One of the last glimpses of an older, rural Canberra has disappeared.
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The demolition team moved in to knock down the Edlington Farmhouse on Smith Street in Weetangera on Wednesday evening.
The digger was only waiting for the truck to arrive so the rubble could be carted away. When the truck came, the digger got stuck in.
"It's part of Canberra's history," historian Barbara Dawson said.
Until 60 or so years ago, the building was part of a large dairy farm but gradually the city suburban sprawl has surrounded it.
It's not a particularly old building - just a working farmhouse - but it is significant, and it gives a glimpse of the area before Canberra spread.
When the couple who ran the historic, pre-Canberra Duntroon dairy farm found that much of their grazing land was about to be inundated with the water that would become Lake Burley Griifin, they decided to seek pastures new.
The pair - Bill and May Edlington - found those new pastures where the doomed farmhouse now stands.
Six decades ago, it was farmland but today it is classic Canberra suburbia.
Lake Burley Griffin was completed in 1963 but there is still a sign of the old Duntroon dairy in the name, Dairy Road at the Fyshwick end.
"In Weetangera, the Edlington's again conducted a dairy, with rich pastures, and grew wheat," Dr Dawson wrote in the Canberra Historical Journal.
"The Edlingtons' farm extended northeast to include the area around the present Lathlain and Jesephson streets, Belconnen and northwest into the current suburb of Latham."
Not only did the couple farm for a living but they bred and trained race horses. Mr Edlington's obituary described him as "one of the best known racing personalities in the Canberra district".
One of his horses, Allocate, won six races in a row, including the Canberra Cup in 1952, while Darylus, Sir Dutton and Final Encounter were all famed winners in their day.
Eventually, the couple's younger son, John, took over at Weetangera farm, and he continued the horse training enterprise.
It's a pity these things have to come down. It's a symbol of Canberra's history - a tangible reminder of our past. It looks back to when this area was a pastoral area before the suburban sprawl took over.
- Dr Barbara Dawson
But the onward march of suburbia was relentless, and the family moved out to Gundaroo.
Canberra property prices played a part. The house and 2609 square metres of land were sold for two million dollars in 2018.
The farm-house remained as a solitary reminder of a different Canberra as the pleasant modern homes rose around it - until now.
Dr Dawson didn't quite call the demolition progress but she accepted the inevitable - with a tinge of sadness.
"It's a pity these things have to come down," she said.
"It's a symbol of Canberra's history - a tangible reminder of our past.
"It looks back to when this area was a pastoral area before the suburban sprawl took over."
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
