Australian Capital Territory

Parliament House, Capital Hill
Tourism New South Wales

When the Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901, it was agreed that the seat of government was to be on neutral ground due to intense Sydney–Melbourne rivalry. In 1908, the southern tablelands of New South Wales, set along the Great Dividing Range, were chosen as the site for the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin won an international design competition with his innovative plan for the Australian Capital Territory’s city area of Canberra. An associate of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, his plan showed a city laid out in a series of circles and rectangles, echoing the natural amphitheatre formed by Mount Ainslie, Black Mountain and Pleasant Hill. One criticism of Griffin’s plan was its generous scale, allowing for wide streets and boulevards – one wit described it ‘as a good sheep paddock spoiled’. Yet the scale of the city has allowed Canberra to grow as a modern metropolis.

Although the name Canberra is said to be from an Aboriginal word meaning ‘meeting place’ , it is only in more recent decades that the long Aboriginal history related to the area has become more fully acknowledged. The Ngunnawal people are the traditional owners and their rock-art sites in Namadgi National Park are a tangible reminder of another aspect of the ACT’s history.