The selection of Canberra, in the early 1900’s, as the new capital of Australia has often been referred to as the waste of good sheep grazing land or a good sheep station spoiled. It has also been, and still is by some, referred to using even mostly derogatory terms but let’s keep to the sheep for now. Continue reading “Ainslie’s Sheep”
From late June to mid July each year you can try out, or hone, your ice skating skills courtesy of an open-air ice rink in Garema Place in the centre of Canberra. Continue reading “Winter Festival – Ice Skating in the City”
No, you have not misread the title of this review. I will return to that anon.
Canberra has a growing number of annual festivals and one of the latest additions (2015) to the fold is the rather fancifully named ‘World’ Curry Festival – Sydney makes do with its ‘Sydney’ Curry Festival! Continue reading “World Curry Festival – The Best of Irish”
Until the arrival of European settlers, in the early 1800s, the Ngunnawal Aboriginal people were the only inhabitants of the Limestone Plains, which subsequently became Canberra. Continue reading “Reclamation – Culture, Spirit and Place”
Being a capital city, albeit a small one of only 400,000 people, Canberra is host to nearly 80 Embassies and High Commissions in addition to numerous other international organisations, foundations, philanthropic organisations and the like.
The one thing all these erstwhile institutions have in common is that they like to bestow gifts on their hosts, all with good and noble intent, naturally. Many of these gifts take the form of statues and works of art which have to be displayed somewhere. Continue reading “Where can we put that, without causing offence?”
Canberra, with due cause, is often referred to as the Bush Capital. Parks, leafy suburbs and gardens abound. Most of these contain native Australia flora, with an overlay of European or more exotic species here and there. Continue reading “Glebe Park – Ye Olde English Park in Civic”
While there are numerous examples of good graffiti art all over Canberra the majority would be time consuming for the visitor, with only a passing interest in the subject, to visit. There are currently (Sept 2016) 24 legal street art sites in Canberra, primarily road underpasses and spillways. Additionally there are a number more formal and more professional mural sites. Continue reading “Graffiti Art in the City”
Readers of others of my reviews will be aware that, with one exception – Cape Town – I feel that, for me, hop-on-hop-off bus services are too restrictive and not worth what they charge. I prefer to do my own thing and find local transport services to be as convenient, generally much more frequent and certainly a lot cheaper. Continue reading “Red Explorer Bus – Hop-on Hop off”
On 12 March, 1913 Lady Denman, wife of Governor General, Lord Denman, formally announced that Australia’s Capital city would be called Canberra. She did so standing on top of the Foundation Stone of a planned Commencement Column on Capital Hill, where Parliament House is located today. The planned column was never added to the Foundation Stone which is now located on the lawn in front of Parliament House, it having been moved a short distance, in the 1980s, to allow for the building of the Parliament building. Continue reading “Canberra Centenary Column”
Most Canberrans know City Hill, not by name, but rather as mound or, less fetchingly, a carbuncle, on the landscape that you have to drive around at the lower end of Northbourne Avenue, before crossing Lake Burley Griffin via Commonwealth Bridge. Continue reading “City Hill – For A Very Different View”
The Rambling Wombat 