It has occured to me that the words "Canberra, Australia", as they appear on my profile page, may well be a mystery to many of you, including, perhaps, those who are Aussies. Canberra is not one of those well known places that leap to mind as international travellers prepare their itiniaries. Yet Canberra is the capital city of Australia and the seat of National Government.

Canberra is also the lampooning capital of Australia. It is the target of abuse from most Australian who don't live here, simply because it is the capital, the place where politicians and bureaucrats meet to connive against the humble plebeians.

I'm reminded of when a mate and I were traveling in the north of South Australia many years ago. We were on the Oodnadatta Track and stopped for fuel at a place called Howard Springs. The chap who ran the fuel stop came out to serve us (yes..driveway service) and noticed the number plate on our vehicle gave us away as being from Canberra.

"Canberra, eh?" he said. "Flooded a bloody good golf course there 20 years ago. Stupid buggers!"

You can see the result of that flooding in the picture above.

This is my town

In the late 19th century, Australia consisted of a number of separate colonies, all subject to the British Crown. Someone had the bright idea that the formation of a central government would be a good thing and so, after much argument over a number of years, the Commonwealth of Australia was formed on the 1st of January 1901.

But then the trouble started. The two major cities in Australia at the time, Sydney and Melbourne, were extremely jealous of each other (and continue to be). Neither wanted the other to become the nation's capital city so a new one had to be built. This necessitated a great deal of dissent and obfuscation over the next few years while people argued over possible sites (see http://foundingdocs.gov.au/item.asp?sdID=109).

There were strong arguments for an area in the vicinity of the Snowy River and trips were taken by worthy Senators to inspect and report. (Have a look at - Dalgety Chamber of Commerce www.dalgetychamber.org.au and Senators swimming http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/enlargement.asp?eID=102&pID=92)

Eventually it was decided to create a new territory between the New South Wales townships of Yass and Queanbeyan. Initially called the Federal Capital Territory, it subsequently became the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the city to be constructed was to be known as Canberra.

(See a 1933 map at http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/enlargement.asp?eID=106&pID=96 and the laying of the Foundation stone at http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/enlargement.asp?eID=104&pID=94#

Of course, you couldn't just build a city without a little bit of thought. We had learnt that much during our short history. So a competition was held to select a design and this was won by an inspired American architect by the name of Walter Burley Griffin. You can read all about Walter here http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090111b.htm

That, my friends, after a lot of hard work, is how Australia came to have a capital called Canberra in a land-locked place called the Australian Capital Territory.

Apart from being the national seat of government, Canberra is also the repository of huge collections of the Australian story, Australian culture and Australian learning. Starting out as a boring little backwater, it is now a beautiful city of over 330000 people with a thriving economy, important national institutions and a healthy environment. Canberra is even the centre of excellence for many of our national sporting endeavours.

Rather than prattle on, I have provided below a series of links to whet the appetite. Have a good click around and come visit some time. This is why I live where I live!

Oh, and I haven't even mentioned our restaurants and superb local wines............

Canberra tourism www.visitcanberra.com.au

Floriade http://www.floriadeaustralia.com/

Australian War Memorial www.awm.gov.au

National Archives www.naa.gov.au

Museum of Australian Democracy http://moadoph.gov.au/

Parliament House http://www.aph.gov.au/

National Folk Festival http://www.folkfestival.asn.au/

National Museum of Australia www.nma.gov.au

First Australians www.aiatsis.gov.au

Lake Burley Griffin www.nationalcapital.gov.au/enjoythelake/Lake_Burley_Griffin/index.asp

Australian Institute of Sport http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/

Australian National University www.anu.edu.au

National Gallery of Australia www.nga.gov.au

National Library of Australia www.nla.gov.au

National Portrait Gallery http://www.portrait.gov.au/

Questacon http://www.questacon.edu.au/