The Watson Community Association produces a quarterly newsletter which is delivered by volunteers to every street address in Watson.
From Edition 124 (Winter 2025) this newsletter has moved to a hybrid version, with the traditional printed Watzon complemented by an online version.
The Watzon is produced and distributed by a volunteer team.
We are permitted by our constitution and policies to accept advertising from businesses within a one suburb radius of Watson - Hackett, Downer and Mitchell. Advertising is accepted at the discretion of the WCA. While we don't charge a fee, we do suggest a suitable donation.
Contributions of articles for Watzon can be sent to the editing team at watzoneditor@gmail.com.
Unfortunately the Australian Catholic University is no longer able to continue the free printing service we have enjoyed for many years. The WCA committee has decided to switch to a hybrid model with print and online versions of the Watzon, and is continuing to explore funding options for future editions. You can support the printing of the Watzon by donating to our Go Fund Me - just click this link or the image below to get started.
Watzon 124 - Winter 2025
The Watson Community Association Inc. acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Canberra and pays respect to their Elders past, present and emerging. We recognise that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from across Australia now call Canberra home, and we celebrate their cultures, diversity and contributions to the ACT and region.
Please note that the views expressed in this Newsletter are those of the authors and
do not necessarily reflect the views of the Watson Community Association.
Welcome From Your New Chair
By Merinda Nash
Chair of Watson Community Association
Happy Autumn
Firstly, I start by extending a giant thank you to our outgoing Chair Geoff Murray-Prior. He has been a steady and experienced hand steering the WCA over the past few years. Geoff has been generous with both his time and expertise. Highlights include supporting establishment of the new Greenspace by the dog dam, facilitating the organisation of our first ever Watson Day in 2024, and leading representations to the ACT Government seeking action to address increased local crime issues.
Did you know that the object of the WCA is to promote the social, economic and environmental amenity of Watson residents? As a long term Watson resident I have enjoyed the amenities our suburb has to offer, and as the new chair of WCA I am keen to play a role in ensuring the great things about our suburb continue for the benefit of all Watson residents.
When I first moved into Watson many years ago, as a struggling single mother with a baby and a dog, I didn't realise it would be the start of a love affair with this gorgeous suburb and it's surrounds. It's due to the work of previous WCA members that we have retained such beautiful landscapes within and around our suburb.
With ongoing development planned for Watson, and an ever growing and changing population, WCA will continue to be an important voice for residents. If you have an interest in local issues, joining the WCA is a great way to become more involved in events affecting us locals. All folks are welcomed.
It's been a busy for months for the WCA. The recent Watson Day, held on March 31st on the grass beside the shops, was well attended, bringing lots of locals together and raised nearly $700 towards the continued production of the printed Watson newsletter (we now have a 'Go Fund Me' QR code for donations to Watzon printing costs). Thanks to Andy at our Watson Supabarn Express, for donating sausages, Majura Scouts for cooking and all the supporting volunteers.
The fabulous new super-sized playground on Windeyer street is progressing at a pace and apparently due to open before Spring. We look forward to that.
Explore Our Shops - Coco's Hair and Beauty
By P. Lean
On the corner next to Knox Café is Coco’s Hair & Beauty. The owner, Vera, has been in the industry for 40 years and has been running the salon in Watson for 15.
She employs six wonderful staff—experienced senior stylists, emerging graduates, and two apprentices—and offers everything from cuts, colours, and foils to hair extensions and perms.
All staff attend regular training to stay up to date with the latest techniques and ensure you receive the best personalised treatment for your hair.
I’m extremely grateful for the kind and thoughtful way they supported me during my recovery after an accident. Coco’s Hair & Beauty welcomes clients of all genders and ages
Canberra Potters has been a proud part of the Watson community since 1975. It began with a group of 13 graduates from the Canberra School of Art who set out to create a shared space where they could make, learn, and support each other’s work with clay. From those early days, it has grown into a place that welcomes people of all ages, abilities and skill levels to explore pottery at their own pace.
Over nearly five decades, we’ve become part of the rhythm of the neighbourhood. Local families bring children to holiday classes, friends share a term of evening pottery together or attend a workshop or event and visitors often stop by the gallery or shop to see what’s new.
Today, we continue to foster a sense of belonging by bringing people together through shared creative practice and conversation. Our studios and gallery host local, national, and international artists, while our programs offer space to explore, develop, and share a love of ceramics.
As a not-for-profit arts organisation supported by the ACT Government, we’re proud to provide a space where art, learning, and community meet, offering a place where creativity is part of everyday life.
As we celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2025, we’re reflecting on the many hands that have shaped our story and the role ceramics continues to play in building community, curiosity, and care
50 years of Connecting through Clay
By Sue Cant
Acting CEO Canberra Potters
Watson Buzz- Bee Stingers
By Aileen Conroy
🐝 Honeybees don’t bite…..they sting. Only the female workers and they give their lives to defend their colony – usually from bees from other colonies robbing their honey stores.
