Australia · Australian Capital Territory · Canberra
Nicholls, Canberra — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Nicholls is a Gungahlin suburb of Canberra, named for Sir Douglas Nicholls and wrapped around the shallow water of Gungahlin Pond.
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Where to stay in Nicholls
Where the beds are, and what that means for the visit.
The Lakes golf course and Gungahlin Pond set the terms for a stay in Nicholls, where the housing on one side of the water has no direct road to the pondside promenade on the other. Nicholls itself has almost no rooms. Canberra keeps its lodging in the built-up districts, so a Nicholls night usually means a round of golf, a family visit, or a morning booked at the National Dinosaur Museum. Gungahlin is the practical fallback.
Few places to stay in Nicholls — most visitors book in Gungahlin nearby.
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About Nicholls
What are the main landmarks in Nicholls?
Nicholls carries one visitor attraction of note. The National Dinosaur Museum sits in the suburb, and the rest of what draws people is water and grass: Gungahlin Pond, the pondside promenade with its bird-named streets, and The Lakes golf course. Two halves, no connecting road.
Getting from the golf side to the promenade means going the long way round, because Nicholls has no direct link across the water.
What is the history of Nicholls?
Douglas Nicholls gave the suburb its name. Sir Douglas Nicholls, born in 1906 at the Cummeragunja Aboriginal mission in New South Wales, played football, worked as a pastor and an activist, and served as Governor of South Australia from 1976 to 1977. The suburb followed in 1994.
Its streets were named after sportspeople, following the philosophy Canberra applies to street naming.
Where is Nicholls?
Gungahlin Pond splits Nicholls in two, The Lakes golf course along one shore and the bird-named pondside promenade along the other.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Nicholls?
Nicholls: golfers at The Lakes course and families heading for the National Dinosaur Museum. Gungahlin: travellers who want the Gungahlin district close by with Nicholls a short drive off.
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Updated October 2026