She has an old photograph which shows the newly constructed home, which had set her and her husband back $22,370, surrounded by a large patch of red earth.

It's a far cry from the leafy suburbs people would associate with Weston Creek today.

This year marks 50 years since Weston Creek's first suburbs, Waramanga and Fisher, were gazetted, with Chapman, Duffy, Holder, Rivett, Stirling and Weston following not long after.

Weston Creek residents gathered in Fetherston Gardens last week to celebrate the milestone.

When Ms Wilson first arrived in Holder she had to take a significant detour through the suburb to get to her home as there was no bridge across Weston Creek.

"There were no footpaths, no street trees, we had to wait three months to get a telephone," she recalled.

"In the meantime if we needed a telephone we had to walk down to a public telephone box on Dixon Drive."

Mick Collins has called Weston Creek home for all but one of its 50 years, living in Fisher, Weston, Rivett and now Waramanga.

"There was no Woden when I came to Canberra, it didn't exist. Yarralumla was the last borderline area," Mr Collins said.

"Most suburbs [in Weston Creek] had schools in them, most suburbs had service stations, today there's only one service station in Weston Creek.

"They're the sort of things that change through time."

Ms Wilson said when she and her husband made the decision to move west their friends remarked that it was "way out in the sticks".

However she said as the years passed Weston Creek had proven to be a very central location.

Both Mr Collins and Ms Wilson had memories of Weston Creek being a vibrant area full of families. As Ms Wilson explained, when she moved to Holder in the early 1970s it was a cheap area where families could afford buy their first home.

Mr Collins said it was thanks to his children attending the local schools that helped him develop strong ties to the community.

"There was a great relationship with families mixing, doing things together, the kids played soccer and other sports, I played tennis in the area," Mr Collins said.

"When the kids go to school you're involved in school activities as parents and you mix with all the people in this area as such and it was a small enough population that you knew everyone else around."

For Ms Wilson, who spent several years posted to different parts of Asia and the USA with her husband who worked in foreign affairs, it was always important to be able to return to an area that felt like home.

This dictated the decision to rebuild their home on the same Holder block when it was lost in the 2003 bushfires, a tragic event etched in the memory of most Weston Creek residents.

For all the many things that have changed over the past 50 years, perhaps Weston Creek's biggest drawcard has remained the same - the strong community feel.

"Today, 50 years on, I can still go to Cooleman Court and still see people I knew from my days as a parent and you had young kids at school together," Mr Collins said.

"These are the sort of things that I love.

"It’s the environment, it's the people, it’s the atmosphere and it’s the surroundings."

Weston Creek Community Council chair Tom Anderson is completing a story book project focussing on the early days of Weston Creek and is calling for any stories, photos or memories that can be added to the project.

Do you have fond memories from your Canberra suburb? Share them with us. Email your stories and old photos to sunday@canberratimes.com.au