Phillip brings together green spaces, notable architecture and a range of leisure activities. Local highlights range from remembrance at Eddison Park to ice skating, swimming and Greek dining. When choosing where to stay, consider which aspects of the neighbourhood best suit your travel plans.
Eddison Park: Recreation and Remembrance
On the eastern edge of Woden Town Centre is Eddison Park, a 14-hectare multi-purpose recreation area. Its size and use give the park a different character from the buildings and facilities that also define Phillip. Two memorials here commemorate the loss of the three Eddison sons in the Second World War.
Eddison Park also hosts the annual Anzac Day commemorations. They began in 1992 and continue to draw hundreds of schoolchildren. Both permanent memorials and a recurring commemorative event are therefore part of the park’s history. Another glimpse into the area’s landscape history can be found at Woden Cemetery: its planting and landscaping from the early 1930s remain visible today.
Architecture and Housing History
The Callam Offices are a striking example of office architecture in Phillip. They were the first example in Australia of an office building whose entire perimeter structural frame is supported by suspension cables. The design referred to a floodplain; its historical context is the 1971 Woden flood, in which seven people lost their lives.
The Callam Offices are one of two large-scale office complexes designed by John Andrews International in Canberra. The other is the Cameron Offices in Belconnen. Swinger Hill Cluster Housing offers a different perspective on Phillip: built in 1972, it is a notable example of medium-density housing. It comprises semi-detached and attached dwellings, low-maintenance gardens, courtyards and communal outdoor spaces. Together, these examples raise different questions about the built environment: the construction of large office buildings as well as the design of housing and shared spaces.
Leisure, Ice Skating and Dining
The Phillip Swimming & Ice Skating Centre offers a range of sporting activities. The ice-skating centre has a 1,500-square-metre ice rink and can accommodate up to 250 skaters per session. For swimming, there are lap, leisure and family pools; swimming is seasonal. Those considering Phillip for its leisure options will find both a large ice rink and a seasonal swimming offering.
Arcadia, located in the Hellenic Club Woden, is a family-friendly arcade with video games, interactive prize machines and ticket-redemption games. Kivotos, also located there, offers a Greek dining experience. Dining and gaming are two distinct options at the same venue; they add further interests to Phillip’s recreational and architectural attractions.
Getting Around and Choosing Where to Stay
The relationship between the Woden Bus Interchange and Westfield Woden is also useful for getting around the neighbourhood: the bus interchange is right next to the shopping centre. The nearest entrance to Westfield can be reached from Bradley Street after a short walk. This provides a specific geographical reference point without implying any particular route or connection to individual attractions.
If you’re looking for a hotel for your stay in Phillip, you can base your choice on your trip’s main interests: the park and memorials, architectural history or leisure activities. The topics described here offer different ideas for what you might want to explore during your stay; the choice depends on which matter most to your trip.
More to Explore in the Australian Capital Territory
The wider destination of the Australian Capital Territory also offers landscapes and longer routes to explore. Namadgi National Park protects 106,095 hectares of alpine, subalpine and montane bushland and has several hundred kilometres of walking trails. The 138-kilometre Canberra Centenary Trail is a self-guided route for walkers, runners and cyclists; it includes sites and landscapes significant to the Ngunnawal. These regional attractions offer a different focus from Phillip’s parks, architecture and leisure activities.
Discover more destinations: Belconnen, Macgregor, Hall, Franklin.
Back to the main travel overview: Canberra.
