Capital history in the news
Canberra remembers
Vale Dirk Bolt | Australian Institute of Architects’ obituary for Dirk Bolt who made a significant contribution to the architecture of Hobart and Canberra. Up to the end of 1969 Dirk Bolt and Associates had planned or provided advice on 15 suburban centres in Canberra. He also contributed, to the concept of the Belconnen Town Centre, advocating successfully for the creation of its lake, but he was disappointed with the centre’s eventual layout.
Tribute to a trailblazer | ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt pays homage to alumna and anti-discrimination champion Susan Ryan AO. This includes highlighting the many firsts Susan achieved while she lived in Canberra.
Historic Cooma
Cooma's Koomah Spa, the famed spring of the Monaro | Tim the Yowie Man writes about a mineral spring near Cooma that was once bottled and marketed as a health drink and shipped all over the country.
Century old love message found etched in glass | Another Tim the Yowie Man article. This one is about the discovery of an etching on one of the front windows of the historic Squatters Arms, near Cooma. Possibly made more than a century ago to prove that a suitor’s diamond ring was real.
University news
If these trees could talk | Archaeologists have launched a project to find Australia’s lost stories carved into the iconic, centuries-old boab trees of the Kimberley in Western Australia. These trees record the stories of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in the region, including from the time of the first European contact. The project is funded by the Australian Research Council and is a collaboration between universities including ANU and the University of Canberra (UC).
Saints and sinners: tracking our most famous Australians | Dr Karen Fox explores the most popular searches from the Australian Dictionary of Biography, and which Australians loom largest in our popular imagination – including saint Mary McKillop and bushranger Ned Kelly.
Early Canberra photographs
Jack Mildenhall's album captures the optimism of the first Canberra day | Jasper Lindell writes about the album of early Canberra photographs that was donated to the National Museum in December 2020.
Historic Canberra album donated to the National Museum | An album of historic photographs featuring early views of Canberra, including the moment on 12 March 1913 when Canberra was named as the nation’s capital, has been donated to the National Museum by the family of former Greens MLA Meredith Hunter.
Early Canberra places
Studio door shut on Lanyon landscape project | A collaboration between ACT Historic Places and the territory’s oldest artists’ organisation, the 1927 Artists Society of Canberra, has led to an online exhibition, “Creating Lanyon”.
Canberra's sporting history hidden under Lake Burley Griffin | Greg Blood writes about Canberra’s significant sporting precinct, from the early 1900s to 1962, that now lays under Lake Burley Griffin. Before the Lake was created this area was a hive of activity with two sports grounds - Acton Sports Ground and Acton Flats; two golf courses - Federal and Royal Canberra; and the Acton Racecourse.
Where fire memorabilia has some room to breathe | Brass helmets used by Canberra’s first firefighters; a 1913 Hotchkiss vintage fire engine, lovingly restored; an original fire alarm system with bells for all the buildings in Canberra and a hand-drawn fire cart used in Queanbeyan in 1893. These artifacts are among the thousands of pieces of firefighting memorabilia housed at the Canberra Fire Museum, in the old Forrest fire station. The Canberra Fire Museum, 4 Empire Circuit, Forrest, is open every Saturday, 10am-3pm, entry is via a gold-coin donation.
Other news
Big birthday looms for the pool full of memories | The Queanbeyan pool celebrates its 60th birthday in 2021. The pool’s official opening took place on Remembrance Day, November 11, 1961. The push for the pool took off when, in 1949, Margaret Donoghue, Queanbeyan’s first woman to hold civic office, witnessed the drowning of a 13-year-old girl.
Canberra’s love affair with the lawn celebrated at CMAG | Canberra Museum and Gallery has opened The Blade: Australia’s Love Affair with Lawn, a travelling exhibition curated by Richard Heathcote in conjunction with the Australian Garden History Society. It explores the history of lawn, from Indigenous land management practices through to modern gardening and lawn innovations and our complicated relationship with the “the green”. The exhibition is on display until 20 February 2021.
Seven things previously secret cabinet documents tell us about the 'last year of normality' in 2000 - ABC News | Almost 250 cabinet papers from the middle of prime minister John Howard's second term in government, released on 1 January 2021 by the National Archives of Australia, give a remarkable insight into how Australia was faring at a time of significant national pride.
Acknowledgement: Inspired by the Canberra Museum and Gallery’s exhibition The Blade: Australia’s Love Affair with Lawn the image above is of a horse drawn lawn mower. It was created in 1910 by Albert Jones and comes from the State Library Victoria. Full details here.
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