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| Kowen Australian Capital Territory | |||||||||||||||
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  Kowen | |||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 35°18′39″S149°18′49″E / 35.31078°S 149.31367°E /-35.31078; 149.31367 | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 38 (2016 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 0.494/km2 (1.278/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2609 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 77.0 km2 (29.7 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Territory electorate(s) | Kurrajong | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Fenner | ||||||||||||||
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Kowen is adistrict in theAustralian Capital Territory inAustralia.[2] It is situated in the northeast corner of the ACT, to the east of Sutton Road and the town ofQueanbeyan,New South Wales. Kowen is primarily covered by pine forests, and is also used for farming. The main highway between the ACT and the south coast region, theKings Highway, runs directly through the Kowen.
The 1966 Act describes the Kowen District as being:
The area is well known to mountain bikers as the site of the Sparrow Hill mountain biking area, an eastern enclave of Kowen Forest. A new 5 km alignment of theKings Highway was constructed in 2010–11 to improve the safety of the road. The new section divides Sparrow Hill into two parts, and includes overtaking lanes in both directions, and bypasses a dangerous, winding section of road, including at least six bends.[3]
Some of the early settlers in the district prior to the establishment of the Australian Capital Territory made their homes on the Kowen district. Luke and Mary Colverwell settled in a cottage on the banks of Glenburn Creek in what is now known as Kowen Forest.[4]
Kowen is perhaps best known for its large pine plantations, known as Kowen Forest. A combined softwood plantation and firewood forest was established at Kowen in about 1926, on land described as otherwise useless.[5] An additional 100 acres ofpinus insignis were planted at Kowen in 1928 as part of a 1,000 acre expansion of pine plantations across the new Federal Territory district.[6] When most of Canberra's forest estate was destroyed in the January 2003 bushfire, the Kowen plantation was the only forest that remained undamaged.[7]
TheAustralian Defence Force joint command and control facility, known asHeadquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC), is situated adjacent to the Kowen District, about halfway between the towns ofQueanbeyan andBungendore.
Residential development in the Kowen district has not been ruled out as part of the Australian Capital Territory's future expansion. Although the ACT's urban expansion needs for the foreseeable future will be accommodated by Gungahlin and the new Molonglo Valley development, the ACT Spatial Plan acknowledges that if the population of the ACT continues to grow beyond the capacity of these areas, further settlement will occur on the Kowen Plateau.[8] Development of the Majura Parkway to the north of Canberra Airport would provide key access to the area.
