This article is part of the series History of Australia

Chronological

Prehistory

Before 1901

After 1901

Timeline

Topical

Exploration

Constitution

Federation

Immigration

Military

States and Territories

Australian Capital Territory

Queensland

Tasmania

Victoria

Western Australia

Cities

Adelaide

Brisbane

Canberra

Melbourne

Perth

Sydney

The History of the Australian Capital Territory details the Australian Capital Territory's development from before white settlement to Canberra's planning by the Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin and subsequent development to the present day. The Territory was established specifically for the purpose of building a capital city for Australia following Federation in 1901, and the history of the territory as a political entity formally began when the territory was selected in 1908 as the site for the capital city of Australia was ceeded to the Government of Australia by the Government of New South Wales by a Act passed in the Parliament of Australia in 1909. Image File history File links The coat of arms of Australia. ... The History of Australia began when humans arrived in Australia from the north approximately 50,000 years before present. ... The prehistory of Australia is the term used to describe the period of approximately 50,000 years (possibly a lot more) between the arrival of humans on the Australian continent and the first definite sighting of Australia by Europeans in 1606, which may be taken as the beginning of the... // Prehistory and aboriginal legends Humans first arrived in Australia through Indonesia and New Guinea, either by paddling canoes across the Timor Sea or by crossing a land bridge across what is now Torres Strait, between New Guinea and Australia. ... // Federation Main article: Federation of Australia. ... This is a timeline of Australian history. ... Jump to: navigation, search The European exploration of Australia encompasses several waves of seafarers and land explorers. ... The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federated on 1 January 1901, to form the Commonwealth of Australia, of which they became component states. ... This is the current Australian Collaboration of the Fortnight! Please help improve it to featured article standard. ... The history of Tasmania begins in prehistory where it is believed that the island was joined to the mainland until the end of the most recent ice age approximately 10 000 years ago. ... This article describes the history of Victoria. ... Pre-European settlement The human history of Western Australia started when Australias first inhabitants arrived on the northwest coast about 55,000 years ago. ... Adelaide is the capital city of the Australian state of South Australia. ... Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is named for Sir Thomas Brisbane (1773–1860), British soldier and colonial administrator born in Ayrshire, Scotland. ... The History of Canberra details Canberras development from before white settlement to the first planning by the Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin and subsequent development of the city to the present day. ... Melbourne, now the capital city of the state of Victoria in Australia, was founded in 1835. ... Admiral Sir James Stirling The founding father of modern Western Australia was James Stirling who, in 1827, explored the Swan River area in HMS Success which first anchored off Rottnest, and later in Cockburn Sound. ... This is a history of the city of Sydney. ... Jump to: navigation, search Motto: Pro Rege, Lege et Grege (For the Queen, the Law and the People) Nickname: (none) Other Australian states and territories Capital Canberra Government Administrator Chief Minister Const. ... Jump to: navigation, search Canberra is the capital of the Commonwealth of Australia and, with a population of just over 323,000, is also Australias largest inland city. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... Jump to: navigation, search Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect, also known as a building designer, is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction, whose role is to guide decisions affecting those building aspects that are of aesthetic, cultural or social... Griffins plan for Canberra Walter Burley Griffin (November 24, 1876 - February 11, 1937), American architect, gained fame for his role in designing Canberra, Australias capital city. ... Emergence of the Commonwealth of Australia Main article: Australian federation After European settlement in 1788, Australia was politically organized as a number of separate British colonies, eventually six in all. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1901 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... // Australia is a constitutional monarchy, a federation and a parliamentary democracy. ... The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then. ... A statute is a formal, written law of a country or state, written and enacted by its legislative authority, perhaps to then be ratified by the highest executive in the government, and finally published. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Parliament of Australia is the legislative branch of Australia. ...

