24 hours in Canberra

Until a couple of weeks ago, I wasn’t planning on visiting Canberra at all. My itinerary was set to include Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. But I became more and more intrigued about Canberra. One set of Australian friends told me I really should go there – and another set of friends told me not to bother. I had also watched Billy Connolly’s travel show ‘World Tour of Australia’, in which he completely slams Canberra! Bill Bryson, in his book ‘In a Sunburned Country’ (published as ‘Down Under’ in the UK), is also pretty scathing about the place. Even the former Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, famously refused to live in Canberra – preferring to stay in Sydney rather than move in to the official residence. That would be as if the Obamas had decided to stay in Chicago, rather than moving to the White House in DC! So I was curious about Canberra – and I also felt that I really did need to see the capital city of this country, especially coming from Washington, DC.
Canberra, like DC, was a planned capital city. It was a compromise, really – as nobody was able to agree whether the capital should be Melbourne or Sydney. So, in 1908, an area of New South Wales – almost exactly half way between Sydney and Melbourne – was chosen to become the A.C.T. (Australian Capital Territory) – again, rather like our District of Columbia. At that time it was little more than a sheep station – with nothing for miles around, except mountains and bush. To this day, it is still surrounded by nothing much – except mountains and bush. A competition was held to design the new capital. An American architect, and protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright, called Walter Burley Griffin won the contest and it was his plans that became the basis for the layout of the city, with its symmetrical road layout and placement of embassies and prominent government buildings seen in the Parliamentary Triangle (another DC parallel – Griffin is to Canberra as L’Enfant is to DC).
It took many years to complete this new city – and not all of Griffin’s ideas were used. Building and expansion is still going on, with new buildings replacing old. Even Parliament House (the equivalent of the US Capitol) is only twenty years old (the original Parliament House, from 1927, is now a museum).
In my brief time in Canberra I had time to have a look at the city center (known as the CBD - Central Business District), Parliament House and the National Museum of Australia. I would also attempt to walk between all these locations, to see more and get a feel for the place in the short time that I had.
The CBD offered a mixture of office blocks, municipal and civic buildings, modern indoor retail complexes and 1970s-era pedestrianised shopping precincts. None of it was very attractive. In fact, I was reminded of the worst of English 1970s architecture on streets that could have easily been in Leeds or Coventry. Time to move on.
Trying to walk from the CBD to Parliament House was not a good idea. It was much, much further than it looked on the map. Also – the only connecting road seemed to be rather busy highway. It was also freezing cold (they have winter here, unlike Brisbane). I eventually hailed a cab and was helpfully told by the driver that I had been crazy trying to walk.

Parliament House was an impressive structure and I was able to go inside and have complete access to both the Senate and the House of Representatives, as they were in recess this month. I was glad to see all of this, especially as a comparison to the Capitol, where we take our students every year. This building certainly lacks all the awesome beauty of the always-impressive US Capitol. In fact, beauty is not a word I would use to describe any of Canberra. Functional, structured, orderly, well-planned – yes. But there is no aesthetic beauty or warmth here (maybe the weather was getting to me). Canberra is almost over-planned. After leaving Parliament House,
I walked down to see the old Parliament House and walked through the Aboriginal Tent Embassy – an unofficial set of tents set up by Aboriginal people to represent their rights as the first Australians. I was pleased to speak to a man who seemed to be in charge of the ‘embassy’ – and I asked him what he thought of Canberra. He told me that it reminded him of a ‘giant cemetery’ – and I had to agree. At once, I was reminded of Arlington and its vastness, extreme symmetry and quiet, still, regimented atmosphere. That’s fine for a cemetery, but a capital city needs a little more life and warmth.

I finished my day at the National Museum. I was so glad to have made it here. The displays and artifacts were superb – and I learned a great deal about the indigenous people, the early settlers and the colonization of Australia. The museum did a wonderful job of respecting, celebrating and honoring every community and racial and ethnic group that has ever lived in Australia. Impressive stuff – and it demonstrated what a rich, diverse, multicultural country this is.
I stayed until closing time – after which I was lucky enough to catch a stunning sunset over the nearby Black Mountain and its famous Telstra Tower, but then it was time for me to move on. Off to the airport once again, for my evening flight to the state of Victoria and the city of Melbourne.