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 ninety 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.
An international
competition was held that 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
21st 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.
NCA outreach activities include:
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 and, only recently, four new art works were installed.
Menzies Walk
A
2km public promenade is being constructed on the northern shores
of Lake Burley Griffin.
The RG Menzies Walk reconstruction is the first project in a
staged program of works under the Canberra Central Parklands
Master Plan.
The Walk will provide a well-lit, paved path through
Commonwealth
Park, Rond Terraces and Kings
Park
that will maximise the enjoyment of all those wishing to
experience of the National Capital’s most beautiful settings.
Humanities and Science Campus
A campus is under construction linking the National
Library and the National Science and Technology Centre buildings
and landscape areas; a project which emerged from the
Parliamentary Zone Review 2000.
The campus will ensure pedestrians can orient themselves
in the Zone, move easily between the buildings and view the
corridors to the Lake or
Parliament House.
Maintaining the
Capital
The NCA manages assets of approximately $700 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:
-
Lake Burley Griffin, the centrepiece of the setting of the
national capital,
-
The nation’s major commemorative avenue Anzac Parade, and
its memorials,
-
The National Carillon, Magna Carta Monument,
Captain Cook Memorial Jet, and other commemorative public
artworks,
-
The Diplomatic Estate, comprising the sites of all foreign
embassies and high commissions located in the national
capital.
Australia
has been experiencing a prolonged period of drought and the NCA
has been able to maintain relatively constant water consumption
throughout this period through careful monitoring and control of
its
irrigation systems. The use of computer controlled irrigation
has significantly reduced water use relative to evaporation.
|