🐝 The queen can sting repeatedly but only fights and stings emerging rival queens within her colony.
🐝 Bee stingers are a design marvel and are being studied at ANU to inform the design of implanted medical devices. Stingers are barbed, so once embedded the bee’s abdomen ruptures when she begins to fly. They continue to pump venom and penetrate deeper using tiny, attached muscles.
🐝 Only 1% of the population has an anaphylactic response to stings. Despite our bee suits and use of smoke, beekeepers get a few. Some experienced beekeepers do not even use gloves. Pain is minimised by immediately scraping out the stinger sideways.
🐝 To avoid stings, stay calm …. Bees are controlled by pheromones, and they literally smell fear! Don’t swipe, scream or run, but walk away from the hive entrance. Avoid cutting grass nearby which can trigger release of alarm pheromone.
🐝 In warm climates, native stingless bees form colonies. My friend takes her hive inside on chilly nights.
🐝 Amazingly Apitherapy uses bee venom as medicine. There is a course in Romania.
7 yr olds know about bee stingers!
Celebrating Community at Watson Day
By Lucy Astolfi
Volunteer, Living Streets Association
On the 30th of March, Living Streets took part in Watson Day where the community came together to share art, culture, stories, and sausages.
Living Streets’ prompt to attendees was to “share a heartwarming story about community that has touched your life.” We encouraged people to write their stories and pin them to our pinboard for others to become inspired to write their own. We had many touching stories from the Watson community and beyond. The stories were inspiring and uplifting and encouraged people to participate in their community.
We met many different community day participants who shared their stories with us. We met a talented artist by the name of Sophie ‘Art’ Baker who shared that a “lady out walking stopped to say hi and encourage me to keep painting,” as Sophie was painting for her exhibition. The SES who had a stall bringing attention to fire prevention, shared a heartwarming story of when they “turned up to houses where neighbours called in damage for people who were away.” They added, “It’s nice to see people look out for each other”.
Watson Day was an inspiring reminder that community is built on small acts of kindness, shared creativity, and looking out for one another. Whether through art, a simple hello, or lending a hand in times of need, the stories we heard showed the power of connection. We left the day feeling inspired by the generosity and warmth of the Watson community – and grateful to be part of such a vibrant, caring network of people.
Discover what’s happening on Mount Majura—news, nature, and community updates on our website.
Majura Café Poets
I sit watching
Leaves frolic across the bitumen
as autumn sweeps under my jacket.
Orange road cones capture spaces
as they dance amongst the leaves.
The buskers are singing in Braddon
strumming dreams and aspirations.
Sound waves echo in the doorways
as they dance among the leaves.
The guitar picks a sound check
in sync with voices shouting.
Heartfelt words swept by the wind
as they dance among the leaves.
Denise Burton
World Goes Round
The world goes round
Till it’s upside down
It’s a struggle just keeping
Both feet on the ground
When it comes back up
For another go round
Somehow you’re one lap behind.
So you grab a new tread
Hanging on by a thread
There’s a fifteen ring circus
Inside your head
When it comes back round
It’s just as you dread
Now you’re two laps behind.
If this whirling stampede
Should ever concede
That it wants to consider
Just what I need
It can back off from
Its breakneck speed
And darn well…slow down
…To mine.
Laurie McDonald
Please, a picnic and a thermos
I saw that a picnic had gone missing
From the Watson micro forest.
I thought perhaps it was hiding
Behind the potter’s art centre
Next to the pond.
(You know the picnic table there
In the hollow under the power lines?)
I searched around the bright green-painted benches
In the triangle of trees and dogs
That befriend our shops
But there were no picnics.
I tried to join a ‘Watson Picnics Association’
But I felt shy at proving
Its inaugural member.
A missing picnic can be a terrible thing
But wait… I wonder if it has been uncovered
In our ‘destination playground’,
Its diligent diggings revealing
A fossilized thermos.
Jill Sutton
The Pointing Arm
Close to the highway
a dead tree. It can almost
be reached by leaning over
the barbed wire fence. Only useful
for firewood.
It’s had a good life, trunk
once reaching as high
as a poem.
Just one arm, and that
reaching out from the hulk
of a trunk as if pointing
To the Watson shops
Christopher Dorman
Watson Planning Snippets- Winter 2025
By Simon Clarke
WCA Committee | Planning Group Convenor | planning2602@gmail.com
Inner North Play Space
It’s almost there, isn’t it? My sources tell me that it’s on target to be completed by the end of July. Look forward to a big opening in August. Keep an eye on the WCA webpage and Facebook page for more updates.
