Canberra, Australia

Site of the Australian National Government

The federation of the six former British colonies in 1901 demanded a seat of government. To reconcile the ambitions of the two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, a compromise was written into the Australian Constitution providing for a commonwealth territory, not less than 100 square miles (258 square kilometers) but at least 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Sydney. In the interim, Melbourne would provide a temporary home for the new federal government. In 1908 the site of Canberra was chosen, and three years later the government reoccupied an area of nearly 2,400 square kilometers in southern New South Wales to be retained in public ownership. The leasehold administration of the Australian Capital Territory has facilitated overall control of city planning and development. Derived from a local Aboriginal word meaning “meeting place,” the new city's name was made official on March 12, 1913—now celebrated as Canberra Day.

The Griffins' Winning Design

The Congress of Engineers, Architects, Surveyors, and Members of Allied Professions, held during the commonwealth celebrations in May 1901, was the first major opportunity for professionals to discuss design issues. The idea of an international city design competition emerged as the ideal way to attract the best plan in the world. The competition, announced by the commonwealth government in April 1911, was nonetheless dogged by controversy. A total of 137 plans submitted for judging by early 1912 provided a kaleidoscopic overview of best-practice global planning cultures on the eve of World War I. The winning entry was Design No. 29 by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. Both were former proté-gés of Frank Lloyd Wright, based in Chicago.

The brilliantly presented axial-polycentric design of the Griffins mixed City Beautiful and Garden City influences with more exotic eastern and ancient inspirations in a highly original landscape composition for a low-rise streetcar city of 75,000 organized around central ornamental waters. Unlike fortified ancient cities, the hilltops were largely kept free of development. After winning the competition, Walter Griffin was invited to Australia, but the government substituted a plan concocted from various competition entries before sanity prevailed and Griffin returned in 1914 as Federal Capital Director of Design and Construction. He endured an unhappy tenure, with progress stymied by the financial stringencies of World War I and the opposition of public servants. A major government inquiry exonerated Griffin, but he left the project in 1921 and spent the rest of his time in Australia in private practice as an architect and town planner.

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