An entreprenurial spirit drove Henry Ferdinand Halloran to envision a majestic (and profitable) housing development near Canberra in the early 20th century. The development only got as far as a lovely stone arch, some ornamental pillars, and a few bandstands before the Great Depression caused Halloran to abandon his plans. I find the idea that one of the world's youngest cities - a planned city - (construction began in 1913) can have a 'ghost town' amazing.
The land is still held by Halloran’s family, and in the 1970s they built their own residence there. The home remains the sole modern structure in what could have been a thriving suburb. Although none of the Environa plots were ever sold, the planned use of the land makes it seem a ghost town today, even though it is bounded by Canberra's ever increasing sprawl. It's possible with their apparent housing shortage crisis that Environa could still become a surburb yet. Check out its location on View Larger Map'>Google maps>
Not all abandoned towns are the result of accidents, disasters, or poor planning. Some are intentionally abandoned in an effort to create something new and beneficial. The town Adaminaby was permanently evacuated and intentionally flooded in 1957 as part of the Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme. Over 100 buildings were moved to the town’s new site 9 kilometers away, but others were left in place when the water was brought in. In 2007 the drought uncovered the remnants. The newly exposed remnants of the old town were haunting not only because of the life they used to hold, but because they were reminders of the severity of the drought. (And what a waste of what had been a truly different dive site!).
I couldn't get this link to work as a slideshow, but you can manually advance through these "Running on empty" pictures and it has bridges photos too! See also my blog entry on Lake Eildon (1 April 2008)
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