So what is the capital of Australia? It's a question fit for trivia nights. If you
haven't been to Australia, or maybe even if you have, it's easy to assume that
Sydney is the answer. Think iconic harbour, biggest, and most
visited city. Even within Australia, the capital city's reputation is swamped
with stereotypes such as: a soulless and boring city with no nightlife, the
bubble of all bubbles -- a town of public servants in protected jobs, and my
personal favorite -- a city full of roundabouts and frigid temperatures. For
a country famous for its coastal cities and warm climate, how did a relatively
small inland settlement got chosen as its capital city? When the six
independent colonies decided to form the new Commonwealth of Australia in 1901,
one of the first things on their to-do list was the selection of a location of
the new capital. Fierce debates ensued between representatives of the colonies.
The obvious choices were the two biggest cities -- Melbourne and Sydney, but a few
other cities, such as Adelaide, Hobart, and Ballarat
were also suggested. Melbourne and Sydney both had prominent seaports and
arguments were made that sea ports were not ideal as they are vulnerable to
enemy attacks from overseas and that this exposure also made them at risk for
diseases. These established cities also don't have the climate being sought by the
pioneers of the Federation. The search is on for an inland capital with a bracing
climate -- more on that later. George Reid, the New South Wales Premier at the time, a
shrewd politician, used the clout of New South Wales being the 'motherland' colony
to argue that the federal capital has to be located in his home state . This won
support at a "secret" premiers' conference in Melbourne.
Hwever, there is a catch. The capital has to be at least 100 miles from Sydney. In
the mean time, Melbourne would act as the interim capital.
Later that year, the Royal Commission on Sites for the Seat of Government of the
Commonwealth was formed. It's a mouthful, but so is the list of sites inspected
and considered. Over 60 localities in New South Wales were promoted. Sites along
the railway line from Sydney to Melbourne have an advantage of being
accessible to both cities. Sites around Albury in the far south of the state
were deemed to be too close to Melbourne, while sites such as Armidale and Tamworth
were considered too far from Sydney, and obviously further away from Melbourne.
Over the next eight years, Federal Capital Leagues sprouted like mushrooms
and local politicians from a number of towns across New South Wales vied for
their localities to be considered. Some promoted their towns to have magical
proofs of local health and longevity or have incredible variety of produce
coming out of the soil. In 1902, senators and members of the
House of Representatives took a series of tours to several sites.
Come voting time for the Federal Territory Bill, the House of Representatives
selected Tumut, a charming cattle district, but there was suspicion that the
selection was more due to politics than merit given that the runner Lyndhurst was
considered too close to Sydney. The bill came to the Senate, who then voted for
Bombala, likely motivated by the desire to stall the selection of the site.
And stalled it was for a compromise was not made and the bill eventually lapsed.
After another four bills and three Parliaments, the decision kept getting
deferred. But overtime, one site became the forerunner. Dalgety had many
things going for it: the presence of the Snowy River, a location halfway between
Sydney and Melbourne, and it's bracing climate. Let's zoom in on that last
criteria of climate, in particular, bracing climate. Federal officials were looking
for a place with cooler temperatures than the average Australian coastal city
for two possible reasons. In the early 20th century, there was a popular
scientific belief -- environmental determinism --
which suggests that cooler climates were thought to have helped produce the best
races with the best brains. A less controversial reason is that cold
mountain air was thought to be good for the health and therefore, recuperative.
Dalgety was on its way to be formally designated as the capital but the
New South Wales Government thought it was too remote and instead rallied for
sites closer to Sydney. Finally, in 1908, a site which ticks all the right boxes
was selected: water supply by the Cotter and Molonglo rivers, picturesque
mountains as fortification, just over a hundred miles from Sydney, and of course,
a bracing climate. The Yass-Canberra site will be the location of the new capital.
Over the next hundred years, the site would slowly and steadily built itself up to
fulfill its role as the capital of the new Federation, while launching a
thousand memes on the interwebs. A hundred years back, it has also inspired
hundreds of suggestions for its name. The list included 'kookaburra', 'wheatwoolgold',
and 'kangaremu'. A couple of other imaginative names were Sydmelperadbrisho
and Meladneyperbane. A name was picked by the Cabinet and was kept
secret until it was officially unveiled by Lady Denman on 12 March 1913
declaring: I name the capital of Australia Canberra. The accent is on the
Can.