Sitting between the Great Dividing Range and the Australian Alps, Canberra boasts natural beauty and many museums and galleries to explore.
Ngunnawal People
Ngambri is an Aboriginal name for the area near the centre of what is now Australia's capital city of Canberra.
Rock art at Yankee Hat shelter in Namadgi National Park and other evidence shows that Aboriginal people were living in the vicinity more than 800 years ago. Scar trees, however, can be found closer to the city in various Canberra suburbs, such as Wanniassa Gilmore, Garran and Kambah.
On 21 December 1837, Edward John Eyre organised stock for overland transport to South Australia. He left Limestone Plains where Canberra now stands, with one thousand sheep and six hundred cattle.
Convict Built
Queanbeyan village on the Limestone Plains developed in the 1830s. When surveyed in 1838, it had a blacksmith, a store and police magistrate. Only a few years later, two inns, a lock-up and two stores existed in the village.
George Palmer established Palmerville Estate in 1826 in Ginninginderry and built a homestead on the banks of Ginninderra Creek, near the presentday suburb of Giralang. The estate encompassed much of what is now called Belconnen and southern Gungahlin.
Captain George Edward Weston, who arrived in Australia in 1829 and was Superintendent of the Hyde Park Convict Barracks in Sydney, was granted land in the district now known as Weston Creek in 1841.
On 1st January 1863, Andrew Wotherspoon became the Postmaster at Canberra on a salary of 12 pounds per annum. The post office was located near St John’s Church of England.
Canberra Railway Museum
The Ngunnawal people are accepted as the traditional owners of the Canberra area, but other Aboriginal groups also claim connections to the region, including the Ngambri and the Ngambri-Guumaal.
Canberra also served as a meeting place for neighbouring clans, including the Ngarigo, Wolgalu, Gundungurra, Yuin and Wiradjuri people.
R H Mathews (anthropologist) wrote (1904): "The native tribes speaking the Ngunawal tongue occupy the country from Goulburn to Yass and Burrowa, extending southerly to Lake George and Goodradigbee".
There are many Aboriginal sites around Canberra. For example, at Smokers Gap, entrance to Namadgi National Park, the remains of cooking fires and animal bones and stone artefacts have been found. Grinding grooves for sharpening stone tools and wooden items, such as digging sticks, near various creeks.
An ochre quarry known as Gubur Dhaura, is located in the suburb of Franklin. On the mountain ranges at Namadgi National park, stone arrangements have been identified.
In 1915, Charles Kaye found a stone axe behind the Hotel Canberra (Hyatt Hotel Canberra) and another in the lawns at Parliament House. Other stone artefacts have been found in the vicinity.
"At a retired spot in the bush, a short distance from the general camp, the headmen have a private meeting place called warrawurrudthang, where they congregate to consult on such tribal concerns as may be brought before them by the leading men of the several contingents present, and also to arrange the various details of the ceremonies (1896).
The separation of men's and women's business led to different ceremonial sites for men and women’s ceremonies. Men's sites were often on higher ground. Matthews describing the meeting of Aboriginal head men wrote:
Stewart Mowle came to live at Yarralumla in about 1837. He wrote about the meeting of two tribes:
"Two tribes, or members of the same tribe, meeting at a camping ground would sit apart, light their fires, and feast upon their warmed through ’opposums. After a time the leading man of the last arrived would make a remark, then a speech, when they fraternised, and the talking would become general." (Mowle 1896)
The first known contact between Ngunnawal people and Europeans was recorded at an exploration of the Limestone Plains (Aboriginal, Manarro) in 1821.
"Two tribes, or members of the same tribe, meeting at a camping ground would sit apart, light their fires, and feast upon their warmed through ’opposums. After a time the leading man of the last arrived would make a remark, then a speech, when they fraternised, and the talking would become general." (Mowle 1896)
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| Ridpath's Universal history, 1897, Internet Archive Book Images |
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| Aboriginal women were often responsible for fishing, Image from page 168 of "Women of all nations, a record of their characteristics, habits, manners, customs and influence;" (1908) Internet Archive Book Images |
In summer, Aboriginal people of the area visited the high country to feast on Bogong moths, which could be roasted.
Possum-skin cloaks were used to keep warm, to wraps babies (single skin) and as part of ceremony. Often, people who died were buried in their cloaks. Markings were etched on the cloak to signify clan and country, often using the lower jaw bone of a brush-tail possum, from which the cloaks were usually made.
Much of the early information about the Aboriginal people of the area comes from the writings of Victorian Chief Protector of Aborigines, G. A. Robinson, who journeyed through the Monaro, the Limestone Plains and Yass in 1844. Also, the anthropological observations of A. W. Howitt in the mid-late 1800s and the ethnography and language studies made by R. H. Mathews at the turn of the twentieth century.
1821: Explorers and Settlers
Charles Throsby, the first European explorer in the Canberra region, named the area Limestone Plains. In March 1821, Throsby journeyed in search of the Murrumbidgee. On this trip, he crossed the Molonglo and Queanbeyan Rivers and the country where Canberra now stands.
