- Mobile users: Google Earth Engine has not been optimised for smartphones. The timelapses only work on desktop and laptop computers.
It's a tell-tale sign the years have crept up on you, but Canberra too has got broader with age.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The expansion of the territory is something we all know, but a nifty interactive created by Google Earth Engine is allowing us to witness 32 years of change in a manner of seconds.
It begins with a Canberra before Gungahlin, prior the creation of Lake Tuggeranong and when suburbs south of Monash were still under development.
Pan, zoom and play with this tool created by compiling more than 5 million satellite shots. But before you take a world walk, jump back in time and see the top five most striking changes in the ACT region.
1. See Gungahlin appear as if from nowhere
Gungahlin was officially launched in 1991 as the ACT's fourth town centre.
It began with close to 300 residents.
There were close to 35,000 residents in 2007 and the projected populations for 2019 is 55,000.
2. Molonglo Valley Pine Forests disappear and make way for Coombs and Wright
In 2001 fires lit by an arsonist on the Uriarra and Coppins Crossing Roads crossed Tuggeranong Parkway.
The blazes threatened Duffy, Holder, Weston, Yarralumla and Curtin, burnt to the shores of Lake Burley Griffin and destroyed 510 hectares of pine plantation.
In 2003 fires burning for nine days spread across Namadgi National Park.
Fires burned through the Western Creek area, killing four ACT residents and destroying 164,000 hectares - nearly 70 per cent of land in the Territory.
3. Lake Tuggeranong is created and southern suburbs begin to land on the map
Lake Tuggeranong was created in 1987 and coincided with vast development in Canberra's south. After Calwell and Theodore were founded in 1986, the establishment of Gordon, Condor and Banks soon followed.
Tuggeranong is one of the most populated ACT districts and accounts for more than 89,000 residents or 22 per cent of the ACT population.
4. Construction beyond Jerrabomberra wetlands: Majura Park, Brindabella Business Park, and Canberra Airport.
A lease to the airport site was sold to Canberra International Pty Ltd in 1998 and was decommissioned as a RAAF base in 2003.
Before the airport redevelopment began in 2009 there was one building made up of two terminals and the new design increased space by 65 per cent.
5. Watch Lake George as it shrinks and grows
Lake George is 25 kilometres long, 10 kilometres wide, and very shallow. It has no surface outflow but water is lost through evaporation and underground seepage.
This natural drainage basin is fed by 10 major tributaries that drain from the surrounding hilly country. The closed basin dries up in drought years and cannot provide a secure water source to local users.
