Day Seven - Canberra

Canberra.

You have to feel sorry for the people of Canberra.  They spend their entire lives agreeing with visitors that the place is terrible.  Yet they stay on and the city continues to expand with new suburbs appearing each year.  We just had a day to explore, admittedly a Sunday, and were struggling to come up with something good to say.  Then it stuck us: there’s plenty of space.

Wherever you go in the city you cannot escape the feeling that everyone has left.  Even in the busy areas, the streets are empty and shops, cafes and bars all closed.  And that doesn’t just apply to Sunday.  We crossed the Commonwealth Bridge into the political triangle and headed for the new Parliament building on Capital Hill.  Lots of wide avenues with government buildings and imposing architecture.  Sound familiar?  It could be Washington. 

The new Parliament Building itself has a bit of an austere outlook and could easily have taken some influence from Albert Speer.  Inside it’s a sight to behold and as with everything else good about Australia, the friendly welcome and helpful people make it. 

Dougie at the Parliament Building, Canberra

After the Parliament we walked to the Kingston Shore Markets, a key sight for Canberra visitors.  It’s a Sunday market combining antiques, crafts and flat whites.  I think we lasted about 30 minutes as neither of us had any interest in organic cherry jam or balsamic vinegar.  We then headed to the National Gallery of Australia.

Kingston Markets

The NGA is a fantastic building just back from the lake featuring a wealth of art, including a great collection of Australian art dating back to the days of the convicts early settlers. 

ART

The National Gallery of Australia

2013 will see Canberra celebrate 100 years of existence.  In the Parliament they had an excellent display of artefacts and photos from the 1910 surveying expedition when Canberra was nothing more than a collection of tents, labourers and ponies.  The tents have been replaced by modern buildings, the nation’s political centre and a scruffy concrete retail and entertainment centre.  Altogether a bit odd.