1824: Ginninderra: Forerunner to Canberra
Accompanied by a large flock of sheep belonging to Robert Campbell, James Ainslie arrived on the Limestone Plains in 1824 to establish a sheep station called "Pialligo" for Campbell. This 4,000 acre sheep station was the second to be established in the Canberra.
The name "Canberra" is said to be an anglicised version of the Aboriginal words (meaning meeting place) used to name the first sheep station on the "Limestone Plains" established in 1824 by Joshua John Moore.
Moore's sheep station is in the area now known as Acton (site of the National Museum of Australia) in 1824.
In December 1826, Moore referred to the location as "Canbery", a name which has been spelt in various ways. Acton Station (Canbery) was the first station resumed in 1911 for the establishment of the Federal Capital.
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| John Joseph [i.e. Joshua John] Moore's house, first land holder to settle in Canberra [later the Court House, Acton, Australian Capital Territory] , 1920? NLAUST |
The area of Canberry Station included the area of present-day National Museum of Australia (homestead site), the Civic Centre (CBD), the Australian National University and portions of the Molonglo Plain (present-day Lake Burley Griffin).
The Campbell family homestead, now known as Duntroon House, commenced construction in the 1830s, on the Majura foothills. It is believed that, Robert Campbell named Mt Majura after a place he visited in India.
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| Photo of Duntroon Homestead from the 1800s |
The Campbell grazing property stayed in the Campbell family until the formation of the Australian Capital Territory. The Duntroon homestead and estate became the site of the Royal Military College, and the homestead is now the officer's mess. (The origin of this name was Duntrune Castle at Argyll and Bute in Scotland).
Conflict in 1826
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| Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1803 - 1842), Wednesday 10 May 1826 |
1830s
By 1830, most of the land in the region was settled.
Blundells Cottage on the Duntroon site was built by George P. Campbell in about 1858, for his ploughman William Ginn, who lived there with his family until 1874. Then Flora and George Blundell moved in and remained until about 1933. The building is a rare remaining stone worker’s dwellings, forming part of the Duntroon estate.
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| Blundells Cottage on the northern shore of Lake Burley Griffin, ACT |
Sheep and Cattle Stations
Settlement in the region continued near the Murrumbidgee River, where John Lanyon and James Wright established a sheep and cattle station in 1834 on the site formerly occupied by Timothy Beard as early as 1829.
Wright and Lanyon built the station using convict labour (30 convicts asigned by 1837). However, Wright experienced financial difficulties and sold Lanyon to Andrew Cunningham in 1848 and moved to Cuppacumbalong across the Murrumbidgee River.
Andrew Cunningham erected a large, new residence at Lanyon and continued to develop the property. The Cunninghams built the present Lanyon homestead from local fieldstone in 1859.
William Wright later recalled the bcourial of an Aboriginal man who was often referred to by the name of Hong Gong. An event which may have occurred when Wright was a young child:
"Hongkong’s burial had some gruesome features. After his death at Cuppercumberlong, the men of the tribe got together, tied him up in a complete ball, then cut him open between hip and rib, and through the orifice withdrew the old chap’s kidney fat, distributing it in small pieces to every gin in the camp, who stowed the treasure away in the net bags they always carried around their shoulders. His grave was on the top of a rock hill – about a quarter of a mile from Thurwa Bridge – and about five or six feet in depth. A tunnel about six feet in length was excavated and the body inserted, with his spears (broken in half), his shield, nulla nulla, boomerang, tomahawk, opossum rug, and other effects. Then the hole was filled in with stones and earth. I was very young when I saw all this…”
"Hongkong’s burial had some gruesome features. After his death at Cuppercumberlong, the men of the tribe got together, tied him up in a complete ball, then cut him open between hip and rib, and through the orifice withdrew the old chap’s kidney fat, distributing it in small pieces to every gin in the camp, who stowed the treasure away in the net bags they always carried around their shoulders. His grave was on the top of a rock hill – about a quarter of a mile from Thurwa Bridge – and about five or six feet in depth. A tunnel about six feet in length was excavated and the body inserted, with his spears (broken in half), his shield, nulla nulla, boomerang, tomahawk, opossum rug, and other effects. Then the hole was filled in with stones and earth. I was very young when I saw all this…”
There was a belief among some Aboriginal groups that kidney fat conferred magical qualities on the recipient.
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| Lanyon homestead near Canberra, Australia c1900, ArchivesACT |
The remains of convict barracks and other buildings are covered by earth at Heritage Park, Charnwood, beside William Slim Drive and at Belconnen.
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| The old convict prison at Canberra, ACT, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938 |
In 1833, Henry Hall obtained a grant of 3492 acres of land that he named "Charnwood", which later became the property of William Davis at Ginninderra. This property, by 1861, had a store, post office, cottages and homestead.
Many Aboriginal people worked on the stations in the area as domestic servants or farm labourers.
