Facts at a Glance
History
When to Go
Orientation
Attractions
Off the Beaten Track
Activities
Events
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Recommended Reading
Lonely Planet Guides
Travellers' Reports on Australia
On-line Info
Population: 298,000
Country: Australia
Time Zone: GMT/UTC plus 10 hours
Telephone Area Code: 02
It is believed that Aboriginal people used the area which is now the ACT as a meeting place, possibly for corroborees held to mark the migration of the bogong moth, which was hunted and eaten. Canberra was first settled by Europeans in 1824, when Joshua Moore bought the first land grant in the area, at the foot of Black Mountain. By 1845 a town had grown up in the shadow of the mountain, with the newly built St John's Church and the nearby school at its centre.
The establishing of a national capital and surrounding Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was one of the tenets of the constitution created when the colonies were federated into Australian states in 1901. The site was selected in 1908 - diplomatically situated between arch rivals Sydney and Melbourne. Canberra was named in 1913, from an Aboriginal term believed to mean 'meeting place', and an international competition to design the city was won by the American architect Walter Burley Griffin. Development of the site was slow and although parliament was first convened in the capital in 1927, it was not until after WWII that the dream of a national capital began to reach fruition.
In 1957 the Menzies Government created the National Capital Development Commission, to establish Canberra as the seat of government and generally spruce the place up a bit. Over the next 20 years it was full steam ahead - bridges were built over a hypothetical lake, then a year later the lake followed; the Mint, the National Library, the Botanic Gardens and the Carillon sprang up; the civic centre was packed full of offices, shops and theatres. Throughout the 60s the public service became Canberra's major industry, with departments shifting to the capital from all over the country, bringing with them hordes of happy families in search of a quarter-acre block to call their own. In line with its reputation as a planned city, Canberra's growth was less than organic - rather than filling in the city centre and letting suburbs sprawl around it, the NCDC oversaw the setting up of 'satellite towns' to the north and south. Woden, to the south, was set up first, then Belconnen to the north. In the 70s they were followed by Tuggeranong, and in the 80s Gunghalin.
Since Federation the ACT had been under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, with no local government of its own. In a 1978 referendum Canberrans had voted no to self-government, but despite this in 1988 the Federal Government passed four bills to make the Territory self-governing and in 1989 the first Legislative Assembly was elected. For the first few years of self-government, power changed hands between the ALP and Liberal Party fairly regularly, with cameo performances by representatives of the No Self Government Party, the Residents Rally and the ACT Greens. In 1995 the electoral system was changed, and the Liberal Party has remained firmly entrenched ever since.
Despite self-government, Canberra's fortunes are still tied to the big boys on the hill. The national public service is the city's engine room, and when the Howard Government recently made severe cutbacks to its numbers, Canberra really felt the pinch, with businesses throughout the city suffering as public servants stopped spending money. Canberra remains optimistic and daring, however - the Legislative Assembly keeps coming up with ideas no other state government would touch with a barge pole, the Canberra Raiders rugby team continues to shine, and the city's café, music and art scene just keeps getting better.
Autumn (March to May) in Canberra is quite simply gorgeous. The days are sunny and crisp, the trees are changing and everything looks lovely. Winter (June to August) is cold; really, really cold. There are mornings when it feels like breathing in will crack your lungs, but the sky is usually blue and the weather is sunny. Spring (September to November) is much wetter and windier, though the very popular Floriade festival brightens things up. Summer (December to February) can be just a bit too hot.
The ACT measures 80km (50mi) from north to south and is about 30km (19mi) wide. It is landlocked within the mountainous country of southeastern New South Wales, 305km (190mi) from Sydney by road. Canberra and its surrounding suburbs are in the northeast of the territory, while the Namadgi National Park occupies the whole southwestern area. The population grew from 50,000 in 1960 to 100,000 in 1967 and has soared to almost 300,000 today.
Canberra is arranged around the artificial Lake Burley Griffin. In Civic, on the northern side of the lake, are the shops, businesses, university and suburbs such as Reid, Braddon, Turner and Acton. Parliamentary and other important buildings are located to the south of the lake, surrounded by suburbs such as Parkes, Barton, Forrest, Deakin and Yarralumla (home to the prime minister and governor-general). Canberra is also surrounded by the satellite towns of Woden, Belconnen and Tuggeranong.
Canberra's airport is about 7km (4mi) east of the city. Interstate buses arrive at the Jolimont Centre, which is in the centre of Civic. The railway station is in Kingston, on the south side of the lake. Most shops and restaurants are in Civic and Manuka, also just south of the lake, with a few cafes sprinkled through the inner suburbs. Each satellite town has its own charming mall. Civic is also the centre of Canberra's nightlife, which is somewhat more lively than its reputation suggests.