Aboriginal presence

Before European settlement, the area which eventually become the Australian Capital Territory was inhabited by the Ngunnawal and Walgalu tribes. The Ngarigo lived south-east of the ACT, the Gundungurra to the north, the Yuin on the coast and the Wiradjuri to the west. Archaeological evidence suggests human habitation of the area for at least 21,000 years. Jump to: navigation, search Ngunnawal people or Ngunnawal tribe were the first residents of the area which is now occupied by the city of Canberra, Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. ... The Wiradjuri are an indigenous people of Australia, who speak the Aboriginal language of that name. ...

The Ngunnawal had at least two burial grounds, a northern limestone cave and a cave in what is now known as Mt Tennant. At least in some cases, dead aboriginals were buried in a sitting position.

The Bogong Moths were an important source of food for the Aboriginal people, which would collect in their thousands in caves and rock crevices; they were roasted in sand or ashes and eaten whole. Binomial name Agrotis infusa (bogong moth) , Subspecies The Bogong moth (Agrotis infusa) is a temperate species of night-flying moth notable for appearing in major proportions around major public buildings in Canberra, the capital city of Australia, during spring (late September to November). ...

European exploration and settlement

European exploration began in the Canberra area as early as the 1820s. Four successive expeditions whose routes took in the Canberra area were those of Charles Throsby Smith (1820), Charles Throsby (1821), Major John Ovens and Captain Mark Currie (1823) and Allan Cunningham (1824). All four expeditions explored the area of the Molonglo River that is now Lake Burley Griffin. Smith and Cunningham also went further south to what is now called the Tuggeranong Valley. Jump to: navigation, search Events and Trends Nationalistic independence movements helped reshape the world during this decade: Greece declares independence from the Ottoman Empire (1821). ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1821 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Allan Cunningham (July 13, 1791 - June 27, 1839) was an English botanist and explorer. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

White settlement in the area can be said to have begun in 1824, when a homestead or station was built in what is now the Acton peninsula by stockmen employed by Joshua John Moore. He formally purchased the site in 1826, and named the property Canberry, or Canberra. But he never visited the site. 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1826 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Other stations were built in turn by other settlers. Initially, these were owned by absentee landlords, but later families moved in. The first white child born in the area was a daughter born to the Macpherson family in 1830. 1830 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

There were a number of these families that achieved status in the area. These included the Campbell family, the Ainslie family and the Palmer family. In the late 1820s and early 1830s, there was a conflict between two of these families - the Johnstons (descended from Major George Johnston who was involved in the Rum Rebellion) and the Martins - for the ownership and financial control of land which is now known as Weston Creek and Tuggeranong. The Rum Rebellion of 1808 was the only successful (if only temporarily so) armed takeover of government in Australias recorded history. ...

The Campbells, and their patriach, Robert Campbell, were particularly influential. The Campbells were Scottish and brought many other Scots to the district as workers. The land that they owned included Duntroon House that is now the Officers Mess at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, Yarralumla and the Oaks Estate. The lattermost got its name from a mansion built there by Campbell called the Oaks. When the Campbell family later sold the land it was on for subdivision and development, it was on condition that the Oaks and the land that it was on remain intact and unrenamed respectively. There are still members of the Campbell family living in Canberra. Robert Campbell (28 April 1769 - 30 March 1859) was Sydneys first mechant and a pioneering land owner. ... Royal Military College The Royal Military College, Duntroon is Australias military academy where Officer Cadets train for commissioning into the Australian Army as a part of the Australian Defence Force There are two streams of Cadets: from the Australian Defence Force Academy, and by direct entry. ... Yarralumla locality map Yarralumla (postcode: 2600) is a suburb in the inner south of Canberra, the capital city of Australia. ...