Stores and Homesteads
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| New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), Friday 25 November 1842 |
Located off Gungahlin Drive in Ngunnawal, a north-western suburb of Canberra, Gold Creek Homestead, which dates back to 1860, was established by the Rolfe family. Interestingly, the Rolfe family were descendants of the same family as John Rolfe, who married the Indigenous, American princess, Pocahontas. The property remained in the Rolfe family until the property was resumed by the Commonwealth.
John the Baptist Church of England, in the Canberra suburb of Reid, was consecrated by Bishop Broughton in 1845, and a school opened nearby in the same year. The first burial in the churchyard was on 3 May 1844. Colonel John George Nathaniel Gibbes, who occupied Yarralumla homestead from 1859 until his death, is buried in the graveyard.
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| Gold Creek Homestead, an old stone and brick building is located off Gungahlin Drive in Ngunnawal a north-western suburb of Canberra, ACT, dates back to 1860 |
1840s: Yarralumla
Colonel John George Nathaniel Gibbes of Yarralumla was a British army officer who emigrated to Australia in 1834. He also had a murky background, although stories have often been exaggerated. His parentage has not been identified, and he was a bigamist.
James Taylor, a son-in-law of Colonel George Johnston who commanded the New South Wales Corps, was an early squatter in the Yarralumla district prior to 1829. An early map entitled Survey of part of the Morombidgee and Country South of Lake George by Surveyor White shows Taylor's huts close to the site of Yarralumla homestead.
The land granted to Henry Donnison in 1828 was named "Yarralumla" in a survey of the area, conducted in 1834, also apparently an Aboriginal name. In 1881, the estate was bought by Frederick Campbell, grandson of Robert Campbell, who built nearby "Duntroon". Yarralumla homestead, completed in 1891, now serves as the site of Government House, residence of the Governor-General of Australia.
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| Yarralumla homestead, completed in 1891, ACT, Figgles1 |
1850s: Coaching Inn and More Settlers
The Old Canberra Inn was originally a slab hut built by Joseph Shumack in 1857. In 1876, it was licensed as an inn and was a coach stop on the Yass to Queanbeyan run. The building pre-dates the city itself. It is located in the present-day suburb of Lyneham.
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| Photo c1976 of the Old Canberra Inn, Lyneham, ACT, ArchivesACT |
1860s
Following land reforms in 1861, more settlers settled in the Canberra region.
In 1864, a licence was granted to Patrick Grace for the Cricketers Arms Hotel at One Tree Hill near Gin-ninderra,
Queanbeyan station opened on 8 September 1887 when the Bombala line was extended from Bungendore. Queanbeyan became a junction station in 1913 when construction commenced on the line to Canberra.
The four span Tharwa Bridge, the second Allan truss bridge designed by Percy Allan, opened on 27 March 1895, allowing traffic to cross the Murrumbidgee River between Canberra and Tharwa village.
After a decade of negotiations, the six Australian colonies commenced federation on the first day of 1901. The first Governor-General was sworn in, and the need for a capital city became apparent.
John Gale, the founder of The Queanbeyan Age, was a strong advocate for the suitability of the Queanbeyan-Canberra area as Australia's national capital. Another strong voice for Canberra as the capital was Sir Austin Chapman.
William Farrer, who migrated to Australia from England and worked as a tutor at Campbell's sheep station, Duntroon, later worked for the Department of Lands and went on to develop a strain of wheat that was resistant to wheat rust. This wheat strain was distributed in 1903.
Griffin resigned from the Canberra project in December 1920, and work was directed by a Federal Capital Advisory Committee.
First Official Cabinet Meeting in Canberra
The Lodge, on Adelaide Avenue, was built in 1926 for the Speaker of the House. However, it became the residence of the Prime Minister.
Parliament Opens
Parliament House formerly opened on 9 May 1927, when the Duke of York (later King George VI), used a gold key to unlock the doors of the building. The event was broadcast over radio stations in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and SA and reached over one million people.
The Albert Hall, which is used for entertainment, is located on Commonwealth Avenue. It opened on 10 March 1928 by the Prime Minister, Stanley Bruce.
The Australian War Memorial foundation stone was laid on 25 April 1929, but building came to a stop with the Great Depression. Work on the main structure began again in 1936 and was finally completed in 1941.
Sir Issac Isaacs was sworn in as the first Australian born Governor General 23 January 1931. Isaacs was of Polish Jewish ancestry, but he insisted that Jewishness was a matter of religion and not of race or nationality.
The Sydney and Melbourne buildings were constructed between 1926 and 1946. However, the buildings were auctioned by the government under Crown Lease arrangements, which meant that each successful bidder built and paid for their “lot” but followed the overall design. The Crown Lease arrangement continues today, which makes it difficult to coordinate the appearance and maintenance of the buildings.
The Australian Institute of Anatomy, located in Acton, was established in Canberra in October 1931. Since 1984 the building has been used by the National Film and Sound Archive.
The Hotel Civic opened in 1935, and was constructed in an Art Deco style from Canberra Cream bricks. It was demolished beginning in late 1984.
