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History of the City

12 March 1913

Canberra’s founding ceremony was held on Capital Hill. Governor-General Lord Denman, Prime Minister Andrew Fisher, and Minister for Home Affairs King O’Malley laid the foundation stones for a ‘Commencement Column’ and Lady Denman announced the name chosen for the city. (For more information on the ceremony, refer to the CDHS booklet ‘Canberra’ produced for Canberra Day 2001).

1918

The Molonglo Internment Camp is built to house German nationals. After the war it is used as accommodation for workers and their families. It later becomes the industrial suburb of Fyshwick.

1924

The first sale of leases in the Territory occurs on 12 December. JB Young Ltd buys the first site on Giles Street, Eastlake (now Kingston).

1926

The Canberra Times was issued for the first time on 3 September with subscribers paying three pence for the sixteen page edition. It was initially a weekly paper.

9 May 1927

The ceremonial opening of Parliament in Canberra’s provisional Parliament House. As well as the Parliament House, The Lodge and Government House were completed as residences for the Prime Minister and the Governor-General. The Hotel Canberra and the Kurrajong Hotel housed parliamentarians.

East and West Blocks were built for public service offices, the Capitol Theatre opened in Manuka and hostels and houses were built at Ainslie, Reid and Forrest, Eastlake (Kingston) and Westridge (Yarralumla). The Royal Military College, Duntroon, a small hospital, the Cotter Dam, the power house at Kingston, the brickworks at Yarralumla and construction camps for workers were other features of the new capital city.

3 December 1927

The Prime Minister, Stanley Bruce, officially opened Canberra’s city centre. Despite Bruce’s opposition to the name, Walter Burley Griffin’s appellation ‘Civic Centre’ or just ‘Civic’ is commonly adopted by Canberrans.

1931

The Manuka Pool opens in January. The Federal Highway linking Canberra to Collector and Goulburn in New South Wales was completed. The road was built as an unemployment relief work during the Depression, when Canberra’s population still remained around 7 000. Radio 2CA commences broadcasting from a shop in Kingston.

1946

Construction of the Melbourne and Sydney buildings was finished, with these buildings dominating development in Civic from the 1920’s until the late 1950’s.

These buildings are good examples of the ‘inter-war Mediterranean’ style. The final design by JH Kirkpatrick, was different in detail although adhered to the principles established by the prominent architect JS Sulman. The street facades comprise arcaded loggias which continue for the perimeter of the block. These are broken by the centrally placed two storey formal entrances, which were similarly repeated to address the street corners of the buildings. They form a gateway to Civic from the South.

Recognition of the building’s importance occurred in 1980 when they were among the first structures to be entered in the Register of the National Estate in Canberra. The statement of significance of that time stated that only the facades were important. Consequently what went on behind the facades was not tightly controlled. The interiors have been altered and extensions into the courtyards have occurred. Fortunately the facades have retained a high integrity although the variety of infill to upper balcony openings and some signage differs from the historic values of these buildings.

An interesting fact of the buildings’ development was the government’s decision in 1924 to allow individual leaseholders to build individual parts of the building to an overall design. Detailed exterior drawings were provided by government architects for individual developers to complete the interior spaces to specific clients needs.

Society changes with time and so has the use of these buildings. Key items of early Canberra life, such as the Blue Moon Café have gone. The Post Office departed in the mid 1980’s and more recently another important component of the building, the Commonwealth Bank, has moved.

6 March 1963

The Monaro Mall is opened in Civic by Prime Minister Robert Menzies. It was the first fully air-conditioned shopping mall in Australia.

1965

The Canberra Theatre opened in June.

1988

The Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 established a Legislative Assembly with full powers to make laws for the ACT.

4 March 1989

The first ACT Legislative Assembly elections are held using the modified d’Hondt electoral system with over 100 hundred candidates. Five members are elected from the ALP, four from the Liberal Party, four from the Residents Rally, three from the No Self Government Party and one member of the Abolish Self-Government Coalition.

11 May 1989

Following the granting of self government, the new ACT Legislative Assembly met for the first time. Rosemary Follett (ALP) was elected Chief Minister.

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