Festive Season in the Australian Capital Territory

Christmas in Canberra has proved to be a quite different proposition from last year in Armidale. The weather has been fine and hot, which is just as well as we have been bowled over by the number of things to do here. As if all the things related to Canberra's status as the national capital aren't enough, the 'city in the bush' is within easy access of several national parks with lots of walking tracks and lookouts. We've made a list of the things we want to do in the ACT and it has quite a few more entries than we have days here, so it is going to be a very busy time!

Christmas Day itself was a very relaxing affair. We took advantage of being in a city to go out to one of the big-name hotels for a lovely buffet lunch, including lots of seafood as well as the classic roast meats and heaps of desserts. Luckily the local cab service was still running as the buffet also included Australian sparkling and table wine, it was no wonder that the hotel had tables over their entire foyer and not just the normal restaurant area.

We're way too busy to spend too much time celebrating the festive season. One of our first stops was the National Capital Exhibition, giving a fascinating history of the search for the site of a capital for the new nation after Federation in 1901, the international design competition for the city, and the subsequent slow progress in actual construction. In fact, 2013 is Canberra's centenary year, as the first foundation stone was laid in March 1913.

Another day was spent at the National Archives. We had expected to spend maybe an hour here, but ended up taking over 4 hours to check out the displays, and could be there still if we hadn't been kicked out at closing time! On display is only a tiny fraction of the millions of documents, photos, videos and data files stored at the archives, but each of them provides a fascinating glimpse into the nation's history. One of the files contained an extract of the documents generated when NASA asked if the prime minister wished to include a message to be deposited by the Apollo 11 astronauts on the moon: after a huge amount of backwards and forwards of suggestions, edits and alterations, the final message bore little resemblance to the wording that had been bandied around for most of the document trail.

The Parliament House building was opened in 1927, at which time the national parliament moved from Melbourne where it had been meeting since Federation. As the number of parliamentarians (and their staff members) grew, Parliament House had more and more trouble coping, until finally a brand new building was opened in 1988. We had intended 'doing' both the old and new Parliament Houses in the one day, but once again underestimated how much there was to see and ended up spending so much time in Old Parliament House that we still haven't got to the new one. The photos here show the House of Representatives, including the original Speaker's chair, a gift from Britain, and the Prime Minister's office, set up as it was when used by Bob Hawke, its last occupant. There were so many other things to see, including the Senate chamber, the tiny rabbit warren of the press gallery and countless displays about prime ministers, opposition leaders, speakers, parliamentary whips and almost anyone and anything else that had anything to do with parliament over the years. Even the outside of the building is steeped in history, we stood on the stairs where Gough Whitlam made his famous 'nothing will save the Governor-General' speech and could easily picture ourselves mobbed by reporters.

We've also managed to squeeze in the National Portrait Gallery (including the massive official portrait of the Queen in her diamond jubilee year) and a cruise around Lake Burley Griffin.

For a change of pace, the other day we headed out of the city to Namadgi National Park and did a 9km walk around old pastoral areas, complete with huts, bits of fencing and other farming remnants dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

One of the attractive things about Canberra from the tourist point of view is that everything we have done so far has been free, apart from the lake cruise and a nominal $2 entry fee into Old Parliament House. No wonder we want to cram as much into our visit here as possible!