The original National Library building, now demolished, was on Kings Avenue, Canberra, where the Edmund Barton Building now stands.
During the 1930s Manuka Swimming Pool and the first National Library on Kings Avenue were built.
RAAF squadrons were permanently based at the Canberra Aerodrome from 1939. In 1941, part of the airport was named Fairbairn Airbase and was an important location for military helicopter training.
Ben Chifley, the Prime Minister of Australia announced the end of the Second World War in the Pacific, with the surrender of Japan, August 1945.
Economic depressions, world wars and rapid growth impacted the well-planned vision of Canberra, but progress was made as a garden city. And the wars had also solidified a sense of solidarity and identity, which gave Canberra greater meaning as a capital.
The Petrov Affair of 1954 involved the defection of Russian diplomats Vladimir Petrov and his wife Evdokia, who had been living in Canberra, whixh became known as the Petrov Affair. The Petrov Royal Commission hearing was held at Albert Hall.
The Shine Dome was constructed in 1959, complete with custom-designed furniture.
The National Library of Australia building at Parkes Place, Canberra, was opened on 15 August 1968 by Prime Minister John Gorton.
The Moon Landing to The World
Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station was a NASA Earth station near Canberra, which received and relayed to the world the first televised footage of astronaut Neil Armstrong setting foot on the Moon on 20 July 1969.
The 1975 Australian constitutional crisis, also known as the Dismissal, occurred when the Governor-General took the unprecedented step of dismissing a prime minister who held the majority in the House of Representatives. Prime Minister Gough Whitlam spoke on the steps of Parliament House (now Old Parliament House) on 11 November 1975:
Located on Lake Burley Griffin, the National Gallery of Australia's Sculpture Garden was planted in the early 1980s.
The AIDEX blockade in Canberra in 1991 tried to shutdown the Australia International Defence Exhibition.
The Peter Karmel Building opened in 2001, as an addition to the Canberra School of Music.
Bega and Allawah Flats on Ainslie Avenue and Ballumbir Street Braddon were Canberra’s first medium density public housing completed in the 1950s. Allawah Court and Currong Apartments were demolished in 2017.
Hanging RockAboriginal rock shelter at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve
Ngunnawal Country Track
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| In 1864, a licence was granted to Patrick Grace for the Cricketers Arms Hotel at One Tree Hill near Gin-ninderra (Canberra, ACT) |
Ebenezer Booth built a house on the glebe of St John the Baptist Church in 1874 and operated the first store in the area from the house. It burnt down in 1923.
The Gundaroo Road was the main route to Sydney for the early settler of Gin-ninderra. The Old Coach Road was built in 1880 to link the various settlements in the region and eventually Sydney. The road provided a shorter route than the older road that ran via Queanbeyan and Canberra.Queen Nellie Hamilton (1835?-1897), believed to be the last "full-blooded" Aboriginal person of the region, lived her later life in Queanbeyan, claimed that she was the daughter of the Canberra branch and therefore, she should have her throne like Queen Victoria (Bluett 1954). (Aboriginal people did not, and do not have chiefs, kings and queens)
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| Queen Nellie Hamilton (1835?-1897), believed to be the last "full-blooded" Aboriginal person of the Canberra region, lived her later life in Queanbeyan |
1880s: Queanbeyan Station
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| Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 2 May 1917 |
1900s
Because of the rivalry between the separate colonies, it was decided, as a compromise, that the federal capital would be in a location between the two major cities, Sydney and Melbourne.
Federation Wheat
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| Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 8 June 1935 |
A Competition
Forty Towns applied to become the Capital of Australia.
The Griffin Vision
Walter Burley Griffin, an American architect, won the competition, beating 136 other entrants with designs drawn by his wife, Marion Mahony Griffin, one of the first licensed female architects in the world.
In 1908, the Limestone Plains area, including Yarralumla, was selected as the site for the federal capital city of the Commonwealth of Australia.
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| This panorama of the Federal capitol site shows the senatorial party ascending to the surveyors camp,which is located at a considerable eminence above the plain. Three sites have been suggested for the Federal Parliament House Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Wednesday 3 August 1910 |
First prize: Walter Burley Griffin.
However, with the outbreak of WWII, Burley Griffin had to modify his grand vision, not only because of the government's lack of funds but due to attacks on his designs from various quarters. For example, the initial plan included a railway connecting South Canberra to North Canberra and to Yass.
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| Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin at Castlecrag, Sydney on July 27, 1930 |
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| Canberra plan submitted to the Canberra design competition by Walter Burley Griffin "View from the summit of Mount Ainslie" |
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| THE CROSS IN THIS PICTURE INDICATES THE POSSIBLE LOCATION OF FEDERAL Parliament House (Canberra), Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), Wednesday 3 August 1910 |
Capital Territory Land
The Royal Military College Duntroon opened on 27 June 1911.
Design work for the Kinston Power House began in 1912. The facility supplied Canberra with coal-generated electricity from 1915 until it was decommissioned in 1957.
After the government resumed land, many of the existing houses were demolished in the 1920s. However, some survived until the artificial lake was made in the 1960s.
