Barton (postcode: 2600) is a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. At the 2021 census, Barton had a population of 1,946 people.
Barton is adjacent to Capital Hill. It contains the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Attorney-General's Department, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and several other Commonwealth government departments.
On Kings Avenue is the controversial Edmund Barton Building, which was made a heritage listed building in 2005, but its modernist design has often been criticised.
The boundary of Barton runs along Telopea Park East in the south east. On the east side it surrounds the East Basin of Lake Burley Griffin. In the north east the boundary is Morshead Drive. The boundary continues along Kings Avenue all the way to State Circle. State Circle forms the boundary with Capital Hill to the west. The boundary then extends along the centre of Sydney Avenue, and finally along New South Wales Crescent back to Telopea Park.
Settlement of Barton began in 1922. The first stage of the heritage-listed Barton Housing Precinct began in 1926 and 1927. It was named after Sir Edmund Barton, the father of the White Australia Policy, in 1928. Streets in Barton are named after Governors.
The following areas are heritage listed:
The former Patent Office and the Edmund Barton building are outside the jurisdiction of the ACT Heritage Council but are recognised and protected in the Commonwealth Heritage List.
At the 2021 census, the population of Barton was 1,946. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.0% of the population. 62.5% of the population were born in Australia. Only 6.3% of dwellings were separate houses (compared to the Australian average of 72.3%) and 3.0% were semi-detached, row or terrace houses (Australian average: 12.6%), while 90.9% were flats, units or apartments (Australian average: 14.2%). 46.5% of the population were professionals, compared to the Australian average of 24.0%. Notably 31.6% worked in central government administration, compared to the Australian average of 1.1% and the ACT-wide average of 17.1%. The median weekly personal income for people aged 15 years was $1,775, compared to the median Australian income of $805. Barton is favoured by young adults with 26.4% of its population in the 25- to 34-year-old age group (compared to the Australian average of 14.3%). The suburb has few children under 15: 7.2%, compared to 18.2% Australia-wide. 46.6% of the dwellings are occupied by single person households, compared to the Australian average of 25.6%. 47.2% of the population had no religion and 13.3% did not state their religion, while 13.3% were Catholic and 8.8% were Anglican.
History info courtesy of WikipediaLevel 9, 2 Phillip Law Street, Canberra, ACT, 2601
Phone: (02) 6147 2277
