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730 Canberra Tips. 1363 Canberra Photos. 1 Canberra Videos. Canberra Pages by Ronald_T Sponsored Links for Canberra
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Tips 1 - 10 of 12 Canberra General Tips
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Favorite Thing: Canberra (Aboriginal word for 'meeting place') is the Capital of Australia in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), on ca. 700 meters height, on the Murrumbidgee, with a population of 310173 (Jan. 1999). Canberra was build from a design by the American architect Walter Burley Griffin, and gave the city two centers; one political and one business center. Between the town center’s let they big spaces with a rural character. Central in the city laid the artificial designed Lake Burley Griffin, that named at the designer. Around the lake you find the governments buildings, the National Library (http://www.nla.gov.au), the High Court of Australia (http://www.hcourt.gov.au), the Australian National Gallery (http://www.nga.gov.au/index.htm l) and (opened in 1988) the New Parliament Building (http://www.aph.gov.au), which was build behind the old one (http://www.dcita.gov.au/oph.html).
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Favorite Thing: Visit the Old Parliament House (http://www.oph.gov.au)... When Australia’s Federal Government moved to Canberra in 1927, the Old Parliament House was its first home. Although the building was supposed to be a temporary structure, Parliament continued to sit here until 1988, when the new Parliament House (see above) opened on Capital Hill. This site is worth a visit with the surrounding rose gardens or you can take a step back into history, with guided tours of the building and the intriguing sound and light presentation 'Order! Order! ' The Old Parliament House is also the home of the National Portrait Gallery, where you can meet many of Australia’s most famous faces, as seen by many of Australia’s most famous artists. The vistas from the front looking back to the War Memorial (see further) and from the back looking up to the New Parliament House are equally magnificent…
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Tours: Since March 2000 Canberra have...
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Favorite Thing: Since March 2000 Canberra have there own sightseeing bus, the Canberra Tour. Lets see where they bring you. 01} Melbourne Building 02} Casino Canberra 03} Australian War Memorial 04} Dickson-China Town 05} Canberra Visitor Centre 06} Sydney Building 07} Regatta Point 08} National Library 09} High Court of Australia 10} Questacon 11} Old Parliament House 12} Parliament House 13} World Embassies & Residences 14} Screensound Australia This is just information. See for the Canberra Tour also under Tourist Traps.
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Favorite Thing: But in fact, who was Walter Burley Griffin? A question I ask myself and after a long search I want to share my findings. Walter Burley Griffin (see picture) was born on November 24, 1876 in Maywood, Illinois. Already in high school, Griffin showed his interest in landscape gardening. The family had moved to a new house in the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst and Griffin was involved in landscaping the backyard. His parents let him do what he wanted and before long his brother and sisters were calling it 'The Jungle' because he was experimenting with so many different forms of plants. In 1895, Griffin enrolled in the Department of Architecture at University of Illinois. In 1899, Griffin graduated in Architecture. He returned to Chicago where he quickly found a job as a draftsman working with Chicago's most progressive architects. From 1899 to 1914, Griffin created more than 130 designs in his Chicago office for buildings, urban plans and landscapes, half of which were built in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin. In 1912, Griffin won the Canberra Commission for the design of the Federal Capital of Australia. Griffin arrived in Canberra on October 1913 as Federal Director of Design and Construction - development of the city was ready to begin. Dominating Griffin's plan was a central artificial lake and a 'parliamentary triangle' in which the most important national buildings were to be placed. The surrounding residential areas had a geometric street pattern, circular and radial in shape, all fitting well into the general topography. Griffin continued to practise as an architect in Australia and design also the Newman College at the University of Melbourne, the Capitol Theatre and some houses. By 1935, Griffin was reduced to designing municipal incinerators and he left Australia to take up an architectural appointment in India. He died there in 1937 at the age of 60.
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Favorite Thing: Take a walk in the Commonwealth Park that offers you more then you think. Lots of outdoor activities are organized there like the Floriade (see further), concerts and also the celebrating of New Year Eve. See or sail the Lake Burley Griffin. You will find there also the Captain Cook Memorial Water Jet that is situated in Lake Burley Griffin, which was created in 1964 when the former Molonglo River was dammed. Most of the time this park, which is only minutes away from the city, is a good place for a picnic or take a rug and lay down with a good book under the many trees around. On the picture here you have a good view out the Commonwealth Park over the lake Burley Griffin within the Captain Cook Memorial Water Jet and in the background the Black Mountain and the Telstra Tower (see further).
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Favorite Thing: Visit Manuka. In Sydney it's Double Bay, in Melbourne it's South Yarra. In Canberra, it's Manuka. (Say Mar-nar-kar, not Ma-noo-kar.) Don't be deceived by its low-key village look. This place has everything on the one block. Here you'll find the up market fashion labels (including the imported ones) and a whole street of cafes where the locals love to see and be seen. Drop by for a latte and browse in the arcades. There are beautiful things to discover. Just minutes away from the parliamentary triangle, its a great place to escape to after visiting the Art Gallery, Parliament House etc, etc. And if you want you can even go to the Cinema after some fine or casual dining. To go straight to Manuka with public transport take bus 39 from the City Interchange.
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Join a Discussion Victor Lodge in Dawes Street (2 replies, Saturday, Jul 5, 2008, 3:58 AM UTC) accomodation (5 replies, Saturday, Jul 5, 2008, 4:11 AM UTC) hillside health clinic (1 replies, Wednesday, Jun 25, 2008, 1:02 PM UTC) Be the first to reply to these questions AMC accommodation (no replies yet, Monday, Dec 4, 2006, 12:05 AM UTC) » All Canberra Posts » Ask about Canberra
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Comments for Ronald_T about Canberra | | | | |
SWFC_Fan Wed Apr 12, 2006 03:54 UTC Super tips, Ronald! :-) I'm arriving in the Oz capital tomorrow night for a couple of days en-route to Sydney. Thanks for the great info! | craic Wed May 5, 2004 16:05 UTC Well done. Great stuff. | iandsmith Mon Sep 8, 2003 06:07 UTC How embarrassing; someone from the other side of the world has done the best page on our capital - congratulations! | eviltooth Mon Jun 23, 2003 13:13 UTC Going to Canberra on Wed, thanks for the accommodation tip. |
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