The suburb of Kingston was established in 1922 and originally called "Eastlake". Part of the area was designated for workers living quarters, for workers who built Canberra. The suburb of Forrest was for middle and higher ranking public servants.
Stromlo Observatory
The Hotel Canberra which opened in 1924 was built to house politicians, after Federal Parliament moved to Canberra from Melbourne in 1927.
The government began acquiring land in 1911 for the capital city.
The Yarralumla brickworks were established in 1913 for the construction of many of Canberra's buildings, including the provisional Parliament House.
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| Labourers and brickies at the Yarralumla brickworks, ACT, photo taken in 1924 |
The Royal Military College, Duntroon
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| Royal Military College, Duntroon, opening ceremony, 27 June 1911, National Library of Australia |
Powering Along
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| Power House, Canberra, facing east [ca. 1912], National Library of Australia |
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| Portion of the workmen's camp at the Capital Site (Canberra), Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 26 February 1913 |
The Foundation Stone
The name of the capital was announced at the Foundation Stone Ceremony by Lady Denman on 12 March 1913. Governor-General, Lord Denman, Prime Minister Andrew Fisher, Lady Denman and Minister for Home Affairs, King O'Malley.
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| Prime Minister Andrew Fisher standing between Lord and Lady Denman and King O'Malley during the playing of the National Anthem, Canberra naming ceremony, 12 March 1913, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-137973289 |
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| The cadets being inspected by the Governor-General, Lord Denman, at the Naming of Canberra ceremony, 12 March 1913, National Library of Australia |
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The Oldest Building in the Federal Territory (Canberra). According to report it was built in the "Thirties." Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 12 March 1913 |
For Sale
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| Queanbeyan Age (NSW : 1907 - 1915), Tuesday 16 September 1913 |
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| 1. A Public Building in the Territory—the Post-office at Ginninderra. (Canerra) 2. Arrival of the Mail at the CanberraPost-office. Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 5 March 1913 |
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| Canberra Inauguration of the Caiiital Gty of Australia on March 12. Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 19 March 1913 |
The Canberra Fire Brigade was established in 1913.
WWI
A dig by archeologists has found a 2.5 hectare complex of trenches, barbed wire entanglements and fox holes, in the Jerrabomberra Wetlands, used to prepare officer trainees for the Western Front, from 1916 to 1918. When World War I began Canberra was officially just over one year old.
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| Boy Scouts with German "prisoners", marching in the streets of Queanbeyan during WW1. Kaye |
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| Funeral of General Sir WilliamThrosby Bridges, passing through Duntroon College grounds, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 8 September 1915, |
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| THE FEDERAL CAPITAL: VIEW OF CANBERRA AS SEEN FROM DUNTROON, Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Saturday 3 June 1916 |
1920s
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| Kingston Power House and Camp, Canberra, Australia - circa 1916, Kaye |
The Federal Capital Advisory Committee commissioned new buildings, including "Provisional Parliament House"(Old) (1923) and the building that is now the National Archives of Australia and West Block.
Housing estates began construction at "Civic" (Braddon Conservation Area) and Kingston.
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| Turning the first sod, Parliament House, Canberra [28 August 1923] National Library of Australia |
Stromlo Observatory
Astronomical observations on Mount Stromlo were being carried out as early as 1911. However, Mount Stromlo Observatory was established in 1924.
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| Mt Stromlo Observatory outside Canberra, June 1938 / Sam Hood, State Library of New South Wales |
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| Canberra Fire Brigade, ACT, circa 1924, Hotchkiss fire engine. ArchivesACT |
The Capital Develops
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| The Hotel Canberra from the air, ACT, Federal Capital Pioneer Magazine (Canberra, ACT : 1926 - 1927), Tuesday 16 November 1926 |
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| Yarralumla House, ACT, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 6 February 1924 |
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| London Circuit, Canberra, 1926-1927, National Library of Australia |
First Official Cabinet Meeting in Canberra
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| Members of the first Bruce ministry at the first official cabinet meeting in Canberra, c 1924. Standing (L-R): Eric Bowden MP, Minister for Defence Sen. Thomas Crawford, Honorary Minister Sen. Sir George Pearce, Minister for Home and Territories Percy Stewart MP, Minister for Works and Railways William Gibson MP, Postmaster-General Llewellyn Atkinson MP, Vice-President of the Executive Council Seated (L-R): Earle Page MP, Acting Prime Minister and Treasurer Sir Littleton Groom MP, Attorney-General Austin Chapman MP, Minister for Trade and Customs and Minister for Health, National Library of Australia |
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| Parliament House Canberra, The Speaker of the House of Representatives (Sir Littleton Groom) taking his seat in the chair presented by the British section of the Empire Parliamentary Association, Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954), Saturday 23 October 1926 |
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| Prime Minister's Lodge, Canberra, National Library of Australia |
Parliament Opens
King Billy" or Jimmy Clements, an Aboriginal man who was about 80 in 1927 and who had come from the Mount Hope Ranges, was turned away from attending the opening ceremony.
