Dawn Wilson

Canberra resident with memories of Acton
Born: 1934, Canberra
Maiden Name: Dawn Jenkins
Interview: December 2013

“My name is Dawn Wilson, I used to be Dawn Jenkins before I married. I was born in Canberra in 1934 at the first Canberra Community Hospital, which is now part of the Australian National University. I grew up in Canberra, in Griffith, and went to Telopea Primary School and then to Canberra High School, which is now the ANU School of Art building.

My mother's family came to Canberra from Bathurst in the early 1920s. My grandfather Jack Shea worked in the Kingston Powerhouse, and my father Herb Jenkins came here in 1927 – transferred from Melbourne – to work in the government printing office. He was one of the first men to introduce Australian Rules Football to Canberra.

Some of my earliest memories of Acton were the very dusty racecourse, which had part of the golf course on the same site - hence no golf on race days. One of my uncles, Jim Brinkman was very involved in the development of the golf course and was later Secretary. When I was at Canberra High School, I played hockey and basketball on the Acton flats which is now the West Basin.”