![]() The prevailing wisdom of the day had it that cool, temperate climates were preferable to hot ones on the dubious basis that cool climates produced hardier races. The heat did some places, like Albury, no favours in the selection process. The first tour of senators to inspect sites took place in the blistering February of 1902. Some of the main contenders were Albury, Wagga Wagga, Orange, Armidale, Bombala, Tumut, and Dalgety as well as Yass-Canberra. Many communities put forward a case to be selected by parliament. The second criterion was for defensive reasons, as warships were becoming more powerful and an increasingly militaristic ethos was permeating global affairs. The compromise was that parliament would sit in Melbourne until a dedicated city was built, but that the site would be in New South Wales and at least 100 miles away from Sydney. Neither Sydney nor Melbourne would agree to the other being declared the capital. Being considered worthy of bad jokes is perhaps the fate of compromise solutions. ![]() When Canberra was named, there were more sheep than people, and the long-standing joke has been that the city’s construction ruined a good sheep paddock. About 500 guests, 2,000 mounted troops and 3,000 observers were present in 1913 to hear Lady Denman announce the new capital’s name and to mark the commencement of work.įrom a city originally planned for 25,000 people, Canberra is now home to nearly 400,000 people, of whom 18 per cent speak a language other than English at home, which is roughly in line with national average. Canberra, which is among the youngest capital cities in the world, celebrated its centenary in 2013.
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