John Noble, another Aboriginal man (Wiradjuri), who was known as "Marvellous", was present at the opening of Parliament House in Canberra by the Duke and Duchess of York on 9 May 1927. Marvellous was presented to their Majesties, even though he felt that he was not dressed properly (he had no shoes). Members of the crowd supported Marvellous, but no one knows what he and the royals talked about.
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| Old Parliament House opening ceremony, Canberra, 1927, National Library of Australia |
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| King Billy, the last Aboriginal King of Canberra, being turned away from the opening of Parliament, May, 1927, National Library of Australia. The Aboriginal Nangar or Yangar was known to white Australians as "King Billy" or Jimmy Clements. He said he was about 80 in 1927 and had come from the Mount Hope Ranges. |
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| Prime Minister Mr Stanley and Mrs Ethel Bruce with another man on the steps of Parliament House, Canberra, c 1927, National Library of Australia |
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| Government House, view from right side, Canberra, 1927 |
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| York Park, Canberra, during Royal Visit with aeroplanes overhead, 1927, National Library of Australia |
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| Old Parliament House Canberra, ACT, 11927, National archives |
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| Beauchamp House was completed in 1927 as a hostel for female Federal Parliament public servants. In 1986 the name was changed to Ian Potter House in honour of the major benefactor towards the buildings refurbishment. Libraries Australia |
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| Photo of Canberra, ACT, c1927, taken from Mount Ainslie, ArchivesACT |
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| CANBERRA'S WATER SUPPLY AND SEWERAGE (Parliament House on top), Federal Capital Pioneer Magazine (Canberra, ACT : 1926 - 1927), Saturday 20 August 1927 |
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| Aerial view of the Hotel Canberra, Canberra, ca. 1920s, NLAUST |
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| The Albert Hall, ACT, photographed by WJ Mildenhall about 1928 |
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| Lieut. Bert Hinkler, in his shirt sleeves, beside bis AvrO'Avian at Canberra.Standing with him in front el the plane is Frank Forde (Labor Member to- Capricornia) and Mrs Forde, Worker (Brisbane, Qld. : 1890 - 1955), Wednesday 28 March 1928 |
1930s
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| Sir Isaac and Lady Isaacs at top of steps, Parliament House, ACT, c1934, SLNSW |
Building Continues
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| The view from City Hill, looking towards the Sydney Building as it sits in a paddock. Date Range: January 1921–December 1935. National Archives of Australia |
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| The Australian Institute of Anatomy, located in Acton, Act. The building created to house the anatomy collection donated to the nation by Sir Colin Mackenzie in 1922. Construction (Sydney, NSW : 1938 - 1954), Wednesday 11 January 1939 |
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| The Hotel Civic opened in 1935. [photo between 1936 and 1950] The hotel was on the corner of Alinga Street and the eastern side of Northbourne Avenue. National Library of Australia |
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| The original National Library building on Kings Avenue, Canberra, was designed by Edward Henderson. Originally intended to be several wings, only one wing was completed and was demolished in 1968. Now the site of the Edmund Barton Building. National Library of Australia |
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| Manuka Swimming Pool - interior, ACT, 1901-1948, National Library of Australia |
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| Hotel Canberra in the 1930s, with Albert Hall in the background., National Library of Australia |
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| Parliament House, Canberra - 11th Mar 1937, Royal Australian Historical Society |
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| Canberra High School was constituted at the beginning of 1938 and moved from Telopea Park School into the new building at Acton, on 21 August 1939. Photo dated 1939, National Library of Australia |
1940s and WWII
The Australian War Memorial opened in the suburb of Campbell, 11 November 1941.
