Canberra/Hall

Have you ever wondered whether there were any settlements in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) before it was established? Hall is one of the last few remnants of what was New South Wales (NSW) bushland before the capital was established. The historic village of 298 (2021) has a distinct identity and resembles a classic Australian rural town, but is in fact only separated from the Canberra suburbs by about a kilometre of countryside.

Hall was proclaimed in 1882, over 30 years before Canberra. It was named after NSW farmer Henry Hall. Today, that year is scattered around the small village in the names of stores, the museum, and on signs. It is nestled between the two large residential districts of Belconnen and Gungahlin with the New South Wales border to the north, making it disguised on a map. If you're driving between Melbourne and Canberra or Adelaide and Canberra or anywhere using the Barton Highway, you may notice brown tourist "Hall" signs, also hidden and discreet; this discreetness makes Hall a hidden gem of Canberra.

Get in and around
The first thing you will need to understand is that Hall is not on the beaten track, and the most practical way to get into the village is by car even though it's just northwest of Civic. There are no Transport Canberra buses that run to Hall, though there are NSW buses that stop by Hall.

There are only three roads that enter Hall, all of which are side roads off Barton Highway. Follow the A25 signs; however as signage is a dog's breakfast in the ACT, you might still see the now-decommissioned green and gold National Highway 25 signs or even incorrectly-signed black and white National Route 25 signs. The side streets are Victoria Street (one northbound, and one southbound) and Gladstone Street.

If you're coming by bus, then use NSW bus route 843. The route runs between Yass and the City Interchange in Civic, with stops in Belconnen and Murrumbateman. The route does not operate during weekends and only operates once a day each way. However, with the lack of accommodation in Hall, this only works as a day-trip from Yass. If you do not mind walking, an alternate way to visit Hall would be to take a Transport Canberra bus to Gold Creek Village in Gungahlin via Transport Canberra bus route 24, and then walking north-northwest via the Bicentennial National Trail towards Hall. The trail may not be well signposted, but if you can't find the path, follow the path that parallels northeast of the Barton Highway. If that confuses you, this map should help you visualise the route.

If you walk or cycle, you can get to Hall on the Canberra Centenary Trail from Northern Border Campsite. Allow 5 hours to walk the 14.5 km. Hall is also a stop on the Bicentennial National Trail, a 5,330-km route from Queensland to Victoria.

Hall is tiny – not even – and you can pretty much get around by walking. You might want to take your car out to St. Francis Xavier’s Catholic Church, but otherwise, everything can be done on foot. Arguably, this may be beneficial as parking is somewhat limited in Hall (except for the few parking slots near the Canberra Centenary Trail), and you really wouldn't want to manoeuvre around in traffic during the markets, would you?

See
As Hall is just a tiny village, there is not much to see, and nearly everything can be visited in an hour or two.

There are two parks within Hall: and, both easily findable. They're both pretty ordinary parks in most respects and have nothing unique though.

Do

 * Bushwalk to : while this lookout is in Gungahlin, one of the two bushwalking trails that lead up to the lookout starts at the corner of Hoskins and Hall Streets, and gives an impressive view of Canberra from the north. The bushwalk should take about an hour (one-way) due to the ascent involved via the Canberra Centenary Trail. Just next to the trail is a small carpark, which doesn't have many spaces available, but few use that carpark in the first place.
 * Bushwalk to : while this lookout is in Gungahlin, one of the two bushwalking trails that lead up to the lookout starts at the corner of Hoskins and Hall Streets, and gives an impressive view of Canberra from the north. The bushwalk should take about an hour (one-way) due to the ascent involved via the Canberra Centenary Trail. Just next to the trail is a small carpark, which doesn't have many spaces available, but few use that carpark in the first place.

Eat
Hall has a few places to eat, mostly along Victoria Street, the town's main street. Except for 1882 Hall, a reasonably sized mid-range restaurant, all the others are small cafes or places where you can buy specialised food.

Drink
There are many places to go wine-tasting surrounding Hall, but only one within Hall. The rest are in Murrumbateman, Wallaroo and its surrounds but in New South Wales, and hence not covered in this article.

Sleep
There is no accommodation in Hall, and the closest you can find is in either Belconnen or Gungahlin.

Connect
Telstra, Optus, and even Vodafone have good 5G coverage in Hall, owing to its close proximity to the residential districts of Canberra. However, there are no CBRfree public Wi-Fi locations in Hall.