Page 998 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 19 March 2013
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Australians could proudly recognise as their capital, a planned and deliberate city that was accessible to all people, the heart of government, and with the people and infrastructure needed to service the needs of every single Australian.
Today, 100 years on, we are so much more than that. We are a place of learning that allows ideas and innovation to flourish and where progressive thought is encouraged and not feared. We are a place where creative people gravitate to enhance their talents. We are a home to our national cultural institutions, custodians of a nation’s memories and historical roots as national treasures for all Australians.
We are a place where the quality of life is second to none for a city of this size. We are a place where the city melds seamlessly with the bush. And we are a place that people of all ages, young and old, are proud to call their home.
Walter Burley Griffin’s partner, Marion Mahony, once described Canberra as “a city that could be a living and healthy and growing thing”. And Canberra’s growth and development over the last 100 years has been nothing short of remarkable. In 1945, at the end of the Second World War, only 13,000 people lived here. By 1970 that number had swelled 10 times, to 130,000, and it took all of that time, till the early 1970s, for all the major federal government departments to relocate to Canberra. Our city’s growth really accelerated during what historians refer to as “the golden age” for Canberra, with a recognition at last that Canberra was not just home to the federal parliament but also the true home of the federal bureaucracy.
And as we celebrate the 100 milestone, it allows us to reflect on the story of Canberra—a capital city chosen to unite a newly established federation; a design competition to capture the most innovative minds and their ideas; a city relatively far from the sea, relatively remote, and in the unforgiving Australian bushland; a blank canvas from which to build a modern city from scratch.
As the building and infrastructure came out of the ground, and the physical city started to emerge, at exactly the same time, quietly and to some extent without deliberate intent, the social fabric of the city began. Strangers forced together from all over the country to build a capital started building what bricks and mortar could not—the spirit of a city.
Today we acknowledge the people who have made it the city we see today. Today we recognise the people who have worked together to meet the challenges, tackle the problems, and bring about change; who have worked with conviction and courage to realise the true potential of the nation’s capital.
These individuals are not just our inspirational leaders, our captains of industry, our sporting stars, our eminent scientists or our gifted artists. They are our “average citizens” or our “unsung heroes” who do not necessarily receive notoriety or public accolade but who have been essential in developing and nurturing the social and spiritual side of our city.
Madam Acting Speaker, during the centenary week the celebrations have appropriately focused heavily on respecting and acknowledging the traditional owners
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