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| Aerial view of the western facade and front entrance of the Australian War Memorial. This photograph was taken the day before the official opening of the Memorial on Remembrance Day 1941. AWM |
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| Outdoor group portrait of members of the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS) being inspected before going on weekend leave by Lieutenant Commander Archibald Duncan McLachlan (Officer in charge of the RAN Wireless Telegraphy Station Canberra and became the first Commanding Officer when the station was commissioned as HMAS Harman in 1943.) Identified in the back row, second from the left is WR/23 Wran Cook Marion Elizabeth Hill and on the far left is WR/1 Wran Telegraphist Frances Betty Provan. Front row: unidentified; WR/11 Wran Telegraphist Sylvia Violette Thompson; WR/4 Wran Telegraphist Denise Culver Owen and WR/13 Wran Signaller Shirley Isobel Drew. AWM |
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| WING-CDR. S. de B. GRIFFITH, commanding officer of the school, demonstrates moves on a large scole landscape model.Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), Saturday 7 February 1942 |
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| Ballroom dancing, Canberra, ca. 1942 / Department of Information, National Library of Australia |
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| Ban Chifley at Old Parliament House, 1948, Chifley Research Centre |
Post War
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| Canberra Hospital where men and women who have been residents of Canberra for 3 months get free medical care, Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Thursday 17 January 1946 |
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| Young women sitting on grass eating lunch, Canberra, c1948, National Library of Australia |
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| St Ninians' Presbyterian Church, Lyneham, ACT - c1948, ArchivesACT. Development of the suburb of Lynham did not commence until 1958. |
1950s
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| At the Canberra Races, ACT, Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Sunday 22 March 1953 |
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| "When curtsying to the Queen on her arrival at Parliament House, Dame Pattie Menzies, wife of the Prime Minister, extended her hand for the usual hand clasp from the Queen. But the Queen smilingly said no, not this time, I need both hands for my skirt. Canberra crowds pressed around on all sides to cheer Queen Elizabeth." Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Tuesday 16 February 1954 |
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| Aboriginal artist, Albert Namatjira, who was presented to the Queen in Canberra yesterday, talking with the Prime Minister (Mr. Menzies). Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), Tuesday 16 February 1954 |
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| Her Majesty arrives at Parliament House, Canberra ... escorted by the Prime Minister, Mr. R.G. Menzies ... to open the third session of the 20th Federal Parliament on February 15 [1954] |
A Spy Thriller
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| Petrov Royal Commission, 1954, Albert Hall, Canberra, ACT, State Library of NSW, Public Domain, before 1955 |
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| Australian RAAF Convair A96-353 VIP aircraft over Canberra - 1959, Kaye |
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| A new ambulance for Canberra, ACT, Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), Wednesday 18 February 1959 |
1960s
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| Olympic Swimming Pool, Canberra, Australia - circa 1960, Kaye |
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| The Swedish Legation, Canberra, Australia - circa 1960, Kaye |
Lake Burley Griffin, in the centre of Canberra, is an artificial lake which was completed in 1963.
Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin was created by damming the waters of the Molonglo River in 1964.
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| Royal Netherlands Embassy, Canberra, Australia - circa 1960, Kaye |
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| Key Street, Campbell, ACT, (Section 8) c1960, ArchivesACT. The suburb of Campbell is named after Robert Campbell, the owner of Duntroon station on which Campbell is now located. |
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| Nardoo Crescent, O'Connor, ACT, (Section 32) c1960, ArchivesACT. O'Connor is an affluent suburb of Canberra, Australia in the North Canberra district characterised by its leafy, heritage listed streets. It was named after Richard Edward O'Connor, who was a judge in the High Court and a founder of the Australian constitution. |
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| Mt Pleasant looking towards Kings Bridge and Lake Burley Griffin, ACT, in 1967. Janette Asche |
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| Weston Park, Canberra, ACT, Sept 1967. Janette Asche |
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| Lonsdale Street, Braddon, ACT, in 1968, ArchivesACT. Braddon is named after Sir Edward Braddon, a Federalist, legislator and a participant in the writing of the Australian Constitution. |
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| Canberra Olympic Swimming Pool (c1968), ACT, ArchivesACT |
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| Anzac Parade from War Memorial to Lake Burley-Griffin and Parliament House, Canberra, ACT, 1968, ArchivesACT |
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| View of Hobart Place from Law Courts showing the reverse of the Australian Coat of Arms, Canberra, ACT. ArchivesACT |
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| Prime Minister John Gorton at the Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station during the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, National Archives of Australia |
1970s
The Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established in front of Parliament House, Canberra, in 1972.
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| Setting up the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Canberra. Billy Craigie and Michael Anderson, 27 January, 1972. State Library of New South Wales |
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| Aboriginal Embassy under a beach umbrella, Canberra, 27 January 1972. Left to right: Michael Anderson, Billy Craigie, Bert Williams and Tony Coorey. State Library of New South Wales |
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| Bob Maza speaks to the crowd, Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Canberra, 1972, State Library of New South Wales |
The Dismissal
"Ladies and gentleman , well may we say God Save the Queen because nothing will save the Governor-General."
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| This shot recaptures one of Australia's most dramatic political events; the Whitlam Government was sacked by the then Governor General John Kerr on 11th November 1975. Peter van der Veer |
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| The Captain Cook Memorial Jet in Lake Burley Griffin in 1975. The National Library is the large building in the background. Ken Hodge |
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| Lyons Shopping Centre - January 1976 (Lyons Place, Lyons). ArchivesACT. Lyons is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district of Woden. The suburb was named after Joseph Lyons, Labor Premier of Tasmania from 1923 to 1928 and a Minister in the James Scullin government from 1929 until his resignation from the Labor Party in March 1931 |
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| Charnwood Group Centre - March 1978 (Charnwood Place, Charnwood) ArchivesACT, Charnwood, north-western Belconnen suburb |
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| Australian Police officer, 1979, Canberra, ACT, Grahame |
1980s
Construction of the High Court began in April 1975. The building was completed in 1980.
The High Court of Australia was established in 1903. However, the plan for a High Court building was instigated by Prime Minister Robert Menzies. The 1959 plan featured a new building for the High Court on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin, next to the location of a new Parliament House and the National Library of Australia.
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| High Court of Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australia, 1 November 1980 |
Sculptures Gardens
Located on Lake Burley Griffin, the National Gallery of Australia's Sculpture Garden was planted in the early 1980s.