The first church in Canberra, St John's in Reid

The European population in the Canberra area continued to slowly grow throughout the rest of the 19th century. One prominent building, the Anglican St John's Church, was consecrated and opened for use in 1845. This building still stands today. A schoolhouse was also attached to this building. By 1851, there were about 2500 people living in the area - a vast majority of which were stockmen. Some convict labour was also used in this area in the 1830s and 1840s. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1851 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search // Events and Trends Electromagnetic induction discovered by Michael Faraday Dutch-speaking farmers known as Voortrekkers emigrate northwards from the Cape Colony Croquet invented in Ireland Railroad construction begins in earnest in the United States Egba refugees fleeing the Yoruba civil wars found the city of Abeokuta... Jump to: navigation, search // Events and Trends Technology First use of anaesthesia in an operation, by Crawford Long War, peace and politics First signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) on February 6, 1840 at Waitangi New Zealand. ...

The settlers dealt totally on agriculture, both crops and livestock, for survival. The weather there was said to be harsh, and drownings in rivers was a fairly common occurrence. Victims of drowning included the first rector of the St John's Church.

Blundells cottage built in the 1860s

Blundells' Cottage was built in the 1860s, by the first European settlers of Canberra. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1936x1152, 229 KB) Blundells cottage, Canberra, photo taken by User:Petaholmes, August 2005 File links The following pages link to this file: Canberra ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1936x1152, 229 KB) Blundells cottage, Canberra, photo taken by User:Petaholmes, August 2005 File links The following pages link to this file: Canberra ...

The private township of Hall and the town of Queanbeyan were established in the mid to late 19th century.

The Aboriginal population dwindled as the European presence increased, mainly from diseases such as smallpox and measles. Another reason was that their ability to hunt and therefore survive was impeded by homesteads being placed on their hunting grounds. By 1862, they had been largely reduced to half-castes. They held their last full corroboree by the Molonglo River in that year. By 1878, the Aboriginal culture and population had largely ceased to exist, with its members largely absorbed into European culture through half-caste marriages. The last full-blood Aboriginal, Nellie "Queen Nellie" Hamilton, died in Queanbeyan in 1897. Smallpox (also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera) is a highly contagious disease unique to humans. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1862 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... A Corroboree is a ceremonial meeting of Australian Aborigines. ... 1878 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1897 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

The name of Canberra, as well as several derivatives, continued to see some use throughout the 19th century to refer to what is now North Canberra. The local Aboriginals of this time also tended to refer to themselves as the Camberra or Camberri people.

Choice for capital city location

The district's change from a New South Wales rural area to the national capital began during debates over Federation in the early 20th century. At the time, Melbourne was easily Australia's largest city and the obvious place for the capital. The western colonies—Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria—supported Melbourne. However, NSW (the largest colony) and (to a lesser extent) Queensland, favoured Sydney—which was older than Melbourne and the only other large city in Australia. Perhaps one or another of the two colonial capitals might have eventually been acceptable to the smaller states, but the Sydney-Melbourne rivalry was such that neither city would ever agree to the other one becoming capital. Emergence of the Commonwealth of Australia Main article: Australian federation After European settlement in 1788, Australia was politically organized as a number of separate British colonies, eventually six in all. ...

Eventually, a compromise was reached: Melbourne would be the capital on a temporary basis while a new capital was built somewhere between Sydney and Melbourne. Section 125 of the Constitution specified that it must be north of the Murray River (placing it in NSW rather than Victoria) but at least 100 miles from Sydney. A branch of the Murray in its middle reaches, near Howlong, New South Wales The Murray River is Australias second-longest river in its own right (the longest being its tributary the Darling). ...

After an extensive search, the present site, about 300 kilometres south-west of Sydney in the foothills of the Australian Alps, was chosen in 1908 as a result of survey work done by Government Surveyor Charles Scrivener in that year^[1]. Two persons who campaigned strongly for the Federal capital to be in the Canberra area were John Gale, the publisher of the Queanbeyan Age and Federal politician King O'Malley. The choice of site was a disputed one, and narrowly beat Dalgety, a small town near the NSW/Victoria border. Jump to: navigation, search 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search King OMalley King OMalley (July 1858 - 20 December 1953), Australian politician, was one of the more colourful characters of the early federal period of Australian political history. ...

