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C a n b e r r a & A r o u n d POPULATION: 352,200 AREA: 2366 SQ KM

Why Go? ...... 244 The city of Canberra is a monument to the young country’s as- Around Canberra . . . .264 pirations, its urban landscape designed to show off the nation’s democratic and cultural institutions. The city is an excellent South & West of the destination for museum addicts, with wonderful fi ne-art and City – The Wild Side . . 264 historical collections. Canberra is the nation’s political heart – North & East of the its restaurants buzz with power-lunchers, while at the city’s City ...... 265 bars political reporters hang about hoping for a bit of gossip or Surrounding Towns a wine-fuelled indiscretion. Canberrans are richer and better & Villages ...... 265 educated than the national average, and the Australian Capi- tal Territory (ACT) is known for its liberal politics, becoming the fi rst jurisdiction to vote a woman its head of government Best Places to Eat and enacting progressive legislation on everything from gay unions and women’s rights to porn and marijuana. » Ottoman (p 260 ) The hyper-planned city is cradled by hilly wilderness, » Silo (p 258 ) beyond which are several charming villages and a grow- » Italian & Sons (p257 ) ing number of cold-climate wineries. Half of the territory is protected as national park or reserve, with plenty to attract » Sammy’s Kitchen (p 257 ) hikers, campers and nature lovers of all kinds. Best Places to W h e n t o G o Stay Canberra » Hyatt Hotel Canberra °C/°F Temp Rainfall inches/mm (p 257 ) 40/104 20/500 16/400 » Canberra YHA Hostel 30/86 (p 253 ) 12/300 20/68 » Brassey (p257 ) 8/200 10/50 » Schönegg Guesthouse 4/100 (p 265 ) 0/32 0 » Ginninderry Homestead J FDNOSAJJMAM (p 257 ) Feb-Mar (except May-Nov Spot Dec Enjoy Christ- Easter) Sun’s whales along the mas Aussie-style still shining and coast. on the coast – kids are back at seafood for school. lunch and beach cricket. CANBERRA Cockington Green (p265 ) should pick up a 244 3-in-1 Ticket (adult/child/concession/family POP 347,000 $47.50/27/33/128.50), which gives access to A tranquil artifi cial lake, an enormous fl ag fl y- all three attractions; buy it at any of the sites ing above and huge avenues fanning out from or the visitors centre. its centre: Canberra, like other purpose-built capitals, can seem big on architectural sym- LANDMARK bolism and low on spontaneity. But behind its Named after Canberra’s architect, the lake slightly sterile exterior the city has plenty go- (Map p254 ) was fi lled by damming the ing on. Apart from its world-class museums Molonglo River in 1963 with the 33m-high and galleries – which alone justify a visit – . Around its 35km-long shore the city boasts a lively bar scene (if only from are many places of interest. CANBERRA & AROUND & AROUND CANBERRA Thursday to Saturday), and a vibrant live- Built in 1970 to mark the bicentenary of music culture fuelled by the city’s university Cook’s landfall, the Captain Cook Memorial students. Canberra’s museums host gaggles Water Jet (Map p254 ; h10am-noon & 2-4pm, also of school kids, bussed in from all over the 7-9pm daylight-saving months) fl ings a 6-tonne country to pay homage to the nation’s icons, column of water up to 147m into the air, and while the fi ne permanent collection and fre- sometimes gives free showers, despite its au- quent international blockbuster exhibitions tomatic switch-off in strong winds. There is at the National Gallery draw visitors from a skeleton globe at nearby Regatta Point on around . During parliamentary- which Cook’s three great voyages are traced; sitting weeks the town hums with the busi- also close is the National Capital Exhibition CANBERRA ness of national politics, but it can feel a bit (Map p254 ; %02-6257 1068; Barrine Dr; admission dead during university holidays, especially free; h9am-5pm), displaying the city’s history. around Christmas and New Year. Further east is the stone-and-slab Blundells’ Cottage (Map p254 ; %02-6257 1068; Wendouree History Dr; adult/child/family $7/5/15; h11am-4pm), built The Ngunnawal people called this place in 1860 to house workers on the surrounding Kanberra, believed to mean ‘meeting place’ – estate and now a reminder of the area’s early a name the area may have earned for the farming history. huge intertribal gatherings that happened On is the 50m-high Nation- each year in Bogong moth season. al Carillon (Map p254 ; %02-6257 1068), a gift Like most of the fi rst Australians, the from Britain on Canberra’s 50th anniver- Ngunnawal suff ered a violent disruption to sary in 1963. The tower has 55 bronze bells, their way of life following European settle- weighing from 7kg to 6 tonnes each, making ment around 1820, but they’ve survived to it one of the world’s largest musical instru- increase their profi le and numbers in recent ments. Daily recitals are held – call ahead decades. or check www.nationalcapital.gov.au then In 1901 Australia’s separate colonies were hit ‘visiting’ to download the latest schedule. federated and became states. The fi erce ri- On the northern shore fronting Old Par- valry between and meant liament House is neither could become the new nation’s capi- (Map p254 ), where artwork represents the tal, so a small chunk was carved out of New nation’s commitment to the cause of rec- South Wales’ Limestone Plains somewhere onciliation between Indigenous and non- between the two cities. By 1927 Canberra Indigenous Australians. was established enough to take over from Melbourne as the seat of national govern- National Museum of Australia MUSEUM ment, but the city’s expansion really got (Map p254 ; %1800 026 132, 02-6208 5000; www. under way in the decade following WWII, nma.gov.au; Lawson Cres, Acton Peninsula; admis- when the population trebled to 39,000. sion free; h9am-5pm) This museum is one big abstract Australian storybook. Using 1 Sights creativity, controversy, humour and self- Canberra’s signifi cant edifi ces, museums contradiction, the National Museum dis- and galleries are dotted around Lake Burley mantles national identity and in the process Griffi n. Wheelchair-bound visitors will fi nd provokes visitors to come up with ideas of that most sights are fully accessible. their own. There are lots of attendants on Those keen on visiting , the hand to help you navigate exhibitions on Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and environmental change, Indigenous culture,