I had one done a while back at an endodontist, and it cost a bit more than that, but I think I got my money's worth because it was pretty high-end in terms of complexity, and I was in the chair for several hours (!). I couldn't afford to get the crown done straight away (I had to see a prosthedontist because there wasn't much left of the tooth) so there were quite a few months of being terrified i would break the temporary cover and waste my investment. However if I didn't pay I would have lost the tooth, which would have cost me > a thousand to remove (oral surgeon needed) and several thousand to replace with implant/bridge (because I'd already lost a large tooth and was running out of room to chew).

I agree the choices in Canberra are limited, which can inflate the prices. Plus you need to consider the complexity of what needs to be done vs what other people have had done and paid for (eg, my sister had one done at her usual dentist and paid around $1K). Do you have extras health insurance? You may be able to negotiate to only pay the gap and get the insurance company to pay the endodontist directly.