Canberra

Canberra, Australia
The National Capital of Australia

Canberra is the national capital of Australia, with a population of over 330,000 people. It is one of Australia’s greatest assets, a world-class city which is home to virtually all the major national institutions and cultural collections. Over eighty countries have diplomatic representation in Canberra to facilitate relationships between governments.

The city is located in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), 150 km inland of the continent’s east coast, surrounded by the state of New South Wales, and situated some 300 km from Sydney and 600 km from Melbourne. The ACT occupies nearly 2400 sq km.

The Australian nation began on the first day of January 1901, when six separate British colonies became the states of the Australian Commonwealth.

In the first decades of the twentieth century, strong commitment to the idea of nationhood led to:  the founding of the site for the capital (1908; selection of a visionary design for the national capital in an international competition (1912); and the naming of the city (1913).

Each of these Canberra milestones has its own fascinating story—as newly elected parliamentarians strove to give their country a capital worthy of the nation. Of design interest was the fact that the Australian colonies federated at the very time when the ‘science of town planning’ was emerging globally.

The international competition attracted 137 entries and was won by two architects from Chicago, Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. Their design was notable for its geometric strength and simplicity, a creative hybrid of the City Beautiful and Garden City planning concepts of the day. The design successfully merged the necessary seat of government infrastructure with the needs of the functioning city— each placed against the backdrop of the Brindabella mountains and the Molonglo plains. Canberra is the ‘city in the landscape.’

The National Capital Authority (NCA) is an Australian Government statutory agency charged with creating a national capital which symbolises Australia’s heritage, values and aspirations, is internationally recognised and worthy of pride by Australians.

Its key responsibilities are to:

• manage the National Capital Plan, which safeguards the design integrity of all areas of national significance in the Australian Capital Territory
  
• create public places and memorials that symbolise Australia’s values, culture and stories, for all Australians to visit and enjoy
  
• maintain some of Australia’s most valuable cultural assets and national land, including the sites of many of Australia’s major national institutions
• promote awareness among Australians of Canberra as the national capital and its key role in our democratic and national life.
  

Planning the Capital

The NCA is responsible for the development, review and administration of the National Capital Plan, the

strategic plan for Canberra and the Territory to be planned and developed in accordance with their national significance.

It is responsible for the planning of all major approach routes and areas of national significance such as Lake Burley Griffin and the Parliamentary Zone, the central national area, the national capital open space system and the inner hills.

The legacy of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin continues to be a major influence on the future planning and development of the capital.

The Griffin Legacy, (a 2004 NCA publication) is the blueprint for future development of Canberra’s central national area in the 21^st century. Key components of the Legacy have been incorporated into the National Capital Plan.

In the 2006/2007 budget, the Australian Government committed more than $70m for the construction of critical infrastructure to enable implementation of the Griffin Legacy.

Over the coming decades, Canberra will see the extension of the city to the lake, revitalisation of the city centre, the linking of the national institutions and reinforcing of the main avenues.

Promoting the Capital

A national capital is about more than buildings and places, it is also about what it means in our hearts, our minds and our national psyche. The NCA is developing an understanding and appreciation of the role of Canberra as the national capital. We take a strategic approach to fostering an awareness of the capital by encouraging participation, appreciation and celebration in the capital, through information and education, and by promoting the attributes of Canberra that have national significance.

 

Premier events conducted by the NCA include:

• Australia Day Live, on the lawns of Parliament House,
  watched by up to one million television viewers across the
  country and attended by 35,000 in 2007
  
• Summer in the Capital and Winter in the Capital, a series of seasonal
  activities offering entertainment and educational experiences
  and promoting a variety of venues on national land
  
• Tropfest, a nationwide short film festival

NCA outreach activities include:

• The National Capital Exhibition, which illustrates Canberra’s history
  and its vital role as a symbol of federation through interactive displays
  Guided walking tours of the central national area

  primary and secondary education kits

• Virtual Canberra – an easy-to-use web interface allowing virtual travel around
  the central national area

• Travelling exhibitions which visit regional venues to showcase Canberra’s
  unique history, purpose and the plans for the future.

Enhancing the Capital

The NCA is responsible for ensuring that national public places continue to be created which enrich the experience of Canberra and increase an understanding of and involvement in the capital. Our capacity to advocate and initiate capital works in national public areas is essential to the continued development of the capital for all Australians. Projects in the central national area include:

Reconciliation Place
This symbolically significant promenade recognises the importance of understanding the shared history of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and reaffirms our commitment to reconciliation as an important national priority. Reconciliation Place is intended to evolve over time. Four new artworks were added in the past twelve months.

 

Canberra Central Parklands
The Parklands include the parks on the northern foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin. A competition calling for a schematic master plan to guide the future development of the parklands was launched by the Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Jim Lloyd MP, on 12 February 2007. The competition was open to professionals in the fields of landscape architecture, urban design and architecture, and was conducted as an international, web-based competition. Forty-five entries were received from eight countries. Detailed development of the Canberra Central Parklands Master Plan, including an implementation strategy, will be completed in 2008.

Maintaining the Capital

The NCA manages assets of approximately $470 million and 1,095 hectares of land in Canberra. Most of this land is in the public domain of the central areas of the capital and includes some of the nation’s most significant cultural landscapes and national attractions – among them: