Two hundred Canberrans came out on a cold night to express their concerns about the future use of four acres of land between the Woden Valley school and the shopping centre, as told by a Canberra Times reporter this day in 1970.
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It was a rare Canberra example of a community aroused against the planners.
The origins of that successful meeting lay in events that took place in 1969.
Then, the land between the shops and the school was set aside for church and community services.
But when the churches preferred another site, the land was re-allocated by the NCDC for group housing.
The Torrens community was not consulted. A number of people belonging to the Parents and Citizens Association objected to group housing, instead opting for a community hall.
The commission gave the residents of Torrens one year in which to demonstrate that the community could make good use of the remaining two acres close to the school, otherwise it would be used for group housing.
Meanwhile, similar planning conflicts were happening elsewhere in the new suburbs of Canberra.
The gap between planning and construction was the cause of friction between the NCDC and the community in Pearce, Mawson, Curtin and Hughes.
And as in the Torrens case, the sites were to developed should a church or organisation change its mind about going ahead with their use.
