Rural Blocks Around Canberra: Hall, Wallaroo, Tharwa, Bungendore and Murrumbateman
A growing number of Canberrans own acreage within half an hour of the city. Water, fencing, driveways, sheds and fire preparation on Tablelands granite and clay.
Half an hour from Parliament House you can be on fifty acres of granite and gum trees. Hall, Wallaroo and Sutton to the north, Tharwa and Lanyon to the south, Bungendore to the east and Murrumbateman and Gundaroo up the highway: the rural ring around Canberra is full of public servants with a tractor and a long list of jobs.
Water
Tablelands rainfall is modest and unreliable, so water storage matters. Dams are cleaned and repaired in late summer when they are low; poly lines to troughs and tanks are trenched below frost and stock depth (450 to 600 mm); tank pads and pump pits are shaped and levelled. The R22 PRO handles most of it; the R57 PRO desilts bigger dams from the bank.
Fencing
Granite means post holes are either easy or impossible. An auger on the excavator drills through weathered granite and clay in a minute; where it hits solid rock, move the post or use a rock drill. Old fences come out with a grab. Horse properties around Wallaroo and Murrumbateman mean post-and-rail by the kilometre.
Driveways
Long gravel driveways need crowning, table drains and culverts to survive a Tablelands winter. A skid steer with a dozer blade or 4-in-1 bucket grades and spreads; the excavator cuts the drains and sets the culverts.
Sheds
A shed pad on a slope is cut and filled with the excavator, compacted, and drained above so runoff goes around it. Footings in granite country want a toothed bucket and, sometimes, a breaker.
Bushfire
The 2003 fires reached the suburbs; the rural ring takes fuel management seriously. A skid steer brush cutter takes grass and scrub down in spring, a grapple and chipper handle timber, and the excavator's rake clears debris. The ACT Rural Fire Service and NSW RFS publish the expectations for each side of the border.
Cold
Frozen ground on winter mornings, frozen troughs and water lines that were not buried deep enough. See the Canberra clay and frost guide.
Machines
The R22 PRO as the all-round rural excavator, the R32 PRO with a cab for full days in winter, an RS10 skid steer for driveways, fencing materials and fire preparation. See the Yass and Tablelands guide and check the towing check for getting a machine home behind the ute.