Have you ever wondered whether there were any towns in Canberra before the ACT was established? Hall is one of the last few remnants of what was NSW bushland before the capital was established. The historic village of 271 (2016) has a distinct identity and resembles a classic rural Australian town, but is in fact only separated from the Canberra suburbs by about a kilometre of countryside.

Hall was proclaimed in 1882, over 30 years before Canberra. It was named after NSW farmer Henry Hall. Today, that year is scattered around the small village in the names of stores, the museum, and on signs. The town is nestled between the two large residential districts of Belconnen and Gungahlin with the New South Wales border to the north, making it disguised on a map. If you're driving between Melbourne and Canberra or Adelaide and Canberra or anywhere using the Barton Highway, you may notice brown tourist "Hall" signs, also hidden and discreet; this discreetness makes Hall a hidden gem of Canberra.

35°10′16″S 149°3′47″E

Map of Hall

The first thing you will need to realise is that Hall is not on the beaten track, and the most practical way to get into the village is by car even though it's just 12 km northwest of Civic. There are no ACTION buses that run to Hall, though there are NSW buses that stop by Hall.

There are only three roads that enter Hall, all of which are side roads off Barton Highway. Follow the A25 signs; however as signage is a dog's breakfast in the ACT, you might still see the now-decommissioned green and gold National Highway 25 signs or even incorrectly-signed black and white National Route 25 signs. The side streets are Victoria Street (one northbound, and one southbound) and Gladstone Street.

If you're coming by bus, then use NSW bus route 843. The route runs between the City Interchange in Civic and Yass, with stops in Belconnen and Murrumbateman.

Hall is tiny – not even 3 km² (1.2 sq mi) – and you can pretty much get around by walking. You might want to take your car out to St. Francis Xavier’s Catholic Church, but otherwise, everything can be done on foot. Arguably, this may be beneficial as parking is somewhat limited in Hall (except for the few parking slots near the Canberra Centenary Trail), and you really wouldn't want to manoeuvre around in traffic during the markets, would you?

As Hall is just a tiny village, there is not much to see, and nearly everything can be visited in an hour or two.

• -35.167517149.0693621 Hall School Museum and Heritage Centre, 17-19 Palmer St, [email protected]. Th 9AM–noon, Su noon–4PM, 1st Sunday of every month: 10AM–4PM. The small district's local museum housed in the former Hall Primary School tells the history of the first teachers at bush schools in Australia, before 1940. The museum also contains some historic photos from Belconnen, Gungahlin, and Hall during the settlement era. (updated Mar 2022)
• -35.16275149.065572 St. Francis Xavier’s Catholic Church (St Francis Xavier’s Catholic Church), 220 Victoria St, ☏ +61 2 6242 9622. It's a bit to the north of the town, this catholic church was built in 1910 and laid in 1907, which wasn't exactly when this town was established, but it was still three years before Canberra was. The architecture of the church still resembles the typical architecture of the early 20th century. Masses happen every Sunday, but very few actually attend the masses. . (updated Jun 2022)

There are two parks within Hall: -35.172014149.0698613 Hall Park and -35.168348149.0680484 Hall Village Reserve, both easily findable. They're both pretty ordinary parks in most respects and have nothing unique though.

• -35.170294149.0743771 Hall Showground, cnr Gladstone and Hall Sts. The village's local showground where the Sunday markets and events usually occur. Apart from that, there is not much and it looks like rather any other rural Australian or NSW town's showground. (updated Jun 2022)
• Bushwalk to -35.142098149.0914245 One Tree Hill Lookout: while this lookout is in Gungahlin, one of the two bushwalking trails that lead up to the lookout starts at the corner of Hoskins and Hall Streets that gives an impressive view of Canberra from the north. The bushwalk should take about an hour (one-way) due to the ascent involved, via the Canberra Centenary Trail. Just next to the trail is a small carpark, which doesn't have many spaces available but few actually use that carpark in the first place.

