The land was originally settled by James Martin, a former soldier in the New South Wales Corps, who in August 1827 applied to the government for permission to rent 2,000 acres (810 ha) of land on which he had already built a dwelling and barn, was grazing cattle and sheep, and had sown 12 acres (4.9 ha) with wheat.
It was owned successively by Sir Terence Aubrey Murray, Augustus Gibbes and Frederick Campbell, until it was resumed in 1913 as part of a land acquisition scheme after the Federal Capital Territory, was declared in 1911.
[7] The earliest homesteads in the valley were Weston (in the present suburb of Holder), Cooleman (on the southern edge of Chapman), The Rivers (corner of Uriarra Rd and Coppins Crossing Rd), Blundell's Homestead (off of Coppins Crossing Rd, near the large bend in the Molonglo River), Illoura (present suburb of North Weston) and Avondale (present-day Holder).
The homestead was located near what is now a small reserve on the corner of Calder Crescent and Woolrych Street, Holder.
Several of John and Ellen's nine children were born at Weston,[9] and their son David Fox and his wife Margaret later took over the property.
Following David Fox's death at age 49 in 1926, Margaret continued to reside at the property,[12] but then moved to nearby Avondale homestead in about 1933.
The Weston and Taylor's Hill leases were purchased by John Dent in October 1932, and used for mixed farming and grazing.
Rudolph was born at Cuppacumalong homestead near Tharwa, and had lived at 'Bondo' near Cooma and 'Yarrawa' near Adaminaby before moving to Weston.
In 1926, Aubrey Blewitt was allocated a ten-year soldier settlement lease for Block 13 which he called The Rivers.
A clump of large eucalyptus trees still visible to the left of where the southbound onramp meets the Parkway marks the former location of the homestead.
In 1926, Kenneth Anderson was granted a 1,503 acres (608 ha) soldier settlement lease in present-day Fisher and Waramanga, extending across to Mount Taylor (Block 22), and called his property Allawah.
Long Gully Road came into the valley through present-day Waramanga and ran to the west to what is now the corner of Streeton Dr and Darwinia Tce, between Stirling and Rivett.
The intersection of Kambah Lane and Long Gully Road was situated within present day Stirling Oval.
A bitumen stretch of the original Kambah Lane and a narrow concrete bridge are still clearly visible opposite 134 Dixon Drive.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 1.2 per cent of the population, which was lower than the national and territory averages.
Located by the river down the hill from the present day RSPCA site, the plant was proposed as early as 1915.
[32] Following several studies, it was approved for construction by the Federal Capital Advisory Committee in January 1924, and commenced operating in 1927.
In the late-1960s, odours from the plant became a problem in the expanding residential areas of Woden and Weston Creek, and also at nearby Government House.
The plant was closed in August 1978 and replaced by the new Lower Molonglo Water Quality Control Centre.
In December 2010, during excavation work to construct the North Weston Pond as part of the new Molonglo Valley development, 90,000 tonnes of asbestos-contaminated waste were discovered buried near the former sewerage treatment plant site.
[34] The contaminated soil contained asbestos sheets and pipes that were dumped at the site by builders from around Canberra during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
[37] Hindmarsh Drive was extended from Woden Valley into Weston Creek in late-1968 to serve as the main arterial road into the new district.
The logo, a circle divided into eight parts, was intended to symbolise the eight suburbs of Weston Creek served by the new shopping complex.
Situated on Canberra's western edge adjacent to open farmland and formerly large pine plantations, the Weston Creek district has been affected by several serious bushfires.