Canberra - The Capital City

Canberra was quite a surprise. I knew the city was a lot smaller than Sydney but it is quite unlike any city I have visited before.

Canberra has a population of about 300,000 people which is around 200,000 people less than Edinburgh however the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) is the size of the Lothians and Borders areas put together!

The city is also very young. It is a "purpose" built city which housed the first Federal Parliament building opening in 1927. It then expanded out however the cities primary "function" is to facilitate the Government and very much lives and breathes as the Parliaments sits. There are of course the "usual" shops, museums, restaurants etc but it is very different to any other Capital city.

It is also unusual not to see old buildings (the first Parliament is the oldest building was designed like Westminster but on a smaller scale), The roads also seemed extremely quiet and apparently, traffic jams just don't happen.

 

The recent drought was very evident in Canberra. There were water restrictions in place and electronic signs advising how much water residents had used, along with target levels for the month. The grass was brown and the hills bare as we drove through the region.

It was though a great weekend and I look forward to spending more time in Canberra.

This used to be a lake before the drought