Monday, August 8, 2011

CANBERRA THE CAPITAL OF AUSTRALIA

The principle character in the opening part of this description of the Federal Capital Territory in the year of its foundation is one Rt Hon King O'Malley, Minister of Home Affairs in 1913. I have some posts on this interesting public figure worth reading to appreciate the impact of O'Malley at the time of Canberra's birth.

King O'Malley - Who is King O'Malley - Building a capital...

The article after dealing out a bit of sarcasm to O'Malley goes on to describe the new Federal Territory in detail. All up the description is glowing with particular attention being paid to the perfect water supply and the regions to the west that remained 'unexplored'. Too much to describe here but a very good Canberra read...

Kalgoorlie Western Argus - Tuesday 25 March 1913


National Library of Australia

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2 comments:

  1. @vanaalstAugust 9, 2011 at 8:40 AM

    Excellent read Dave - thanks for digging these treasures up and posting them for all to see. I particularly like the 96 mile railway line directly to Jervis Bay. Oh how things would have been different if that had been built (and importantly maintained).

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  2. David R. ReidAugust 9, 2011 at 9:33 AM

    Thanks Robert, I love these old articles and think that O'Malley's dreams of a Capital probably set the seeds for what we enjoy here today. A city which will be smokeless, dustless, mudless, odourless, slumless, and free from gases produced by manufacturing energy...

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