Co-naming the suburb of Spence | Naming our places

Project Status: Closed

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the proposal to co-name the suburb of Spence.

The proposal received overwhelming support from the community, as shown in the Listening Report. As such, the ACT Place Names Advisory Committee recommended the suburb be co-named.

Its recommendation was supported by the Minister for Planning and Land Management, Mick Gentleman MLA. The instrument formalising the co-naming of the suburb has been notified in the ACT Legislation Register.

After presentation in the ACT Legislative Assembly the instrument can be subject to a motion to amend or disallow for a period of six sitting days. Once six sitting days pass without a motion to amend or disallow, the ACT Government will commission a new sign for the suburb to explain the origin and significance of the name.

five dollar note — Spence is commemorated on the Australian five-dollar note.

How you provided feedback

ACT Place Names sought input from the community about the proposal to co-name the suburb of Spence to commemorate Catherine Helen Spence. Feedback was collected through a quick poll, the feedback form, and via email at placenames@act.gov.au. Engagement closed on 1 December 2022. The Listening Report shows the findings of community engagement.

Quick Poll

Do you agree to co-name the suburb of Spence to commemorate Catherine Helen Spence as well as William Guthrie Spence?

This poll has concluded.

Total Votes: 81

About Catherine Helen Spence

Catherine Helen Spence (1825–1910) was an author, teacher, journalist and social and political reformer. She was Australia's first female political candidate and a lifelong campaigner for electoral reform.

Spence's influence on suffrage culminated in South Australia being the first Australian colony to grant the vote to women, and the first in the world to give women the right to stand for parliament.

Spence suburb location

Spence is located adjacent to the suburbs of Fraser, Melba and Evatt. The suburb is to the south of Owen Dixon Drive and Kuringa Drive and also bounded by Alpen Street and Copland Drive.

Location of Spence in the ACT — The suburb (Division) of Spence

The instrument the co-naming of Spence has been approved and notified. The determination is available on the ACT Legislation Register at the following link:

DI2023-86 Spence co-naming

Document Library

Listening Report - Campbell, Kingston & Spence
PDF (589.33 KB)

Catherine Helen Spence

Research a place name

Use the ACTmapi place name tool to learn about the origin and significance of ACT place names.

Contact Us

Have questions or want to learn more about a project? Contact us on the channels below:

Name	ACT Place Names
Phone	13 22 81
Email	placenames@act.gov.au
Website	www.planning.act.gov.au/tools_resources/place_names

Frequently asked questions

The suburb of Spence was named in 1972 to commemorate William Guthrie Spence (1846-1926). William Spence co-founded the Australian Workers' Union and was later a member of the first Australian House of Representatives.

Co-naming Spence is a way to recognise Catherine Helen Spence, a Scottish-born Australian author, teacher, journalist, social and political reformer and campaigner for women’s rights.
Canberra is the home of Australia’s political system and co-naming the suburb after Catherine Helen Spence is an appropriate way to commemorate a woman who did much to help Australian women get the vote.
The suburb of Spence is sometimes mistakenly attributed with Catherine Spence instead of the trade unionist William Guthrie Spence, who is unrelated.
Co-naming Spence would bring the number of Canberra suburbs named after women to 13.

Yes. Currently, three suburbs co-commemorate the names of separate people, including the Belconnen suburb of Cook, co-named after the explorer Captain James Cook and Sir Joseph Cook, Australia’s sixth Prime Minister. The other co-named suburbs are Forrest and Denman Prospect.

No. Co-naming of the suburb would not change anyone’s actual address. The change would be made by installing new informative signs at the entrances to the suburb. (Similar to the already existing informative signs in the suburbs named after Prime Ministers.) The ACT’s place name database ACTmapi would also be updated so the new information could be searchable.

Spence Place in the Woden suburb of Hughes was named in 1963, to recognise both Catherine Helen Spence and William Guthrie Spence.