Parliament House
As Canberra's raison d'etre, Parliament House is the thing most visitors to the city want to have a gander at. Opened in 1988, new Parliament House (as it's commonly known, to distinguish it from the old Parliament House) is a marble lined monstrosity squatting at the apex of the Parliamentary Triangle. Built into the hill, the roof of the house is lined with grass to make it blend in. In true Australian tradition, the grass is imported lawn mix, which requires gargantuan quantities of water and weedkiller to keep it green and glowing. The interior of the house is rather impressive - each of its major sections is lined with Australian timbers, and it is littered with over 3000 art works bought or commissioned from Australian artists.
Visitors can wander around the public areas of the house, including the House of Representatives and the Senate, though you may have to make a booking if something particularly juicy is being debated. There are free guided tours of the building on non-sitting days.
Old Parliament House, further down the hill towards the lake, was the seat of government from 1927 until 1988. Far more modest than its succesor, the old house resembles a slightly sprawling wedding cake. You can take a tour of the building or wander its pleasant grounds. The house is also home to the new National Portrait Gallery.
National Gallery of Australia
Canberra's National Gallery, on the south shore of the lake, has probably the best collection of art in the country. The Australian collection ranges from traditional Aboriginal art through to 20th century works by Arthur Boyd, Sidney Nolan and Albert Tucker. Aboriginal works include bark paintings from Arnhem Land, pukumani burial poles from the Tiwi people and printed fabrics from central Australia. There's also plenty of foreign art from all eras, and most travelling exhibitions stop by Canberra on their way around the world. The collection is not confined to paintings: sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, furniture, ceramics, fashion, textiles and silverware are all on display. There are a couple of pleasant restaurants on the grounds, and free lectures are often given.
Questacon
This is a 'hands on' science museum which lives in a purpose-built, snappy white building near the National Gallery. There are over 200 devices in the centre's five galleries, including the earthquake experience, the thongaphone, and the 'can you bowl faster than Alan Donald' display. It's designed for kids, but unselfconscious adults won't have any trouble entertaining themselves for an hour or two. It may be educational, but it's also great fun.
Australian War Memorial
The massive war memorial is more than the usual pointy concrete thing in the middle of town, it's actually a museum of Australia's war history. It was conceived in 1925 and finally opened in 1941. It houses an amazing collection of pictures, dioramas, relics and exhibitions, including a fine collection of old aircraft. For anyone with an interest in toy soldiers, the miniature battle scenes are absorbing.
The Hall of Memory is the focus of the memorial. It features a beautiful interior, some superb stained-glass windows and a dome made of six million Italian mosaic pieces. The Unknown Australian Soldier was brought here from a WWI battlefield in 1993. Leading to the hall is the reflecting pool, its surrounding walls inscribed with the names of Australia's war dead.
Namadgi National Park
Namadgi takes up all the bits of the ACT that Canberra doesn't; that is, most of the south-west. Part of the park borders the mountainous Kosciuszko National Park in NSW's Snowy Mountains. There are seven peaks over 1600m (5248ft) in the park, and some of the bushwalking is downright challenging. Booroomba Rocks is one of the most popular spots in the park, with some great climbing and scrambling over its huge granite boulders. Sometimes there's enough snow in Namadgi for cross-country skiing.
The park has a visitor information centre, or you can pick up brochures from the Canberra visitor information centre. There are several picnic sites and two campsites - you're not permitted to camp outside these. You can either get to the park in your own car on the road south from Tharwa to Adaminaby, or take a tour with one of a couple of operators in Canberra.
Tidbinbilla
The Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, 45km (28mi) south-west of the city, is criss-crossed with walking tracks. But the reason most visitors come here is to feed the semi-tame kangaroos, be terrorised by the sandwich-snatching emus or scan the trees for the possibly non-existent koalas. The visitors centre here has some great displays on native fauna and flora. Tidbinbilla is a great spot to take the kids for a picnic, or to do a couple of short walks.
North of the nature reserve, the Tidbinbilla Tracking Station, otherwise known as the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, is a joint US-Australian eye on the sky. The visitor centre here has displays of spacecraft and tracking technology, and it's free to get in. South of the reserve, Corin Forest is an adventure playground on steroids, with its 1km (0.6mi) metal bobsled run, snow-making machine and flying fox. It's a gas. You'll need your own car to get to Tidbinbilla.
Ginninderra
If you're hankering after tourist tackiness, Ginninderra's the place to go. About 11km (7mi) north-west of the city, the Ginninderra Village is the area's centrepiece, a collection of colonial-era buildings quaintified into Devonshire tea spots, Australiana galleries, wood-turning workshops and shops selling nothing but cat knick-knacks. Next door, Cockington Green is a sprawling miniature (if such a thing is possible) English village, complete with cricket streakers and a working steam train - it's horribly overpriced, but the kiddies will love it.
