What are some facts about Canberra?

Answer 1

• Canberra is Australia's capital city, and was built purely for the purpose of it becoming the national capital of Australia
• Land for the Australian Capital Territory (originally Federal Territory of Australia) was purchased from New South Wales for the purpose
• It became Australia's capital city as Australia's two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, had been rivals since before the goldrush days. After Federation in 1901, it was therefore decided that the nation's capital should be situated between the two cities: the location selected was 248km from Sydney and 483km from Melbourne.
• The first survey peg marking the beginning of the development of the city of Canberra was driven in on 20 February 1913, but the city did not yet have a name
• On 12 March 1913, Canberra was formally named at the laying of a foundation stone on Capital Hill. It was at this ceremony that Lady Denman, wife of the Governor-General, then announced the name of the city as Canberra, believed to be a derivation of an Aboriginal word for 'meeting place'.
• Prior to the founding of Canberra, the area was a farming region known as Limestone Plains. Among the early settlers of the area was Australian-born explorer Hamilton Hume and his father.
• "Floriade", Australia's largest flower festival, is hosted in Canberra every Spring, usually running for a month over September-October.
• Canberra was designed by American architect Walter Burley Griffin. Lake Burley Griffin is an artificial lake created by damming the Molonglo River.
• In Lake Burley Griffin is Aspen Island, upon which sits the National Carillon, a gift from the British Government in 1970, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Australia's national capital. The Carillon has 55 bells, spanning four and a half octaves, and each weighing between seven kilograms and six tonnes.
• Canberra and the area around it is home to Mount Stromlo, Tidbinbilla and the Siding Springs observatories.
• There is also the Cockington Green gardens, a collection of complete miniature buildings making up an entire miniature English village.
• Australia's old Parliament House, which was officially opened on 9 May 1927, was only ever intended to be a temporary residence for Parliament to sit. However, it served Australian Parliament for the next sixty years.
• Canberra's first two sets of traffic lights were brought into operation on 23 October 1965, some thirty years after Sydney received its first traffic lights, in 1933.
• At 2.45pm on 18 January 2003, devastating bushfires reached the outskirts of Canberra and began encroaching upon the city. Over the next ten hours, four people died and more than 500 homes were destroyed - including the Mt Stromlo observatory, which has since been rebuilt.
• Canberra is Australia's largest inland city, with an estimated population of 358,222 as of the end of March 2011.