Canberra celebrated it’s 97th birthday on 12 March 2010, meaning the Centenary while still 3 years away. This has not stopped the ACT Government and Chief Minister Jon Stanhope making sure we clearly mark each milestone towards this event.
For example, on Friday 12 March, the Centenary of Canberra’s Creative Director, Robyn Archer, introduced the new Centenary logo (the result of a creative collaboration between young designers across Australia and His Excellency, Mr Michael Bryce), and she also drew our attention to a selection of events to be rolled out in the coming 12 months.
The challenge, of course, for the ACT and the Commonwealth Governments is to generate the interest of as many Australians as possible to the national significance of the cultural collections, events, personalities, and history being celebrated.
The national capital story includes the ultra-challenging border survey, which defined the Federal Capital Territory (now ACT) borders. The survey evolved into a 5-year adventure, yet even a brief read of the original material underscores an issue the Australian Federation founders needed to address that is as relevant today as it was then: the crucial importance of water.
Water dominated inter-government deliberations on the capital throughout 1909 and for most of 1910.
When Surveyor, Scrivener, sent his Report to the Minister for Home Affairs in May 1909, the sub-heading in the document is simply entitled: ‘Water Supply’.
It is hardly surprising that when the Fisher Government published the ‘Information, Conditions and Particulars’ for Canberra’s international design competition in 1911 that potential applicants were advised that ‘water supply must be of sufficient magnitude to place the question of volume at all seasons and purity beyond doubt’.
It is not hard to empathise with, and learn from, our forebears. Almost 100 years later the issue of water availability remains at the forefront of public debate. In the last few months there has been a succession of important announcements to progress the water agenda.
In November 2009, ACTEW and the Stanhope Government started construction of the Cotter Dam extension, easily the biggest building project in the ACT since the construction of the new Parliament House. The Cotter extension, a vital project for the ACT and surrounding regions, will make certain that residents of the ACT have adequate and safe drinking supplies even if climate change leads to longer and more severe droughts.
On a smaller scale but important for different reasons in December 2009, the Environment Minister Peter Garrett and I announced a $2.9 million project for the Australian National Botanic Gardens. This announcement honoured an election commitment of the Rudd Government to construct a non-potable water supply from Lake Burley Griffin to the Gardens each year.
100 years ago, when King O’Malley, as Minister for Home Affairs, addressed the House of Representatives chamber on 9 November 1910, he did so as an outspoken advocate of the siting of Canberra in its current location. He called it ‘a new Eden’, evoking the idea of a garden city, which was amply reflected in the wonderful landscape architecture in the winning design for the new National Capital by Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion Mahony.
The Australian National Botanic Gardens are one of a number of national collections for which the national capital is custodian. I the Gardens case, the collection is the largest living collection of Australian native plants. If you haven’t been there lately, I encourage a visit. The Friends of the Gardens offer a wonderful tour and I commend the dedicated staff at this wonderful institution.
