| Submitted by: David StybrUnited States |
| Submission Date: 14 February 2005 |
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The Corso is a large pedestrian mall between Manly Cove on the harbour side of the peninsula and Manly Beach on the Pacific Ocean side. It was fun to browse the many shops, and we found an excellent but inexpensive Italian café for lunch. Manly Beach is very scenic, lined with tall Norfolk Pines and filled with surfers.
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West Pennant Hills: Koala Park Sanctuary.
Parramatta: Parramatta River.
Tuesday we drove to the western suburb of West Pennant Hills. Koala Park Sanctuary is set in 4 hectares (10 acres) of picturesque native gardens and towering eucalyptus trees, 23 kilometres (14 miles) northwest of Sydney. It is dedicated to the preservation, development and research of the koala, but also contains many other native Australian animals. Here visitors may cuddle, feed and photograph koalas, kangaroos etc. We tourists just gotta cuddle them thar koalas, ya know. However, the koalas were rather a disappointment because they are sleepy animals that would much rather snooze in a tree than be handled by tourists. The kangaroos and wallabies were much more lively and fun. 1 or 2 very friendly kangaroos kept sitting on our feet and nuzzled us for attention.
After this tourist site, we decided to drive back via Parramatta to see a typical suburb. This was the 2nd settlement in Australia, founded November 1788 on the Parramatta River. Elizabeth Farm of 1793 is the oldest surviving home in Australia. Parramatta is now a clean, modern but unremarkable suburb. There we came upon a Sizzler steakhouse. The car park was underneath so we kept our car in the shade that hot December summer day. Sizzler is a chain of restaurants that was popular in the United States and which gradually began to disappear in 1990. Well, apparently they moved to Australia because we were told that they started to appear there at about that time. Food is more expensive in general in Australia, but Sizzler was reasonable and dependable. To give our holiday budget an occasional break, we dined at Sizzler once each in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Tasmania.
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F. Hume Highway, Federal Highway: Sydney to Canberra.
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Southern Highlands: Mittagong, Bowral, Berrima.
Goulburn: Big Merino Tourist Complex.
Lake George.
Wednesday we drove from Sydney to Canberra via Hume Highway and Federal Highway, which are mostly freeways for the total distance of about 290 kilometres (180 miles). We traversed the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, which are on a plateau of the Great Dividing Range about 110 kilometres (70 miles) southwest of Sydney. The altitude of about 600 metres (2000 feet) gives the area 4 distinct seasons, high rainfall and fresh mountain air. Fertile soil, ample rainfall, and a cooler climate provide an appropriate setting for the grand English-country-inspired houses and gardens of the estates whose wealth resulted from the Australian gold rush of the 1850s. Incidentally, the movie Babe was filmed in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. We took a brief detour through the towns of Mittagong, Bowral and Berrima. Berrima is one of the best remaining small villages of the 1830s in Australia. It was founded in 1829 by Sir Thomas Mitchell, Surveyor-General of New South Wales, and now has a population of 850. The Surveyor-General Inn was founded in 1834 and is the oldest continuously licensed inn in Australia.
Farther along Hume Highway we took another brief detour, through Goulburn which was founded in 1833 and is at the heart of the prosperous sheep-grazing district famous for its fine merino wool. The population is now 24,400. The Big Merino Tourist Complex is an average tourist trap with kitschy restaurants, an ice cream parlour, gift shops, a petrol station and a museum built in the shape of a huge merino sheep. It must be seen to be believed.
After Goulburn we left Hume Highway and drove along Federal Highway toward Canberra. Federal Highway is being widened and resurfaced, and about halfway from Goulburn it changes from a freeway to a standard 2-lane highway for the rest of the distance to Canberra. Much of the land is flat, and we were reminded that it was not a plain but a plateau when we crossed a small hillock and there was a sign to mark the highest point Federal Highway reached in the Great Dividing Range, 840 metres (2755 feet). Near Federal Highway is Lake George, one of the strangest lakes on Earth because it gradually empties completely and refills every 30 or 40 years via underground springs. When full, it averages about 400 square kilometres (150 square miles) in surface area.
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Reminiscences of Australia: IV. Australian Capital Territory.
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Australian Capital Territory: 4 days, 25 - 28 December 1996.
General information.
Canberra.
Parliament House.
Australian War Memorial.
Lake Burley Griffin.
Red Hill Lookout.
Mount Ainslie.
Black Mountain: Telstra Tower Restaurant.
Tidbinbilla etc.
Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.
Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex.