The present site was chosen in 1908^[2], with additional territory at Jervis Bay (now a naval base on the NSW coast) allocated so the national capital could have a sea port. In 1909 New South Wales transferred the land for the territory to federal control and in 1910 an act of parliament created the legal framewrok for the territory^[3][4]. The politician King O'Malley responsible for the legislation creating the ACT, also passed a law later that year making the ACT an alcohol-free area. In 1911 an international design competition was held, which was won by Walter Burley Griffin. The official naming of Canberra and its official construction began on March 12, 1913. Jump to: navigation, search 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Jervis Bay Territory is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search King OMalley King OMalley (July 1858 - 20 December 1953), Australian politician, was one of the more colourful characters of the early federal period of Australian political history. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1911 was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... Griffins plan for Canberra Walter Burley Griffin (November 24, 1876 - February 11, 1937), American architect, gained fame for his role in designing Canberra, Australias capital city. ... Jump to: navigation, search March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (72nd in Leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1913 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

The Federal Government officially moved to the ACT from Melbourne on the formal opening of the Provisional Parliament House on 9 May 1927. Among the new parliament's first acts was the repealing of the prohibition laws. At first the public service continued to be based in Melbourne, but the various departments were gradually moved to Canberra over the years. Parliament House Canberra: The main entrance and the flag Parliament House is the name given to two purpose-built buildings in Canberra, the capital of Australia, where the Parliament of Australia has met since 1927. ... Jump to: navigation, search May 9 is the 129th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (130th in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1927 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The territory was initially known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In 1938, the territory was formally named the Australian Capital Territory. Jump to: navigation, search 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Self government

Despite a 1978 referendum where Canberrans rejected self government by 63% of the vote ^[5], in December 1988, the ACT was granted full self-government through an Act of the Commonwealth Parliament that made the ACT a body politic under the crown^[6]. Following the first elections in February 1989, a 17-member Legislative Assembly sat at its offices in London Circuit, Civic, on May 11, 1989. The Australian Labor Party formed the ACT's first government, led by the Chief Minister Rosemary Follett, who made history as Australia's first female head of government. Jump to: navigation, search May 11 is the 131st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (132nd in leap years). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australias oldest political party. ... Rosemary Follett, Australian politician, was the first woman to become the head of government in an Australian state or territory. ...

Recent hisotry

In the 1990s, a number of activities which are illegal in other Australia states were decriminalised in the Australian Capital Territory. This included the personal use of cannabis decriminalised in 1992^[7], legalised prostitution and brothels in 1992, although permitted only to the suburbs of Mitchell and Fyshwick^[8], legalised trade in pornographic videos in 1995^[9], and the sale of fireworks, although this is restricted to only being allowed before the Queen's Birthday Holiday. Jump to: navigation, search Species Cannabis indica Cannabis ruderalis Cannabis sativa Cannabis is a genus of flowering plant that includes one or more species. ... Mitchell is a light-industrial suburb in Canberra in the district of North Canberra. ... Fyshwick locality map Fyshwick (postcode: 2609) is an industrial suburb of Canberra, located east of the South Canberra district. ... The Queens Birthday or Queens Official Birthday is celebrated as a public holiday in several Commonwealth countries (usually Commonwealth realms). ...

References

1. ^ National Archives of Australia - Seat of Government Act 1908 (Cth)
2. ^ National Archives of Australia - Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909 (Cth)
3. ^ National Archives of Australia - Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910 (Cth)
4. ^ Parliament@Work - At a Glance Australian Capital Territory
5. ^ National Archives of Australia - Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 (Cth)
6. ^ marijuananews.com - Legality of Cannabis in Australia
7. ^ Pastornet - Prostitution In The National Capital
8. ^ Shanghaistar - Australia: centre of pornography