As I Recall Reminiscences of Early Canberra by Charles Daley Edited by Shirley Purchase Introduction by Chris Coulthard-Clark Ebook prepared by Norman Dahl Charles Studdy Daley in about 1942. Copyrights (Print version ) Published by The Mulini Press in association with the Canberra & District Historical Society Copyright 1994 (print), 2013 (ebook) © Articles, the descendants of Charles Studdy Daley, 1994, 2013 © Introduction, C. Coulthard-Clark, 1994, 2013 C.I.P. DALEY, Charles Studdy 1887-1966 As I Recall: Reminiscences of Early Canberra. 1. Canberra – History. I. Coulthard Clark, C. II. Purchase, Shirley III. Title: As I Recall: Reminiscences of Early Canberra ISBN 0949910-44-9 Front cover: Canberra as seen from Mount Ainslie in about 1927. Acknowledgements Mulini Press and the Canberra & District Historical Society Inc. acknowledge with gratitude the financial assistance towards the publication of this book received from the Canberra Southern Cross Club Ltd, the Canberra Tradesmen’s Union, Mr John Whelan, Mrs Pauline Fanning, Mr K. Powell and the Rotary Club of Canberra. The Canberra & District Historical Society also acknowledges its debt to the Patience Wardle Bequest. The electronic version of this book has been created and edited by the descendants of Charles Daley as a tribute to his memory in connection with the centenary, in 2013, of the naming of Canberra as Australia’s capital. We gratefully acknowledge the co-operation and consent of the Canberra & District Historical Society and Chris Coulthard-Clark in the preparation of this ebook edition of ‘As I Recall.’ Notes: 1. For ease of on-screen reading, the layout and typography of the ebook version is not the same as the original book; this includes page numbering. For citation purposes, the original starting page number of each article is given in the Alphabetical Index. 2. Endnotes in the ebook are taken from the 1994 print edition without modification to reflect the later date of the ebook. List of Illustrations • Charles Studdy Daley, about 1942. Photograph courtesy of Mrs M. CampbelL Brisbane • Charles Daley with ‘ACT 1’ on the first Holden car in Canberra. Photograph courtesy of Mrs M Campbell. • Lady Denman naming the federal capital Canberra • The birth of a capital: the winning design of W.B. Griffin is announced. King O’Malley is seated in the foreground. Photograph courtesy of the National Library of Australia. • The survey team: FJ. Broinowski, L. Morgan, A. Percival, C.R. Scrivener, W.G. Chapman, P.L. Sheaffe. • T.C. Weston holds a tree for Lady Baden Powell to plant. C.S. Daley is on the right. • Turning the first sod on the site of the provisional Parliament House, 28 August 1923; Joe Lea operating the steam shovel. • Group of workmen at the provisional Parliament House, early 1927. • The opening of Parliament House in Canberra by the Duke of York, 9 May 1927. • The Australian War Memorial under construction. • On Capital Hill. William M. Hughes, C.S. Daley and P.G. Stewart. • Working on the Cotter Dam. • The suburbs spread out. Canberra from Red Hill c.1930. • Mr (later Sir) Robert Menzies at the opening of St Andrew’ s Presbyterian Church in 1929. The Reverend Hector Harrison stands on the steps behind him. • Laying the foundation stone of the new hospital. Sister Curley is being shaded under a parasol by Mrs Ashton. • C.S. Daley tees off at the opening of the Federal Golf Links, Acton, 5 August 1933. • The Eastlake Cricket Club team, 1922. Unless otherwise stated photographic illustrations are from the collection of the Canberra & District Historical Society. Charles Daley with ‘ACT 1’ on the first Holden car in Canberra. Introduction .................................................................................1 The Foundation of the Capital ....................................................8 The Beginning of Things .....................................................................................9 Legislative Steps to a Capital ................................................................................9 The Father of Canberra .....................................................................................11 Commonwealth Takes Possession .......................................................................13 What’s in a Name? ..............................................................................................14 The First Canberra Day .....................................................................................16 The Problematic King O’Malley ...............................................18 The Case Against a Suburb Named O’Malley ...................................................19 The Impact of the King...................................................................................... 22 Return of O’Malley ............................................................................................23 The King as Manager .........................................................................................25 The King’s Idea of Records................................................................................ 26 More Glimpses of O’Malley ...............................................................................27 Ministers in Contrast ..........................................................................................28 Creating a City ...........................................................................31 Miller: Our First Administrator ..........................................................................32 Enter the Postmaster General .............................................................................33 A Discredited Commission .................................................................................35 Griffin’s Government Area Plan Should Remain ...............................................36 Planning and Frustration ....................................................................................38 When Acton was a Country Homestead ............................................................39 Sulman: the “Father of Town Planning’ ............................................................40 Manuka, the Initial City in Canberra .................................................................42 Our Debt to Sir Littleton Groom .......................................................................43 Federal Capital Advisory Committee Revival .....................................................45 De Burgh’s Contribution to the Capital.............................................................. 46 Committee Begins Its Task.................................................................................. 48 Colourful Canberra Colleagues ..........................................................................49 Canberra’s First Engineer ...................................................................................51 The Man Who Was Stung Twice .......................................................................52 The Commission Begins a New Era ...................................................................54 Cabinet Meets in Canberra ................................................................................55 Resurrected Railway ...........................................................................................57 Spectacle at the Old Station................................................................................ 58 When the Coach Stopped at Hall for Lunch ......................................................60 Duntroon: A Capital Cornerstone ......................................................................62 When Duntroon Was a Suburb ..........................................................................63 ‘The Kerbing and Guttering Case’ .....................................................................65 Last Ditch Stand by Victoria ..............................................................................67 The Move to a ‘Horror City’: 1926 ....................................................................69 Landscape and Gardens .............................................................72 Weston: Founder of our Floral Beauty ...............................................................73 The Garden Tradition ........................................................................................74 The Tulips That Did Not Cost £3,000 ..............................................................76 The Tree that Kept Canberra from ‘Evil’ ..........................................................77 Maples from the White House ............................................................................78 Trees Failed to Stimulate Canadian Cricket .......................................................79 Preserving Our Landscape.................................................................................. 81 Flood Preview of Lake ........................................................................................82 Building Provisional Parliament House and the Administrative Buildings .....................................................................................84 The Phantom Competition .................................................................................85 Steam Shovel Made History ...............................................................................86 An Early Architect ..............................................................................................87 More Confusion ..................................................................................................89