Cuppacumbalong Craft Centre.
Lanyon Historic Homestead.
Hume Highway: Canberra to New South Wales border.
Gundagai: The Dog on the Tuckerbox.
Albury: Ettamogah Pub, Memorial Hill, Murray River.
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Australian Capital Territory:
Area: 2366 square kilometres (913 square miles)
Territory population: 350,000
National capital: Canberra, city population 300,000
When the separate colonies of Australia federated into states in 1901, the establishment of a national capital and the surrounding Australian Capital Territory was written into the constitution. After careful consideration the site was selected in 1908, and diplomatically situated between Sydney and Melbourne, which had vied to become the national capital. Canberra was named in 1913, from an Aboriginal term believed to mean 'meeting place'. Unlike other cities which began as early settlements and then grew haphazardly, Canberra was carefully planned from the onset.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is 80 kilometres (50 miles) from north to south and is about 30 kilometres (20 miles) wide. Unlike any other state or territory in Australia, it is completely landlocked. It is contained entirely within the mountainous country of southeast New South Wales, 305 kilometres (190 miles) southwest of Sydney. Its altitude of about 500 metres (1640 feet) gives the area 4 distinct seasons. Canberra and suburbs are in the northeast of the territory, and the Namadgi National Park occupies the whole southwest area. After a slow start, Canberra grew steadily after World War II. The population grew from 50,000 in 1960 to 100,000 in 1967 to 350,000 in 1997.
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Population: city 300,000. Federal capital of Australia, founded in 1913, designed by architect Walter Burley Griffin of Chicago, Illinois. Latitude 35°S, longitude 149°E (analogous to Memphis, Tennessee or Albuquerque, New Mexico at 35°N). Late December sunrise 5:48 AM, sunset 8:20 PM; average December temperatures 12 - 27°C (54 - 81°F).
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory is unique in Australia because it is the largest inland city and it is the planned national capital, with government buildings, museums, monuments, lakes and parks. It almost has the feel of a large university campus rather than a metropolitan area. Canberra is a young capital by world standards, founded only in 1913. Contrary to jokes that it is 'a great waste of prime sheep country', Canberra is more often described as 'the garden city of the Commonwealth'. Despite its brief history, its establishment in a separate territory after federation makes Canberra the only completely 'Australian' city.
In 1908 an international competition for a city plan began and attracted 137 entries. First prize went to United States landscape architect Walter Burley Griffin of Chicago, Illinois, who planned a city of 75,000. To obtain unity he applied the natural advantages of the landform to the civic necessities. He wrote: '...The site may be considered an irregular amphitheatre with Mount Ainslie at the northeast, flanked by Black Mountain and Mount Pleasant all forming the top galleries; with the slopes to the water, the auditorium - the waterway and flood-basin, the arena; with the southern slopes reflected in the basin, the terraced stage and setting of monumental Government structures sharply defined rising tier on tier to the culminating highest internal hill, Capital Hill; and with Mugga Mugga, Red Hill and the blue distant mountain ranges forming the back scene of the theatrical whole...'
Canberra is, as he predicted, 'unlike any other city in the world'.
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Parliament House.
Australian War Memorial.
Lake Burley Griffin.
Red Hill Lookout.
Mount Ainslie.
Black Mountain: Telstra Tower Restaurant.
My advance research paid off handsomely when we decided to visit Canberra. Many Australians think it is just the dull centre of government filled with nothing but official buildings, hardly worth a visit. Relatively few foreign visitors even know it exists. In truth, Canberra is a hidden gem of a city. It is indeed full of official government buildings, but also urban and rural delights. We found more than enough to explore, and we spent a full day in the city and another full day in the surrounding countryside. Our bed & breakfast was Theodore Lodge in Curtin, conveniently located just southwest of City Centre and Parliamentary Triangle. Our hosts Mollie & Tom Bialkowski made us feel right at home.
Parliament House is one of the most impressive buildings on Earth. It was begun in late 1980, opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 9 May 1988 and officially superseded the Old Parliament House on 22 August 1988. Parliament House is situated on Capital Hill, the focal point of Canberra. The building has 4500 rooms and was built into the top of Capital Hill. The roof has been grassed over to preserve the shape of the original hilltop. Free guided tours begin every half hour from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, but the afternoon tours are usually crowded. We arrived Thursday morning for their 9:30 AM tour and had only 8 persons in our cosy little group. The tour includes the Great Hall, the House and Senate Chambers, the Members' Hall and the rooftop which has scenic views of the city. |
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