Pialligo, Australian Capital Territory

Pialligo (postcode: 2609) (/pɪæləɡoʊ/) is a rural suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The name Pialligo has been used for the area since at least 1820, and is probably of Aboriginal origin. It was also the name for the parish in the area. Streets in Pialligo are named with Aboriginal words.^[2]

Pialligo Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Pialligo
Coordinates	35°18′23″S 149°10′48″E
Population	138 (SAL 2021)[1]
Established	1928
Gazetted	20 September 1928
Postcode(s)	2609
Elevation	571 m (1,873 ft)
Area	4.87 km2 (1.9 sq mi)
Location	8 km (5 mi) ESE of Canberra CBD 10 km (6 mi) NW of Queanbeyan 91 km (57 mi) SW of Goulburn 288 km (179 mi) SW of Sydney
District	Majura
Territory electorate(s)	Kurrajong
Federal division(s)	Canberra
Suburbs around Pialligo: Campbell Campbell Beard Fyshwick Pialligo Beard Fyshwick Fyshwick Queanbeyan

Beltana Road in Pialligo is home to many of Canberra's nurseries. Canberra Airport is located adjacent to Pialligo across Pialligo Avenue.

Geology

See also: Geology of the Australian Capital Territory

Quaternary alluvium covers the main western part of Pialligo. Calcareous shales from the Canberra Formation are deep underneath. The Woolshed Creek runs into the north end of Pialligo. This is a significant place, because in the bed of the creek the Rev W B Clarke first recognised Silurian fossils. These fossils were brachiopods, mostly Atrypa duntroonensis. He discovered them around 1844 century and it was the first time that Silurian rocks were identified in Australia, and at the time were the oldest known rocks in Australia. This mudstone is from the Canberra Formation.^[3]

Living history

Pialligo Redwood Forest looking south

Aside from the city's design, arguably Walter Burley Griffin's longest-living legacy in Canberra is the forest of Redwood trees (both Sequoia sempervirens and Sequoiadendron giganteum) that was planted in 1918 by Walter Burley Griffin and arborist Thomas Charles Weston on Pialligo Avenue.