From the 1820s, and prior to it becoming a sporting precinct, this area was occupied by two pastoral properties - Canberry on the eastern side and Springbank (owned by Charles Kaye) on the western side. The Commonwealth government acquired these properties in 1911 and 1912 respectively, and Charles Kaye then leased back his Springbank property.

The viability of this sporting precinct was threatened by significant Molonglo River flood events - in 1916, 1925, 1931, 1934, 1948, 1950 and 1956 - with Acton Flats and Royal Canberra Gold Course significantly impacted.

In addition, Walter Burley Griffin's winning entry for the 1911 Australian Federal Capital City Design Competition proposed that the area be covered by a lake.

From 1911, Acton became Canberra's administrative centre, with office buildings and accommodation. The government nursery (1913) and Canberra Hospital (1914) were also located in Acton. After 1913, the Acton Sports Grounds on the river flats north and east of Charles Kaye's home at Springbank became an important sporting venue.

The early Acton Sports Grounds (the area now between Acton Peninsula and Springbank Island) included fields for Australian football, soccer, rugby union and cricket. The grounds were poorly marked out, had a rough surface and relied on Kaye's 100 sheep to keep grass and weeds under control. The establishment of these grounds led to the formation of several Acton clubs in cricket (1912), Australian football (1924), rugby league (1927), and hockey (1927). In their early years, competition premierships came to the Australian football (1924, 1927) and rugby league (1928) clubs but the Great Depression and the development of other parts of Canberra led to the demise of these clubs over time.

But when Manuka Oval became Canberra's primary sports venue after 1930, the central role of the Acton Sports Grounds began to decline - for example the St Patrick's sports carnivals and Burns Club Highland Gatherings transferred to Manuka. The use of the Acton Sports Grounds declined even further in the 1940s with the establishment of other sports grounds in Canberra which, unlike Acton, were not surrounded by the Acton Racecourse and the Federal Golf Course.

The second Acton sports ground, the Acton Flats sports fields (in the area which is now the West Basin) was established in the late 1920s. It became the home of women's sport, mostly hockey and basketball (netball). Cricket and rugby union were also played at the fields. In 1946, the Acton Flats Sports Fields were rented by four sporting bodies - women's basketball, women's hockey, the University Cricket Club and the ACT Cricket Association. Grounds maintenance was carried out by the Commonwealth government. Interestingly, Don Selth in his book More Than a Game noted that sporting teams from outside Canberra often complained that they could not locate the Acton Flats sports fields which is surprising as Acton was a relatively small suburb.

The first golf course in Canberra was established in 1913 in the area behind the current National Film and Sound Archive. This nine-hole golf course moved to Acton Sports Ground in 1922 after the construction of the White City camp and became the Acton Golf Course. But the Federal Capital Advisory Committee saw the Acton Golf Course as only a temporary arrangement and began planning an 18-hole course in a different location - the Molonglo River flats behind the Albert Hall and Hotel Canberra.

The Acton Golf Club was formed in 1928 but always struggled to attract members. Regular course maintenance was also problematic, particularly during the Great Depression. Challenges included Charles Kaye's grazing sheep, a fourth hole across Sullivan's Creek and strong spring grass growth that sometimes required burning off.

In 1933, the Acton Golf Club was renamed the Federal Golf Club. When the Department of the Interior approved the removal of the Club's third and fourth fairways in 1946, as part of upgrading the Acton Racecourse, the need for a new home was clear. In May 1947, the Minister for the Interior approved funding for a new course in Red Hill, to become the permanent home of the Federal Golf Course.

Construction work began on the Canberra Golf Course in 1924 with the first nine holes finished by 1925. In a sign of times to come, Molonglo River flooding in May 1925 damaged several holes along the river. Canberra Golf Club was formed on July 19, 1926, and prime minister Stanley Bruce, a lifelong golfer, officially opened the course on December 10, 1927. Canberra Golf Club was granted "Royal" status by King George V in 1933 and renamed Royal Canberra Golf Club.

The Molonglo River was a constant mental hazard for golfers with holes 2, 3, 4, and 14 along the river and hole 15 across the river. The 1950 flood led to the suspension bridge being washed away and it being replaced by a pontoon bridge.

The relocation of the Royal Canberra Golf Course to its current site at Westbourne Woods was the result of a confluence of events. Canberra experienced severe drought conditions between 1941 and 1944 and this put the viability of Westbourne Woods at risk. In 1945, Dr Max Jacobs, principal of the Australian Forestry School, suggested that a permanent golf course on Westbourne Woods could sustain both the golf course and the Woods. With the decision in 1958 to construct Lake Burley Griffin, in line with the original Griffin plan, the decision was made to move to the Royal Canberra Golf Course to Westbourne Woods. The last competition on the Molonglo River course was held on October 31, 1962, and the Westbourne Woods course officially opened November 2, 1962.

The history of the Acton Racecourse completes this story. In October 1921, the Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League of Australia (RSSILA) held a sports carnival with four horse races at the Acton Sports Ground. Prior to the races, the racetrack was pegged out in an area surrounding the sports ground and Percy Douglas, a local sportsman and the city's fire chief, rode around the racetrack to see if it was safe. After Douglas's test ride, and before the races proceeded, stumps were removed, trees were felled and rabbit burrows were filled.

Subsequently, but before the end of 1924, a six-and-half furlong bare earth track was constructed. The track was not registered by the Australian Jockey Club as it was under eight furlongs but the Canberra Racing Club conducted meetings under the auspices of Associated Racing Clubs. The entrance gates were at the intersection of Liversidge Street and Balmain Crescent and the finishing post importantly directly below Canberra House, the residence of Federal Capital Commission commissioner John Butters.

The Canberra Racing Club was formed on January 21, 1925, and the first regular race meeting was held on February 28, 1925. The vagaries of racing at the Acton racetrack were highlighted in 1929 when the Farewell Handicap was aborted when Kaye's sheep wandered onto the track during the race. Another difficulty was that there were three racing clubs - ACT Jockey Club, Canberra Racing Club and Canberra Picnic Race Club - involved in organising race meetings. Horse racing was an important means of fundraising for local organisations including St John's Church, Cricket Association and Canberra Catholic Club.

There were no race meetings during the Great Depression as many labourers and tradesman, the greatest supporters of racing, had departed the city. Petrol rationing limiting travel during World War II meant that there were no race meetings from March 1940 to April 1946. After the war, in 1947, the Department of the Interior upgraded the racetrack to 80 yards short of a mile. Although a new racecourse was approved in 1950 for a site in Lyneham, racing continued at the Acton racetrack until 1962.

The Molonglo River flats surrounding Acton, now lying below Lake Burley Griffin, were an important sporting and social precinct in Canberra between 1911 to 1962. The future of the precinct was always under threat due to regular flooding, the development of other sports grounds and ultimately the construction of Lake Burley Griffin. The Acton Flats were particularly significant for women's sport, as they were the original home of women's sport in the city.