Page 1157 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 March 2013
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(i) marked our history and maturity as the national capital over the past 100 years; and
(ii) reflected the renewed interest and national focus in Canberra as Australia’s capital city;
(2) recognises the importance of the community’s contribution over Canberra’s 100 years; and
(3) commends the efforts of all those involved in delivering an exciting Centenary celebration.
What a year it has been—and we are not even three months into this centenary celebration. The year kicked off in January and set a cracking pace.
Mr Hanson: The year kicked off in January? Controversial, Mr Gentleman!
MR GENTLEMAN: Well, it does, Mr Hanson. You might be new to the place, but we have kicked it off in January each year. We have seen a phenomenal program of events to date. The centenary of Canberra program features a smorgasbord—a feast of events, festivals, exhibitions, concerts, lectures, launches, theatre, films and some amazing sport.
One of the first big events for the centenary of Canberra program took us back to where it all officially began—the fascinating stories leading up to the foundation stone and the naming ceremonies on 12 March 1913. The exhibition But Once in a History at the Australian Parliament House delves into these stories. I had the opportunity to go to the launch of that exhibition, But Once in a History, at the federal Parliament House, with my federal colleagues Gai Brodtmann and Senator Kate Lundy.
What a fantastic launch it was. There were stories about the original foundation stone and how the centenary exhibition had been put together, including artefacts from the original naming of Canberra. Many of us have heard how the actual naming occurred. Lady Denman was provided with the envelope with the name of the new capital of Australia. At the time, the people organising the naming ceremony were not sure how to actually pronounce Canberra, whether it should be “Canberra” or “Can-berra”. They left it up to how Lady Denman would pronounce the name. As she opened the envelope, she pronounced it “Canberra”. It was a fantastic way to learn how the name was pronounced, and the naming of the capital went ahead.
There are a number of other exhibitions right now that recognise important aspects of Canberra’s history, including Design 29: Creating a Capital at the National Archives of Australia, The Dream of a Century: the Griffins in Australia’s Capital at the National Library of Australia, and CAPITheticAL at the Gallery of Australian Design.
Another early event on the centenary of Canberra calendar was the opening of the Past, Present, Future exhibition at Scope Mount Stromlo, which captures our darkest hour—the fires in January 2003. This exhibition has been visited by so many locals that the organisers extended the exhibition running time to Easter.
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