Canberra

Canberra

As Victoria vanished, leaving behind the Snowy Mountains, and with the ‘alpine’ resorts framing our drive, we dropped into NSW and Canberra; what a contrast to the day before.

Modern purpose built wide streets, tree lined roads, the centre dominated by the War Memorial at one end and the Parliament House at the other (in a direct axis), this ‘New’ town was such a stark contrast to small town Australia we’d driven through, with their identikit main streets passing in moments before the road once more disappears into the landscape.

Canberra made another piece of the complex jigsaw of Oz click into place, from the cosmopolitan buzz of Sydney, the mellow medley of Melbourne, the crashing surf and stunning rocks of the Ocean Road, the Englishness of villages and towns, the sense of history embedded not in the culture but in the land itself, and now a man-made town reflecting contemporary Australia.

Our lake side hotel has a lake view, and we were in time for a splendid evening sunrise over the waters of Lake Burley Griffin. Our stroll down to the lakes edge for a floodlit view of the water’s skyline dominated by the Carillon Bells tower looming in the middle and framed by grandiose national buildings over the other.

The next day we walked from top to bottom of the glorious axis, from Parliament House down over the lake to the Australian War Memorial opposite. The walk drops down past the old Parliament House, where the Tent Embassy set up forty years ago still flourishes –a telling reminder of the ever present racial tension and conflict, despite the apparent integration.

This integration is nowhere more on show than in the amazing Art Gallery and National Portrait Gallery, where I was once again absorbed in floors of indigenous art, this time even more fascinating as the artists own life histories were woven into the accompanying story boards.

The National Museum of Australia, coming as it did at the end of my stay, proved invaluable in tying up many loose ends in my sense of this complex country, I’m ashamed of my ignorance in terms of its history, both land and people. Interestingly, despite the presence and celebration of indigenous art in the galleries, the national museum centres on colonialisation and beyond, and although full of  accounts of European immigration and settlement, the country’s history prior to the 1700s centred on the environmental rather than cultural.

Contemporary Canberra’s highlight was Parliament House, topped with an 81 metre flagpole with an Australian flag bigger than a double-decker bus, where, despite the Federal Parliament being in situ, we were free to wander at will in the splendid marble and timber halls, admire the tapestry lined walls and the portraits of the great and the good., and to climb to the roof for panoramic Canberra views.

Yet again I was moved to tears by the closing ceremony at the cenotaph, the lone piper in the setting sun, playing as the doors close on the shrine for the night. Despite the crowds which gather every day, from old to young, there is a consensus of silence, a collective moment of remembrance and reflection.

And finally Paul and I had a meal out! The unadvertised renovations at the hotel were an unexpected alarm call each morning (why can carpenters throughout the world not tell the time, 9am start always translated to 8am in their watches?), but a polite moan to reception prompted a courtesy invite to dine in their restaurant.

Paul made up for his fast food forages by enjoying a massive seafood starter and an enormous steak, and I enjoyed half a goat’s cheese and a salmon steak bigger than the plate-more than made up for the hammering!

(Tis so expensive here though, the 150 dollar voucher we were given just covered this, and three beers, we couldn’t make it stretch to wine-that’s over £100 for a two course meal, and although this was a good restaurant, it was hardly a Michelin starred establishment!)

 View from Parliament House, down past old Parliament House up Anzac Ave (lined with war memorials) to the Shrine, courtesy of Annie's camera and Paul's photography skills!