Canberra

Capital of Australia and seat of the federal government, situated in the Australian Capital Territory in southeast Australia; population (2001 est) 311,500. Canberra lies on a plain adjoining the Australian Alps and is enclosed within the state of New South Wales; it is 289 km/180 mi southwest of Sydney and 655 km/407 mi northeast of Melbourne, on the River Molonglo, a tributary of the Murrumbidgee. It succeeded Melbourne as capital of Australia in 1927. It is an administrative, cultural, and tourist centre. The new Parliament House (1988) is located here, as well as government offices, foreign embassies, and many buildings of national importance.

History
Canberra was designed to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with many parks, fine roads, and trees. Building started in 1913, but was delayed by World War I. In 1958 the Australian government established the National Capital Development Commission and made it the statutory body for planning and developing Canberra. Central to the planning

was the introduction of Lake Burley Griffin, 10 km/6 mi long.