A Saturday in Canberra's Parliamentary Triangle

Canberra was a tiny village until 1913, when the country decided to make it the capital of Australia. Thus, it's real growth began intentionally and with lots of planning. Burley Griffin, a colleague of Frank Lloyd Wright, laid out the original design for the city, made up of concentric crescents and circles. However, two world wars slowed growth, so that by 1947 there were still only 15,000 inhabitants. Development increased dramatically in the 1950s, and Canberra now has 320,000 residents. 


The main government buildings are situated on knolls on either side of Lake Burley Griffn (which, like most of the city, didn't exist until planned, and thus is man-made). ANU is located on the north side of the lake, west of the central business district (CBD) - business buildings and shopping. On the other side of the lake are many of the government buildings, including the Capital and high courts. Most of the museums are also on that side, including the Old Parliament House (now a museum; it was built in 1927 and served as the parliament building for 60 yrs), National Art Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, and National Library. It only took about 30 minutes to walk along the lake from campus, then across the lake, to reach the museums. It was a lovely brisk day of sun and clouds, and I enjoyed the exhibits, too.

Old Parliament House in foreground; the top of the new Parliament House in the background -  most of the  building is submerged underground.

Old Parliament House

Parliament House - the flag on top is apparently larger than a double-decker bus!

The National Library of Australia. They had a display of original paintings by John William Lewin, the first non-convict artist of Australia, of many of the native birds and animals. Lewin arrived in Sydney in 1800 and helped introduce Britain and the wider world to the flora and fauna of the continent, which had been colonized as a British penal colony in 1788.

Looking back across Lake Burley Griffin at the Anzac Memorial. Anzac is an acronym for Australian & New Zealand Army Corps, formed during World War I.

A coffee and a Thai chicken curry pie, yum! Savory pies are very popular here, as in South Africa and the UK.