What Makes the Flag on the Mast to Wave? Courage!

…as stated by the cowardly lion…

Day 2

We got a late start on Saturday (mostly due to my reaction to the jet-lag; plus Andrew picking up some ‘new to them’ furniture with his father Paul’s help), but then we were off to begin exploring. Cheri (having been here for two weeks already) had a good feel for Canberra, but our travels were to take us to some places she hadn’t yet seen.

As we began the Canberra tour it made sense to go to the National Capital Exhibit and learn the history behind the building of Canberra. Similar to the District of Columbia (DC), the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was developed as an area separate and distinct from the existing States. The place was chosen from a list of possibilities presented to Parliament by Charles Scrivener in 1906 and then an international competition was held for the design of the capital…with the nod given to an architect from Chicago, Walter Burley-Griffin (along with his wife Marion, a designer and who did the drawings).

The design centers on an axis between the two local peaks of Mount Ainsle and Mount Taylor. Along this axis is a mall with the Parliament Building at one end and the Australian War Memorial at the other. Various government buildings surround this mall, following different arcs all centered from the Parliament Building. Bisecting the mall is Lake Burley-Griffen, which was developed with building of the Scrivener Dam.

We drove to the top of Mount Ainsle and looked back along the mall towards the Parliament Building (the domed Australian War Memorial is in the foreground).



I took a panoramic shot of the City which shows how various Town Centers have grown around the initial concept. Originally planned for a population growth to 75,000 the current layout supports over 300,000.



Our travels then took us to the War Memorial. The Memorial is a stirring site and we were only able to spend a brief time there (at this time), but one begins to appreciate the courage and valor displayed by the Aussies during the Great World Wars and continuing to today. ANZAC Day—a national holiday to commemorate the Battle of Gallipoli during WWI and now eschews the same pride as our Independence Day—is thoroughly described in the portion of the museum we were able to see on our first visit.

Day 3

Exploring today took us to the other peak in the design of Canberra—Mount Taylor. We decided to hike a short way up the hill and then veered off into some fields…in search of ‘roos… From that point Sarah and Andrew took us to the Kingston Market—an arts and crafts market featuring local artists and materials. We enjoyed the crafts, made a few purchases, snacked on a few items and thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.

    

Then it was back to the house where Andrew threw a few things on the Barbie and we relaxed on the back deck. In the late afternoon, Andrew and I headed over to the local Club to watch a little “footsies” (football, or in this case rugby) while enjoying some local brews.

 
On to Melbourne next…