Gold Creek School is located in the suburb of Nicholls, a part of the township of Gungahlin. The town centre is situated to the north of Canberra's city centre, and is drained by Gininderra Creek which, in turn runs into the Molonglo and then into the Murrumbidgee. The name Gungahlin is taken from the Aboriginal word 'Goongarline' meaning "little rocky hill".
Gungahlin is the most recently established town centre in the ACT with a rapidly growing population and expanding facilities. There are links to an older Canberra, however, with the first settlement of the area undertaken by William Davis Jr. who acquired land in 1861 and built the first part of the historic Gungahlin homestead, a building which still stands on land adjacent to Gold Creek School.
As the newest town centre, Gungahlin was officially launched on the 18th of October 1991 and the first residents moved into the suburb the following March. There are eleven surburbs that make up the township, they are: Amaroo, Bonner, Casey, Crace, Forde, Franklin, Gungahlin, Harrison, Nicholls, Ngunnawal and Palmerston