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| Henry Moore, 1973, at the National Gallery of Australia Sculpture Garden, ACT. russellstreet |
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| Indian High Commission, Canberra (1982), ArchivesACT |
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| Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra, ACT, 1986, ArchivesACT |
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| Barry Drive/Watson Street Intersection showing footpath crossing Watson Street, cyclepath turning from Barry Drive into Watson Street, Canberra, ACT. c1989, ArchivesACT |
1990s
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| The AIDEX blockade in Canberra in 1991, tried to shutdown the Australia International Defence Exhibition. Karen Eliot |
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| Visiting the miniature creations park in Canberra, Cockington Green, in 1993, Indi and Rani Soemardjan |
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| Balloon Aloft, Canberra, ACT, Australia. Photographed on 16 September, 1995. Arthur Chapman |
2000s
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| The Peter Karmel Building, opened in 2001, as an addition to the Canberra School of Music. Façade by Marie Hagerty, ArchivesACT |
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| London Circuit, Civic, Canberra, ACT, 2005, Chris |
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| Meeting at the "Aboriginal Tent Embassy", before marching to Garema place, Canberra, ACT, 2007, Pierre Pouliquin |
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| National Sorry Day, choir at Parliament House, Canberra, ACT, 2008, butupa |
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| Canberra CBD from Mt Ainslie, Act, 2012 |
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| Trooping the colour, Queens Birthday, Canberra, 9 June 2012 by Lake Burley Griffin, Staff cadets and the Royal Military Band from Duntroon. 2012, Rose Holley |
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| May 1st protest in Canberra against the closures of Aboriginal Communities, 2015. Fee Plumley |
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| Former Allawah Court, with the Currong Apartments behind, in 2014. Demolition was completed in 2017. Grahamec |
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| Allawah Court demolition, with Mount Ainslie behind, Cooyong Street, Canberra, ACT, 2017. Nicholas Cull |
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| Canberra Lakefront Living, ACT, 2017, Alan Levine |
Around Canberra
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| Lanyon homestead is located on the southern outskirts of Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory. Timothy Beard, who depastured cattle on the Limestone Plains as early as 1829. Beard had been transported to Australia for life and arrived in the colony in 1806. After receiving his pardon he entered the pastoral industry |
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| The Australian War Memorial foundation stone was laid on 25 April 1929, but building came to a stop with the Great Depression. Work on the main structure began again in 1936 and was finally completed in 1941, ACT |
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| The Parliament of Australia, located in Canberra opened on 9 May 1988 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia |
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| The National Boer War Memorial. Installed in 2017, the Memorial is one of the commemorative artworks on Anzac parade, Canberra, ACT |
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| A view down Anzac Pde, with view of Old and New Parliament House, Canberra, ACT |
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| Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, Civic, Canberra, ACT, The building was designed as one part of the Canberra Civic Square, also incorporating the Canberra Theatre and Museum, in 1959–1961, OZinOH |
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| Canberra's celebration of spring, Floriade, ACT |
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| View from The National Museum of Australia, Canberra, ACT, Thomas |
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| Rosebud Cottage, 1866, Canberra, ACT, a slab built house. Read here |
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| Construction of the High Court began in April 1975. The building was completed in 1980, Canberra, ACT |
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| The view from Mt Ainslie. One of three "mountains" in Canberra, ACT, looking down onto Anzac Avenue, Old Parliament House and New Parliament House |
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| Looking over Lake Burley Griffin Canberra from Mt Pleasant, ACT, John |
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| Canberra Carillon on Lake Burley Griffin, ACT, John |
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| The John Gorton Building was first planned 1924, however, due to the Depression and other issues, construction began in1946.Opened in 1956. |
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| The Old Canberra Inn, Canberra, ACT, Maypm, Joseph Shumack (1836-1901) built the "Old Canberra Inn" in 1857. He was born in Ireland in 1836 and migrated to Australia in 1841 |
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| Crinigan’s Hut is located Canberra suburb of Amaroo. It is the ruin of a three room field stone cottage built by John and Maria Crinigan in the late 1840s-50 |
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| Brassey Hotel in Barton, Australian Capital Territory. Built in 1927 in a American Colonial style architecture, Bidgee |
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| Ginninderra Blacksmith's Workshop was built in 1859 as part of Ginninderra village along the main road between Yass and Queanbeyan. Operated until 1949 |
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| The Old Coach Rd in Mulligans Flat, Nature Reserve in northern Canberra. The Old Coach Road was surveyed in 1880, opened in 1886 |
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| The Cunninghams built the present Lanyon homestead, ACT, from local fieldstone in 1859 |
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| Dadang Christanto, Heads from the North (2004). Sculpture gardens, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT |
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| Originally known as the Hotel Ainslie, which opened in 1927, the same year Old Parliament House was opened. Privately run from 1930 by the Spendlove family, Braddon, ACT |
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| The Shine Dome Canberra ACT (Becker Building), Melanie Lazarow |
Things To Do and Places to Go