Block 76
Our friends at CoHousing Canberra are busy preparing their plans etc as they bid for the segment of Block 76 set aside for “Demonstration Housing.” We wish them well and support their efforts to help us accept different ways of creating housing.
Planning Laws
Housing is a hot topic, isn’t it? So it should be as everyone deserves to be decently housed. However thought bubbles like “missing middle”, “medium density” and “human scale” are no use if they’re not backed up by sensible legislation and a recognition that all sectors need a say. The current approach seems more like “wishing and hoping.”
There are no quick fixes but there are answers if the political will is there. However we need to be able to see beyond the electoral cycle to get results. We’ve created this problem over the past 40 years – it’s not going to be solved in 3 years! Stay warm this winter and stay in touch.
Watson Property Sales
Kindly Provided by Home by Holly
Address | Contract Date | Sold Price |
|---|---|---|
7 Watson Place WATSON, ACT 2602 | 9/04/2025 | $2,730,000 |
25 Blair Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 1/05/2025 | $2,200,000 |
6 Cullen Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 13/03/2025 | $2,020,000 |
53 Roma Mitchell Crescent WATSON, ACT 2602 | 1/03/2025 | $1,540,000 |
35 Kilduff Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 27/03/2025 | $1,400,000 |
22 Kilduff Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 13/05/2025 | $1,340,000 |
7 Kilduff Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 13/03/2025 | $1,265,000 |
46 A'beckett Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 24/02/2025 | $1,250,000 |
20 Flos Greig Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 8/04/2025 | $1,223,000 |
5 Kerferd Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 15/04/2025 | $1,200,000 |
8 Adams Place WATSON, ACT 2602 | 17/03/2025 | $1,200,000 |
9 Hood Place WATSON, ACT 2602 | 8/04/2025 | $1,185,000 |
60 A'beckett Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 19/03/2025 | $1,120,000 |
24 Piddington Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 7/03/2025 | $1,103,000 |
75 A'Beckett Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 12/03/2025 | $1,101,100 |
9 Phillip Avenue WATSON, ACT 2602 | 27/02/2025 | $1,060,000 |
11 Stow Place WATSON, ACT 2602 | 15/03/2025 | $1,047,000 |
4 Andrews Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 17/04/2025 | $980,000 |
39/215 Aspinall Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 6/03/2025 | $950,000 |
39/395 Antill Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 6/03/2025 | $950,000 |
19/215 Aspinall Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 1/05/2025 | $937,500 |
78 Higinbotham Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 20/02/2025 | $900,000 |
59 Bettie Mcnee Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 22/04/2025 | $875,000 |
17 Ehrlich Circuit WATSON, ACT 2602 | 29/04/2025 | $825,000 |
9/2 Carcoar Terrace WATSON, ACT 2602 | 12/02/2025 | $815,000 |
10 Stow Place WATSON, ACT 2602 | 7/04/2025 | $775,000 |
10/86 Beechworth Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 17/04/2025 | $760,000 |
6/62 Beechworth Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 6/03/2025 | $760,000 |
94 Beechworth Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 6/03/2025 | $760,000 |
12 Whitmore Crescent WATSON, ACT 2602 | 22/02/2025 | $742,000 |
12/15 Aspinall Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 25/03/2025 | $720,000 |
24 Beechworth Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 17/04/2025 | $701,000 |
14/19 Aspinall Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 7/03/2025 | $700,000 |
11/19A Negus Crescent WATSON, ACT 2602 | 17/03/2025 | $690,000 |
25B Negus Crescent WATSON, ACT 2602 | 18/03/2025 | $690,000 |
161/395 Antill Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 19/03/2025 | $580,000 |
38/23 Aspinall Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 14/03/2025 | $565,000 |
35/23 Aspinall Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 14/02/2025 | $530,000 |
29/23 Tay Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 27/03/2025 | $515,000 |
33/1 Buninyong Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 17/03/2025 | $515,000 |
6/18 Whitmore Crescent WATSON, ACT 2602 | 17/03/2025 | $505,000 |
52/21 Aspinall Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 15/05/2025 | $490,000 |
23/1 Buninyong Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 20/03/2025 | $478,000 |
8/20 Federal Highway WATSON, ACT 2602 | 5/05/2025 | $450,000 |
5/27 Ian Nicol Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 12/02/2025 | $420,000 |
71/20 Federal Highway WATSON, ACT 2602 | 2/04/2025 | $420,000 |
9/10 Irvine Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 20/03/2025 | $375,000 |
9/8 Irvine Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 20/03/2025 | $375,000 |
12B/109 Knox Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 1/04/2025 | $295,000 |
27/109 Knox Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 1/04/2025 | $295,000 |
9/109 Knox Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 6/03/2025 | $290,000 |
7C/6 Irvine Street WATSON, ACT 2602 | 15/05/2025 | $270,501 |
Support Our Local Businesses
