CANBERRA (Week 1)

9th October, 2014

It’s only a couple of hours drive from Bowral to Canberra so by lunchtime we were setting up on a site at the Exhibition Grounds.  As the showgrounds are only six kilometres from the centre of Canberra all the sights and attractions are within easy reach.  We took a drive to Mount Ainslie for a birds eye view of our nation’s capital.

View from Mt Ainslie - looking over the War Memorial towards Parliament House

There are lots of memorials, museums and galleries to visit in Canberra so we will be spending a couple of weeks getting all cultured up.  We last visited Canberra over thirty years ago so we are expecting quite a few changes to have taken place.  The first ‘cab off the rank’ is a visit to the Australian War Memorial.  This imposing edifice is a fitting memorial to the men and women of the defense forces

Inside the Australian War Memorial -
looking across the Pool of Remembrance to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

and the view from the front steps down the avenue and across the lake to the Old and New Parliament House is equally impressive.

View down Anzac Parade to Parliament House from the War Memorial

There is a poignant memorial to Simpson and his Donkey near the entrance to the memorial

with his story on a plaque.

We spend a few hours wandering through the galleries inside the war memorial where quite a bit of modernization of the exhibits has taken place.

It’s springtime in Canberra and we had arrived in time for the last days of ‘Floriade’ – a display of flowers and plants at Commonwealth Park on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin.

 

Tulips and Pansies at Floriade'

 

There were displays on organic horticulture as well as ideas on recycling.

For those that have an old rusty car lying around -
perhaps a planting of flowers and veggies will pretty it up

All in all a pleasant afternoon to stroll around amongst the tulips and pansies.

Since our visit thirty odd years ago a new Parliament House has been built.

New Parliament House in Canberra

Security is very visible with armed federal police on patrol and anyone entering the building being put through a metal scanning detector.  Once through the security procedures we emerge in the marble columned foyer.

Wok takes in the expansive foyer at Parliament House

A doorway leads from the foyer to the Great Hall where a large tapestry of a painting by Arthur Boyd hangs.

The Great Hall - tapestry nearly covers one wall

The building is spacious with immensely wide walkways around and in-between the public areas and parliamentary rooms.  Portraits of past Prime Ministers adorn the walls along with commissioned works of art in different genres.  The House of Representatives

Green for the House of Representatives

and the Senate

Red for the Senate

were devoid of any human presence let alone a member of parliament.  An elevator took us to the roof top and we wandered across the grass

The grassed roof top of Parliament House

to overlook the forecourt and take in the view to old Parliament House, the lake and up Anzac Parade to the War Memorial.

The view from the roof top of Parliament House looking towards the War Memorial

The new Parliament House was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1988 and is designed to have a lifespan of more than 200 years.  We may not be around to see that come to pass but it certainly is a striking building.

To round off our first week in Canberra we check out the Royal Australian Mint and watch a pedantic robot lift drums of coins onto a conveyor belt.

Robot at work lifting drums of silver coins onto a conveyor belt at the Mint

Thousands of coins then jiggled their way through a series of check stations before finally being sealed in plastic bags – ready to be sent to banks around the nation.  Unfortunately they were all out of free samples.  Just our luck!

Our adventures in Canberra will continue in the next blog …