Just outside the village, the National Dinosaur Museum is a private collection with replica skeletons of 10 dinosaurs as well as a bunch of real bones and fossils. It's pricey, but fun. An ACTION bus runs from Belconnen past Ginninderra Village on its way to Gunghalin.
Lanyon Homestead
The beautifully restored Lanyon Homestead, beside the river near Tharwa, is about 30km (19mi) south of the city. The early stone cottage on the site was built by convicts, and the grand homestead, which dates from Canberra's grazier days, was completed in 1859. More than a collection of pretty old buildings, this National Trust homestead documents the life of the region before Canberra existed. The Nolan Gallery in the homestead collects some of Australian painter Sydney Nolan's most famous Ned Kelly works. As you'd expect, you can get a pretty nice Devonshire tea at Lanyon.
 Activities
Canberra is a wonderful place for cycling and it has a great series of bicycle tracks. Roller-blading is also popular. There are watersports on Lake Burley Griffin with canoes, catamarans, paddle boats and surf skis for hire. Canoeing and white-water rafting on the Murrumbidgee are other water-based activities. Swimming in the lake, however, is not recommended. There are several fine swimming spots along the Murrumbidgee and Cotter rivers such as Uriarra Crossing, Casuarina Sands, Kambah Pool, the Cotter Dam, Pine Island, Point Hut Crossing and Gibraltar Falls. Bushwalking is one of Canberra's most popular activities and there are particularly good walking tracks along the Murrumbidgee from Kambah Pool to Pine Island (7km) or to Casuarina Sands (about 21km). The Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve has marked trails. Cruises and balloon and aeroplane flights are another way to get an angle on the city. There is sometimes enough snow for cross-country skiing in Namadgi National Park, or you can enjoy the fake stuff at Corin Forest, and the NSW snowfields are within four hours' drive.
The Canberra Festival celebrates the city's birthday over 10 days in March with music, food, a mardi gras, displays, a raft race and a parade. Spring is celebrated with the Floriade Festival, when Commonwealth Park becomes a riot of floral colour. Canberra is best avoided at New Year when the Street Machine Summer Nats brings hot-rods and wet t-shirt competitions to the nation's capital.
 Getting There & Away
Canberra does not have an international airport. Flights arrive in Canberra from all capital cities as well as from towns in NSW, although many make a stopover in Sydney or Melbourne on the way. Buses run from Canberra to Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne, with connections to the other capitals. You can also catch buses to the south coast, the snowfields and throughout NSW. Trains run to Sydney, or you can do a combined bus-train trip to Melbourne.
The Hume Highway, which runs between Melbourne and Sydney, passes about 50km (30mi) north of Canberra - you can drive to Goulburn or to Yass to join up with it, depending whether you're heading north or south. The Monaro highway to the south will take you to Cooma, the snowfields and the coast.
The airport is 7km (4mi) south-east of the city centre. You can get a shutttle minibus to the Jolimont Centre in town and to various hotels for about $5, or catch a cab to the city for about $7.
Public transport in Canberra means the Action bus - the Australian Capital Territory Internal Omnibus Network! It's not much chop - services are rather sparse and practically non-existent on Sundays or after 10pm. You're much better off on a bicycle if you're energetic (Canberra has an excellent network of bike paths which allow you to avoid the traffic pretty much anywhere you're going) or, if you're not, with a car.
- Above the Cotter, by Margaret McJannett and Ian Fraser, has a bunch of walks and drives around Canberra. The same team also publish a guide to Canberra's wildflowers, beautifully illustrated by Helen Fitzgerald.
- Roger Pegrum's The Bush Capital tells the story of how Canberra was chosen as the nation's capital.
- Canberra, by Lyall Gillespie, is a history of Canberra's early days from bush to prosperous farmland to national capital. Later volumes take Canberra's history up to the 1980s.
- Peter Proudfoot takes Burley Griffin a step further with The Secret Plan of Canberra. With chapters like The Symbolism of the Crystal in the Architecture and Geometry of the Plan, as well as sections on geomancy and feng shui, this isn't your usual guide to Canberra.
- Can't get enough of planning? Canberra 1912: Plans & Planners of the Australian Capital Competition, by John Reps, is a huge chunky volume of all the plans for Canberra that just weren't good enough.
 Lonely Planet Guides
 Travellers' Reports
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Facts at a Glance
History
When to Go
Orientation
Attractions
Off the Beaten Track
Events
Getting Around
Recommended Reading
