Capital history in the news
Anniversary news
Famous for its high quality merino wool, Gunning is preparing to celebrate its 200th year | CT article. Gunning is celebrating its 200th year anniversary this year with a series of celebrations.
Royal Australian Mint takes flight with new centenary of Air Force collection | The Royal Australian Mint has launched a unique coin collection to commemorate the centenary of the Royal Australian Air Force. Featuring a different aircraft on each coin, the collection tells the 100-year story of aircraft innovation and technological advancement in the Royal Australian Air Force.
ACT Heritage Council news
ACT Heritage Council gets new perspectives | Canberra CityNews | On 2 March the ACT Heritage Council announced its new leadership, and four new members to help conserve and tell the story of the Canberra region. The chair is Kenneth Heffernan, an expert in archaeology and lecturer at the ANU. Author and historian Laura Dawes has been appointed as deputy chair. Also joining the council are Prof Nicholas Brown, Sarah Jane Brazil, Alison Archer and Caroline Hughes.
Canberra landmarks should have dual names to reflect Indigenous history: elder | CT article. Caroline Hughes a Ngunnawal elder appointed to the ACT Heritage Council says names of some of Canberra’s key landmarks including Black Mountain and Mount Ainslie, should be changed to acknowledge their Indigenous history.
Developers should engage earlier on heritage issues: ACT Heritage Council chair | CT article. Dr. Kenneth Heffernan the incoming Chair of the ACT Heritage Council has said that greater early engagement between developers and the council would improve the projects built on sites important to Canberra’s history. He would also like to see greater engagement with Aboriginal heritage in Canberra.
Canberra heritage landmarks
Lake Burley Griffin being assessed for Commonwealth Heritage List | CT article. Residents have raised concerns about the lack of clarity and consultation after a decade-old bid to put Lake Burley Griffin on a heritage list has resurfaced.
New life looms for historic Canberra building | CT article. The old Allawah maternity hospital built in 1935 on the junction of Arthur Circle and Empire Circuit is to be refurbished and converted into the residence of the Sri Lankan High Commissioner.
Civic's carousel: what goes around comes around | CT article. ArchivesACT explains how the Civic merry-go-round came to be opened to Canberra residents and visitors on Canberra Day 1974.
Celebrating women’s history through statues and place names
Monumental Women petition aims to smash ‘the bronze ceiling’ | Canberra Weekly article. Jasiri Australia, a youth-led organisation, has launched a public petition to “smash the bronze ceiling” and celebrate the distinct accomplishments of women through statues and place names.
Different perspectives on Canberra’s history
For journalist Paul Daley, revisiting his book about Canberra 10 years on has been emotional | CT article about Canberra the book written by Paul Daley which has been reissued with a new Afterward extracted on pages 46-47 of the paper.
Following a 1936 tourist guide to Canberra with an old Kodak camera in hand | CT article. Jasper Lindell and his father followed the path of a 1936 tourist map of Canberra to see how much remains and what’s changed in the years since. They added to the experience by using Kodak Brownie cameras from the 1930s to photograph the city.
Mervyn Bishop photography exhibition
National Film and Sound Archive's exhibition on photographer Mervyn Bishop | CT article. Mervyn Bishop became Australia’s first Aboriginal press photographer in 1963 and created the iconic 1975 photo of Gough Whitlam pouring a handful of earth back into the hand of Gurindji elder and traditional landowner Vincent Lingiari. An exhibition celebrating the photography of Mervyn Bishop opens at the National Film and Sound Archive from 5 March to 1 August 2021.
Canberra connections to UFO sightings
UFO sightings and our own X-files | CT article. Tim the Yowie Man writes about the Canberra connection to UFO sightings which peaked between the 1950’s and 1970’s and were recorded in files now held by the National Archives of Australia.
Acknowledgement: Enjoyed reading the article about Gunning’s 200th year anniversary. The image above is an 1843 map of the County of King which includes Gunning. It was created by Baker, W & Mitchell, Thomas and comes from the National Library of Australia. Full details are here.
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