We all know Canberra is the capital of Australia – yes? ‘No’, I hear some unfamiliar accents say. I’m not surprised. Many folks overseas think Sydney is the capital. After all, it is our oldest and largest city, with a population now exceeding 4 million, and is fondly remembered for doing a wonderful job hosting the 2000 Olympic Games. Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales (NSW).
Some people think Australia’s capital is Melbourne. It also has a population nudging 4 million, hosted the 1956 Olympics, and regards itself as the sports capital of Australia. Melbourne is the state capital of Victoria.
Located between these two great rivals, Canberra (population 380,000) is the purpose-built national capital, and is also Australia’s largest inland city.
That’s fascinating, I hear you say, but what about the kangaroos? We’ll get to the hoppy things soon but first some more history.
Canberra is a young city, conceived in the early 1900s to house the Federal Parliament for a newly formed nation – it celebrated its centenary only last year. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), an area of 2358 sq km (910 sq mi) of federal land, was excised from NSW to house Canberra. The city sits in the foothills of the Australian Alps – yes, it snows here, quite a lot in fact – and includes hills and ridgelines supporting a mix of native forest, shrubs and grass cover.
For pointing the development of Canberra in this direction, we can thank Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion Mahoney Griffin. The Griffins won an international competition to design the new national capital, and incorporated significant areas of natural forest into the plan. Subsequent planners have continued this approach, rather than converting our hilly areas into high-priced real estate.
Most of these timbered hills and ridges have since been declared nature reserves. As Canberra expands, more are being established. There are now 34 reserves throughout the city, and collectively they are known as Canberra Nature Park. The combined area of these reserves is approaching 10,000 ha (24,700 acres). It is for this reason that Canberra is often called ‘The Bush Capital’. The city also boasts other large areas of open space: landscaped parks, lake foreshores, playing fields, golf courses, creek lines, horse paddocks, and so on.
The nature reserves and open space areas, together with water from artificial lakes, former farm dams, and rivers and creeks, provide ideal living conditions for kangaroos – and other animals, especially birds.
At last we’ve got to the kangaroos – but more about them in the next post!
Happy travelling.