• -35.169654149.0736381 Hartley Hall Markets, Hall Village Showground, Victoria St, ☏ +61 2 6282 4411, [email protected]. first Su of month (except Jan) 10AM-3PM. The historic village hosts a monthly market that raises money for local charity Hartley Lifecare. There are hundreds of stalls selling gifts, art, craft, baked goods, plants, furniture, clothing, pottery, and children’s toys. $2-5. (updated Aug 2022)
• -35.1713149.06942 Farmer Brown's Free Range Eggs, 2 Alexandra St, ☏ +61 402 840 834. One of Farmer Brown's self-serve outlets that entirely sells free-range eggs. The hens here have a lot of room (for those concerned about animal ethics) and whilst it may be a bit pricey, they do taste great. (updated Jul 2022)
• -35.1699149.06993 JellyBug Treasures, 10 Victoria St, ☏ +61 412 360 140. Th–M 10AM–4PM. A small shop full of Australian-made homeware products such as pots, tins, clocks, frames, or candles, just to name a few. (updated Jul 2022)

Hall has a few places to eat mostly located along the town's main street; Victoria Street. Except for 1882 Hall, which is a reasonably sized mid-range restaurant, all the others are small cafes or places where you can go to buy specialised food.

• -35.1708149.07081 1882 Hall, 13 Gladstone St, ☏ +61 2 6230 2113. W 5:30–10PM, Th F noon–10PM, Sa Su 8AM–10PM. Email via online contact form. With a name commemorating the year the township was established, the largest restaurant in Hall serves some of the best Canberran food, beer, and wine. Mains include posh fish and chips, duck confit, and pumpkin gnocchi. They also do a creative woodfired pizza menu, for eat-in or takeaway - potato and rosemary or garlic prawns, anyone? Mains $30-40, pizza $23-25. Set menu (F Sa) 2 courses $55, 3 courses $65. (updated Aug 2022)
• -35.1704149.06972 Daughters at Hall, 5 Victoria St, ☏ +61 2 6230 2457, [email protected]. M–F 6:30AM–3PM, Sa Su 8AM–3PM. A classic rural Australian cafe, best known for its Yes Mumma, that is, creamy oats with apples, cream, and crumbles. Other than that, there are many vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options also available. (updated Jun 2022)
• -35.1709149.07063 Kynefin Cafe, 2-4 Victoria St, ☏ +61 2 6230 9777, [email protected]. W–F 8:30AM–3PM, Sa Su 8AM–3PM, last orders 2PM. A small cafe with lots of tasty British pastries. The name of the cafe is inspired by the Welsh word cynefin, meaning "habitat", reflecting the quaint, familiar feeling of both the cafe and Hall. (updated Aug 2022)
• -35.1702149.07014 Sugar Plum Fairy Cakes, 2/8 Victoria St, ☏ +61 432 101 179. Tu-F 7AM–4:30PM Sa Su 7AM–2PM. It's not very large by any means, but they do a delicious and fancy range of cakes (particularly cupcakes), plus coffee. Cookies $5, 6 cupcakes $40, cakes from $150. (updated Aug 2022)

There are many places to go wine-tasting surrounding Hall, but only one within Hall. The rest are in Murrumbateman and surrounds but in New South Wales, and hence not covered in this article.

• -35.1706149.07091 Capital Wines, 13 Gladstone St, ☏ +61 2 6230 2022, [email protected]. Th–M 10:30AM–5PM. Has wine tasting in some of the Australian Capital Territory's few wine regions with lots of Canberra labels on there. The wines are from the few surrounding wineries (in NSW), making it a great place to go to if you'd like to try the local wine. (updated Jun 2022)

There is no accommodation in Hall, and the closest you can find is in either Belconnen or Gungahlin.

Telstra, Optus, and even Vodafone have good 5G coverage in Hall, owing to its close proximity to the residential districts of Canberra. However, there are no CBRfree public Wi-Fi locations in Hall.

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