About Wybalena

Wybalena Grove was established in 1974 by the Cook-Aranda Cooperative Housing Society. The first houses were completed and occupied in early 1977. Wybalena was roughly contemporary with Urambi Village, a similar group housing scheme in Kambah.

The Cooperative was formed at a time when there was interest in alternative forms of housing and when there was an influx of public servants and academics moving to Canberra from other parts of Australia. The origins of this interest resulted from a complex interaction of factors. Some wanted to explore the idea of 'living cooperatively'. Another group saw the Cooperative as a means to reduce building costs by using the same materials and building at the same time.

The 105 townhouses at Wybalena Grove vary in size and layout. Units are grouped in twos, threes, or fours. A few are free standing. They are stepped back such that each unit has privacy from its neighbours and unobstructed views and all units have a northerly aspect. Shared facilities include a playing oval, tennis courts, barbecue facilities including a wood-fired pizza oven under a shelter, a Community Garden and children's playgrounds. A solar generation sytem sufficient to match the site's requirement for public area lighting is installed.

Living in Wybalena Grove

Wybalena Grove is a strata title development - Units Plan number 116. The Owners Corporation consists of all 105 class B (i.e. townhouse) units and the common property and the owner of each unit is a member of the Owners Corporation.

The rights and responsibilities of unit-titled property owners are different from those of other forms of title in the ACT. The legislation governing the 105 units in Wybalena Grove is contained primarily in the Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011 (UTMA) as amended from time to time.

Where there is shared ownership of property there is a need for established rules. The UTMA provides most of the rules for owners to exercise their responsibilities through an Owners Corporation (formerly ‘Body Corporate’). Each and every owner is a member of the Owners Corporation. Each year, the Owners Corporation (OC) elects an Executive Committee (EC) that exercises the functions of the OC between Annual General Meetings. The EC has the responsibility and power to administer and maintain the common property in accordance with the UTMA, other applicable legislation, and the Owners Corporation’s own rules and decisions, which extend the Act.

The Wybalena Grove Information Booklet (2025) provides current information to owners and residents about the principles, policies and practices which underlie the development and maintenance of Wybalena Grove.

The Grove’s architecture

Wybalena Grove was designed by Sydney architect Michael Dysart in 1974. It is a relatively rare and well-preserved example of cluster housing in the late twentieth century Sydney regional style in the Canberra suburb of Cook.

Houses in the Grove range from one to five bedrooms in size to accommodate diverse lifestyle requirements and include single, split, and tri-level designs.

Characteristic of the Sydney regional style is the use of natural materials and houses that follow the slope of the site, with single, split and tri-level planning. The architectural features of the multiple unit housing constructed of Bowral brick, tile and rough sawn timber create a natural aesthetic. Important elements include:

• exposed beams

• timber balconies

• western red cedar framed glazing

• panelled front doors

• face brickwork

In 2019 Wybalena Grove was given the Sir Roy Grounds Award for Enduring Architecture by the ACT Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects. The award for enduring architecture is for buildings and houses of outstanding merit that, considered in a contemporary context, remain important as high quality works of architecture.

Wybalena Grove is nominated to the ACT Heritage Register. That nomination is currently under assessment.

Our landscape

Wybalena Grove houses are sited within a natural bushland setting and the intact landscaping is integrated with the houses. The original natural bushland areas include the dry schlerophyll forest in the centre of the site, the dense woodland at the northwestern corner, the open woodland along the western boundary and the native grassland in the southeastern corner.

Contacting Wybalena

To contact Wybalena Grove by email.

General email: ec@wybalenagrove.net.au
Questions about the website: martin@wybalenagrove.net.au

Manager contact details

The managing agent for Wybalena Grove is is LMM Solutions.

LMM Solutions Pty Ltd
ACN 609 866 588
ABN 38 509 624 936
Managing Agents Licence No. 18402264

Postal Address:

PO Box 884
Gungahlin ACT 2912
Phone: (02) 5110 3200

Email: enquiries@LMMsolutions.com.au

Image credit

Header image courtesy of Michael Jensma.