the birth of canberra was an opportunity to create a great capital city

7/30/2019 The Birth of Canberra Was an Opportunity to Create a Great Capital City

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1, 2.http://naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs95.aspx National Archives of Australia

The birth of Canberra was an opportunity to create a great capital city. To what extent has that

opportunity been taken?

Canberra is a growing capital for a young country. Australian history has been short and humble

when contrasted with powers such as England or China. Created to be the City Beautiful

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, it hasevolved into the bureaucratic centre of Australia. With a small population, Canberra lacks many of

the amenities and attractions commonly associated with the capital of a thriving developed country.

Though small and constantly growing, Canberras architecture and geography have followed a plan

of 1012

years. A variety of buildings have filled the different areas of Canberra. This creates a fusion

of eye-catching structures and humble homes. Finally, employment is plentiful and high-paying,

stimulating Canberras economy. Whether these factors combine to make Canberra a great capital

city is a topic of debate.

When Burley Griffin won the Federal Capital Design Competition with his Y plan3, he planned for the

future. His goal was to create a capital to impress the world. Instructed to create a bush capital, heset about creating the spacious, well planned city that exists today. However, much of this space is

yet to be filled. Australias capital has a small population ofbarely 350,000 and its corresponding

built environment4utilises a very small amount of Canberras available land. The bush capital

remains just that, open bush. This contrasts with the role of Canberra as the nationwide

bureaucratic centre. When the city was created, both Canberra fuses bush beauty with utilitarian

functionality well, using Griffins plan to great effect. Canberras size keeps it known as the bush

capital, rather than a sophisticated thriving city of architecture. Large pieces of architecture, both

government and private contrast with the common view of pedestrian Canberra. The national

gallery, Questacon and even sky plaza are testaments to Canberras sophisticated, if sporadic sparks

of architectural genius. With a clever and successful plan for the Canberras geography, the national

capital is a combination of bush, humble home and sophisticated sights.

Canberras architecture matches its workforce, primarily conservative with streaks of brilliance. With

a workforce primarily employed in service to the government, the capital trades commercial

competitiveness for bureaucratic effectiveness. Created for the purpose of holding and supporting

the federal government, Canberra sacrifices other aspects as a city in order to achieve goals made

over a century ago. As a bureaucratic centre, it is functional and effective and this was and is, its first

priority. Much of the city centre is dedicated to government divisions. This makes Canberra an

effective capital city in that regard. Though being a great city is more than being an effective

legislative centre as a national capital, this is one of its most important roles. In earlier times,

Canberra was a capital for sheep and shearers, however this has changed. Bustling, it has one of the

lowest unemployment rates in Australia. The global financial situation has not changed Canberras

situation. Because the government cuts far less workers than the private sectors, Canberra remains a

well employed bureaucratic capital. Though Canberra loses out to Sydney and Melbourne for

administration through sheer weight of population, it does house the federal government, pivotal to

its continued livelihood. A successful place for the federal government, Canberra makes an effective

capital.

The combination of a small population, short history and dominance of the public sector combines

to put Canberras workforce in a unique situation. With a highly paid public sector, the average

earnings of Canberras citizens far exceed most areas of Australia. Also, the public sector pays higher


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than the private sector. This means that there are more jobs available to Canberras citizens, which

are also higher paying. This results not only in a large employment pool, but a higher paying pool.

Correspondingly, Canberra has a high living standard. Occupations and wages were not the priority

in the making of Canberra. Regardless, modern Canberra is a place of substantial comfort and

wealth. The recent global financial situation has done little to debunk this. Even though the public

sector has seen significant cuts, cities such as Sydney have been affected more significantly. To a

broader extent, capitals around the world have been affected dramatically. One of the greatest

examples is America. Suffering a dramatic surge in unemployment or unsatisfactorily employed to a

bi-decade high, Americas economy was crippled by the economic crisis. Americas capital was

likewise crippled. Australias recent boom buffered citizens across the country. Canberras standards

of high salary and high standards of living were maintained. Employment is plentiful, comparably

high paying and reliable in Canberra, making it one of Australias employment havens.

A concept of over a century, Canberra has had time to grow into a great capital city. Though small

and sparsely populated, it supports the federal government adequately. Though it lacks the

amenities and services of Australias larger cities, the standard of living is high, as are salaries.

Architecture that catches the eye, and suburbs filled with nature abound, making Canberra deserve

the title of Bush Capital. Not quite The City Beautiful, it remains a well-planned city with plentiful

and reliable employment and educational opportunities. A humble city, Canberra is nonetheless a

great capital city, the centre of a developed countries government and bureaucracy.


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1First Lecture

2http://naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs95.aspxhistory of canberra

3http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/griffin-walter-burley-443biography of Griffin

4http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/land/landuse/act/index.html use of Canberras land

5http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/6302.0
http://naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs95.aspxhttp://naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs95.aspxhttp://naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs95.aspxhttp://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/griffin-walter-burley-443http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/griffin-walter-burley-443http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/griffin-walter-burley-443http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/land/landuse/act/index.htmlhttp://www.anra.gov.au/topics/land/landuse/act/index.htmlhttp://www.anra.gov.au/topics/land/landuse/act/index.htmlhttp://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/6302.0http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/6302.0http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/6302.0http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/6302.0http://www.anra.gov.au/topics/land/landuse/act/index.htmlhttp://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/griffin-walter-burley-443http://naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs95.aspx

the birth of canberra was an opportunity to create a great capital city

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