish of a draftsman’s pen. Canberra in South-Eastern Australia is another.
We asked local photographic don Luke Brown to take us on a visual tour of the skate terrain of a city designed from the ground up!
Most overseas visitors think the capital of Australia is Sydney, or sometimes Melbourne, rarely do they guess that it’s Canberra. The 'Bush Capital', as Canberra is known, is kind of a big country town and really skate-friendly. There’s no industry here really, so skaters are pretty chill. Elements of the city can be pretty quiet on the weekends, leaving you to skate in peace.
01
Canberra Street Terrain
As a city created from scratch, Canberra has lots of spaces created with citizenry in mind. Here are some of the best for skating.
Bailey’s
Petrie Plaza or Bailey’s as it’s more commonly known by skaters (due to the Baileys Arcade that opens onto the plaza) is an OG Canberra City skate spot, with rough paved ground that includes two different stair sets with hubbas finishing at the infamous Merry Go Round.
Constitution Avenue
Constitution Avenue is a skate institution with smooth ground running down for ages. The ledges can be skated pretty much anytime. There’s a number of skaters that have made Constitution Avenue their daily regular, and for a good reason, too. 'Cons' has slappy kerbs everywhere along the garden edges, multiple benches and ledges from all angles - all on a gentle downhill slope, removing the need to push.
Matt Hauzer, Byron Moore and friends have made this spot idyllic, with Matt’s Parliamentary Zone VX videos forever capturing it in classic style.
The ledges can be skated anytime and further down the street there’s even more elements including hubbas and various stair sets on the opposite side, as part of the Campbell shops.
Parliamentary Triangle / Government Agencies
Being the capital, Canberra is home to various Government Agencies, lots of which have amazing spots to skate. The National Museum’s ‘Red Wave’ or ‘Red Carpet’ is an iconic skateable sculpture that runs downhill with a series of bumps and is a must visit spot on any traveller’s agenda.
South Canberra
There are buses and a tram for some of Canberra, but it’s easier if you have a car as there are a lot of roundabouts!
Industrial Areas
Fyshwick is Canberra’s industrial suburb and has loads of spots- often best skated on the weekends.
Newer suburbs
Canberra is rapidly growing with new suburbs being built all the time, and with this comes new spots to skate!
02
Modern Skateparks
Canberra has a range of large skateparks, all of which have lights at night, so you have lots of options!
Belconnen
Home of the famous Belco Bowl Jam, the 1990 spiderwebbed keyhole bowl has remained, with the surrounding Belconnen skatepark upgraded. The latest addition is a new competition-spec Vert ramp!
Woden Skatepark
Canberra's other reliable year-round draw is Woden Skatepark, which also benefits from floodlights so you can skate at night when the scooter kids have vanished.
03
Historic Skateparks
In addition to the old Belco Bowl, Canberra has a number of historic skateparks.
Charnwood Snake Run
Charnwood Snake Run is Canberra’s first skatepark, dating from circa 1978. Rough in places, but charming with it.
Erindale Brick Banks
This world-famous urban snake run has been skated by locals and visitors alike for many years. A perfect skate spot, pretty much!
Kambah
This concrete U-pipe dating from 1980 has virtually no flat bottom in which to adjust and should be treated with respect accordingly.
04
Ditches
The good weather means that many floodwater run-offs have dried up more or less permanently. Spence Drains have been skated since day dot and today it includes a number of DIY elements.
Spence Drains
OG Canberra skate legend Jim Fowlie has played a large role in keeping this spot alive. Although not heavily frequented by the younger generation of skaters, Spence's mix of crust and DIY touches make it worthy of your time when in town!
05
Where To Meet Up
With Trilogy Skateboards having sadly recently shut up shop for good, Canberra was in need of a new meet-up spot. Thankfully, a bohemian new one has appeared.
Church Public Service
Super- cool skateshop, record shop and hangout space complete with pool table and listening stations. What skate shops could be, Canberra has. Make this your starting point for any exploration of the city and pick up some new music while you're doing so!
Watch when the best skaters in the world landed in Australia for the Drop In Tour for free on Red Bull TV!
