AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

also called A.C.T., formerly Yass-Canberra, political entity of the Commonwealth of Australia consisting of Canberra, the national capital, and surrounding land. Most of the Australian Capital Territory lies within the Southern Tablelands district of New South Wales. The area is 900 square miles (2,400 square kilometres). There is an area of some 28 square miles at Jervis Bay on the southeastern coast. Canberra is located in the northeastern corner of the territory, about 185 miles (298 kilometres) southwest of Sydney and 290 miles northeast of Melbourne. The territory extends some 53 miles north to south and is about 33 miles wide at its widest point. The Australian constitution requires the establishment of such a territory. The site was chosen in 1908, construction began in 1911, and parliament moved from the temporary capital, Melbourne, into the first Parliament House in 1927. formerly Yass-canberra, separate political entity of the Commonwealth of Australia consisting of the national capital, Canberra, and some surrounding country. The territory is situated in the Southern Tablelands district within the confines of New South Wales. Additional reading Australia National Capital Development Commission, Tomorrow's Canberra! (1970), includes a chapter describing physical features and land use in the territory and a useful historical chapter. The same Commission's The Ecological Resources of the ACT (1984) offers a detailed description of the main ecological communities, a list of plant and animal species and their habitats, and a discussion of conservation. R. Else-Mitchell and T.P. Grundy (eds.), Canberra: People's Capital? (1988), contains a series of papers assessing the city as a place to live and dealing with policy issues such as transport and urban consolidation. K.F. Fischer, Canberra: Myths and Models, Town Planning Review, 60(2):155194 (April 1989), analyzes the planning and development of Canberra. Jim Gibbney, Canberra, 19131953 (1988); and Eric Sparke, Canberra, 19541980 (1988), provide a general history of Canberra's development and administration. Lionel Wigmore, Canberra, rev. ed. (1972), is a brief history. Max Neutze History The earliest evidence of Aboriginal occupation of the Australian Capital Territory dates from some 21,000 years ago. At the time of European settlement, the Wiradjuri were the main tribe in the area. Aborigines came to the territory's mountains each year in late spring to gather and feast on bogong moths. The first European explorer in the area was Charles Throsby in 1821. Throsby named the area Limestone Plains, and the first land taken up was Canberra in 1824. By the end of the 1830s most of the land in the district had been settled. Section 125 of the Australian constitution, adopted in 1900, provided for the Commonwealth seat of government to be in Commonwealth territory, not less than 100 square miles in area, situated in New South Wales not less than 100 miles from Sydney. A temporary capital was established in Melbourne. In 1908 it was determined that the capital would be in the Canberra-Yass district, not less than 900 square miles in area, and have access to the sea. In 1911 the Commonwealth government acquired the land for the city. The land has remained in government ownership in accordance with the Seat of Government (Administration) Act of 1910. Also in 1911, the Commonwealth launched an international competition for the design of its new capital. First prize was awarded to Walter Burley Griffin, a Chicago architect who had worked in the studio of Frank Lloyd Wright. He was also influenced by the English garden city movement. The foundation stone was laid in 1913, and work began on the planting of trees and the establishment of a water supply and other basic infrastructure. Griffin's plan focused on an ornamental lake in the east-west Molonglo floodplain and a north-south land axis crossing the lake between two hills. The Federal Triangle was marked by major roads that provided lines of sight between prominent features. Most of the federal buildings and the Parliament were to be within the Triangle, one of whose corners, Civic Centre, was to be the local government centre; another was to be the market centre. Residential suburbs to house a population of about 30,000 were laid out north and south of the lake. The strong landscape emphasis in the plan was reflected in the preservation of the native bush on all the high ridges and hilltops. Construction was interrupted during World War I but resumed after the war. The first Parliament House opened in 1927, when the population was nearing 6,000. It continued in operation, with many extensions, until the opening of the new House in 1988. Development was rapid in the 1920s but very slow during the Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II. In 1947 the population was only approaching 17,000, and most government departments were still largely or entirely located in Melbourne. Attempts to transfer departments to Canberra soon after the war were frustrated by the poor coordination of the provision of services. Following the recommendations of a Senate Select Committee for the development of Canberra, the National Capital Development Commission was established in 1958 with wide powers to plan, develop, and construct the national capital. This commission was unique in having effective control over undeveloped land, since it was all in public ownership, and in being responsible for the servicing and subdivision of this land and for the construction of infrastructure services and public buildings. The commission was supported by Robert Gordon Menzies (prime minister 193941 and 194966) and was adequately funded. As a result, the city's population grew rapidly, from 30,000 in 1954 to 208,000 in 1976, and then more slowly, to 259,000 in 1986. The commission was abolished in 1988 in preparation for the introduction of self-government the following year, at which time planning and development responsibilities were divided between the territory and Commonwealth governments. The Griffin plan was limited to the central basin. Construction of the first urban district outside that basin, Woden, began in 1962, followed by Belconnen in 1966, Tuggeranong in 1973, and Gungahlin in 1990. Max Neutze