Kippax Centre, Australian Capital Territory
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Kippax Centre Coordinates: is a designated group centre located in the Canberra suburb of Holt. Named after cricketer Alan Kippax, it serves a sizable area of suburban Belconnen, including the suburbs of Higgins, Holt, Latham and Macgregor. It includes the Kippax Fair shopping centre (main tenant, Woolworths Supermarket), and the recently rebuilt Kippax Library, which is the only one in the area. The area also boasts two clubs on opposite sides of the Kippax Centre: the Magpies Club and the West Belconnen Leagues Club. A veterinarian and a tavern are in free-standing buildings. There are petrol stations on each end of the complex. The Kippax Uniting Community Centre is on the corner opposite the Fair, operated by Kippax Uniting Church.
Kippax supports one of the more economically deprived areas of the Australian Capital Territory; according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the area has 11% higher unemployment rates than the remainder of the Belconnen district. Add to this mix the Freemason's aged care complex over the road from Kippax Fair. The area also has a higher crime rate, and shops in the centre have had persistent problems with burglaries. As a result of the area's demographics, Kippax lacks the abundance of cafes and specialty stores that exist in most other Group Centres, instead containing more take away food stores and discount chains including an Aldi supermarket.
The centre is well-used, however, and has not faced the same problems that have faced others in the district (such as Jamison Centre). As of October 2005, most of the available retail space is occupied, and a new library has recently opened opposite Kippax Fair, replacing a dated temporary facility. As with several other Canberra centres, Kippax has its own markets, which are held every second Saturday inside Kippax Fair and sell mainly arts and crafts.
Kippax is regularly served by ACTION buses, with routes 16, 17 and 43 stopping at its bus interchange. It is also easily accessible by road off Southern Cross Drive and Starke Street.
