When Ainslie Depot opened in June 1929, it consisted of two garages, which originally came from the Molonglo Construction camp near the present suburb of Fyshwick. Two more garages and a workshop were added in the early 1930’s.
This depot was located at the corner of Leslie Crescent and Campbell Street near the northern end of Corroboree Park. In December 1941, eight brick individual garages, built side by side, each with their own roller shutter door, were constructed at a new location at the intersection of Stephen and Tyson Streets. A second group of eight garages were built next to the first eight in 1945 – 46 and an additional sixteen garages were built by 1950.
There was no mechanical servicing facilities but a fueling installation was provided when, due to delays to in the construction of a depot at Belconnen, busports to cover 30 buses were built in the yard at Ainslie to assist in the accommodation of the overflow of buses from Kingston. These busports were used from 23 May 1977 and, when Ainslie was closed on September 1979, were dismantled and re-erected at the Woden Depot.
The most striking developments in the provision of infrastructure have occurred in Belconnen and Woden. Both towns have purpose built off street bus interchanges and their local fleets are maintained and housed at the depots in the service trades area adjacent to both town centres.
Source: “Canberra’s Engineering Heritage – Chapter Three” written by Ian G. Cooper, Leslie J. Pascoe and Ian Morrison.
This page was last updated on 22 May 2021
