Capital history 5: includes historic Canberra places turning 100 years old in 2024
Dear Readers
Really pleased to share with you these five items about the history of Canberra and beyond.
Hyatt Hotel Canberra’s 100th anniversary
This year the Hyatt Hotel Canberra is celebrating its 100th anniversary. It originally opened on 10 December 1924 as Government Hostel No. 1 and became the Hotel Canberra until it was reopened in 1988 as the Hyatt Hotel Canberra. The Hyatt has put together a terrific online resource, Centenary Stories - Hyatt Canberra, which celebrates the hotel’s long history. This includes an option for people to upload their stories about the Hyatt Hotel Canberra. Also recommended is this article by Sally Hopman (The Riot Act) which gives a neat summary of the Hotel’s history.
Mount Stromlo Observatory’s 100th Anniversary
In Canberra’s history 1924 was obviously a big year as another historic Canberra place Mount Stromlo Observatory will be turning 100 this year. In 1924, the Commonwealth Solar Observatory was established on Mount Stromlo. Today, Mount Stromlo Observatory is the headquarters of the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics. To celebrate the 100th anniversary in 2024 several special events will be held. Details here. Are there any other historic places in Canberra that are turning 100 this year?
'Early' Kingston Shops to be provisionally listed on the ACT Heritage Register
Parts of Canberra's oldest shopping precinct, dubbed the "early Kingston Shops", has been ear-marked for heritage listing. Built in the 1920s, the area was, along with the Manuka shops, the first shopping precinct for the new capital. The provisional listing on the ACT Heritage Register is open for public comment until July 1. You can read more about this here.
Australian War Memorial commemorates D-Day 80th Anniversary
On 6 June 2024 the 80th anniversary of the D–Day landings in Normandy, France were commemorated. D–Day was the largest seaborne invasion in history and began the Allied liberation of Europe from Nazi occupation during the Second World War. Australians played a small but important role in D–Day. You can read more about this on the Australian War Memorial site here.
The growing trend of photo reuniting
I loved reading this story about the growing trend of photo reuniting. This is where people track down subjects of old photos and reunite them or their family with the images. One photo reuniter is Canberra public servant and photo collector Jesica Dowell who has started the Lost Portrait Archive. It encourages followers to study a photo's genealogy clues, like studio imprints and handwriting, and help put names to faces.
Acknowledgement: The image above shows the Hotel Canberra, these days the Hyatt Hotel Canberra, in the late 1920’s. It must have been photographed about this time because the image clearly shows another historical Canberra building, the Albert Hall which opened in 1928. As mentioned above the Hotel Canberra opened in 1924 so this year it will be 100 years old. The image comes from the State Library Victoria. Full details here.
Please share. Let’s get the past and present talking.
