Editing Canberra (section)

===Creation of the nation's capital===
[[File:Parliamenthouse2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|right|The opening of [[Old Parliament House, Canberra|Parliament House]] in May 1927]]
The district's change from a rural area in [[New South Wales]] to the national capital started during debates over [[Federation of Australia|federation]] in the late 19th century.{{sfn|Fitzgerald|1987|p=92}}{{sfn|Gillespie|1991|pp=220-230}} Following a long dispute over whether Sydney or Melbourne should be the national capital,<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=The Oxford Companion to Australian History |editor1-last=Davison |editor1-first=Graeme |editor2-last=Hirst |editor2-first=John |editor3-last=Macintyre |editor3-first=Stuart |year=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=464–465, 662–663 |isbn=9780195535976}}</ref> a compromise was reached: the new capital would be built in New South Wales, so long as it was at least {{cvt|100|mi|km|-1}} from Sydney,{{sfn|Fitzgerald|1987|p=92}} with Melbourne to be the temporary seat of government while the new capital was built.{{sfn|Wigmore|1971|p=24}} A survey was conducted across several sites in New South Wales with [[Bombala]], southern [[Monaro (New South Wales)|Monaro]], [[Orange, New South Wales|Orange]], [[Yass, New South Wales|Yass]], [[Albury]], [[Tamworth, New South Wales|Tamworth]], [[Armidale]], [[Tumut]], and [[Dalgety, New South Wales|Dalgety]] all discussed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Old Canberra and the search for a capital |last=Fitzhardinge |first=L. F. |publisher=Canberra & District Historical Society |year=1975 |isbn=0-909655-02-2 |page=27}}</ref> Dalgety was chosen by the federal parliament and it passed the ''[[Seat of Government Act 1904]]'' confirming Dalgety as the site of the nation's capital. However, the New South Wales government refused to cede the required territory as they did not accept the site.<ref name=":0" /> In 1906, the New South Wales Government finally agreed to cede sufficient land provided that it was in the Yass-Canberra region as this site was closer to Sydney.{{sfn|Fitzgerald|1987|p=92}} Newspaper proprietor [[John Gale (journalist)|John Gale]] circulated a pamphlet titled 'Dalgety or Canberra: Which?' advocating Canberra to every member of the Commonwealth's seven state and federal parliaments. By many accounts, it was decisive in the selection of Canberra as the site in 1908 as was a result of survey work done by the government [[surveying|surveyor]] [[Charles Scrivener]].{{sfn|Fitzgerald|1987|p=93}} The NSW government ceded the district to the federal government in 1911 and the [[Australian Capital Territory|Federal Capital Territory]] was established.{{sfn|Fitzgerald|1987|p=92}}
[[File:Sketch of canberra.jpg|thumb|The Griffins' plan for Canberra]]
An international design competition was launched by the Department of Home Affairs on 30 April 1911, closing on 31 January 1912. The competition was boycotted by the [[Royal Institute of British Architects]], the [[Institution of Civil Engineers]] and their affiliated bodies throughout the British Empire because the Minister for Home Affairs [[King O'Malley]] insisted that the final decision was for him to make rather than an expert in city planning.<ref name=tom>Tom Lawrence, "The competition for the plan of Canberra", in supplement "Australia - 100 Years a Nation", ''The Canberra Times'', 1 January 2001</ref> A total of 137 valid entries were received. O'Malley appointed a three-member board to advise him but they could not reach unanimity. On 24 May 1911,{{sfn|Fitzgerald|1987|p=100}} O'Malley came down on the side of the majority of the board with the design by [[Walter Burley Griffin]] and [[Marion Mahony Griffin]] of [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], [[United States]], being declared the winner.{{sfn|Gillespie|1991|p=178}}{{sfn|Wigmore|1971|pp=160-166}} Second was [[Eliel Saarinen]] of Finland and third was [[Alfred Agache (architect)|Alfred Agache]] of Brazil but resident in Paris, France.<ref name=tom/> O'Malley then appointed a six-member board to advise him on the implementation of the winning design. On 25 November 1912, the board advised that it could not support the Griffins' plan in its entirety and suggested an alternative plan of its own devising. This plan ostensibly incorporated the best features of the three place-getting designs as well as of a fourth design by H. Caswell, R.C.G. Coulter and W. Scott-Griffiths of Sydney, the rights to which it had purchased. It was this composite plan that was endorsed by Parliament and given formal approval by O'Malley on 10 January 1913.<ref name=tom/> However, it was the Griffin plan which was ultimately proceeded with. In 1913, Walter Burley Griffin was appointed Federal Capital Director of Design and Construction and construction began.{{sfn|Wigmore|1971|p=63}} On 23 February, King O'Malley drove the first peg in the construction of the future capital city.

In 1912, the government invited suggestions from the public as to the name of the future city. Almost 750 names were suggested. At midday on 12&nbsp;March 1913,{{sfn|Gillespie|1991|p=303}}<ref>{{citation |url=http://aso.gov.au/titles/historical/naming-federal-capital/clip3/ |archive-date=17 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140217062840/http://aso.gov.au/titles/historical/naming-federal-capital/clip3/ |url-status=live |publisher=[[National Film & Sound Archive]] |work=Australian Screen |title=Naming the Federal Capital of Australia |year=1913}}</ref> [[Gertrude Denman, Baroness Denman|Lady Denman]], the wife of Governor-General [[Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman|Lord Denman]], announced that the city would be named "Canberra" at a ceremony at Kurrajong Hill,{{sfn|Fitzgerald|1987|p=103}}{{sfn|Australian Bureau of Statistics|1963}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px7vFz9HIK0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/Px7vFz9HIK0 |archive-date=28 October 2021 |title=View Naming the Federal Capital of Australia |website=[[YouTube]] |date=12 March 1913}}{{cbignore }}</ref> which has since become Capital Hill and the site of the present [[Parliament House, Canberra|Parliament House]].{{sfn|Fitzgerald|1987|p=105}} [[Canberra Day]] is a public holiday observed in the ACT on the second Monday in March to celebrate the founding of Canberra.<ref name=canb>{{cite web |url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/canberra/ |title=Canberra – Australia's capital city |publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts |date=4 February 2010 |access-date=23 April 2010 |archive-date=10 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410090632/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/canberra/}}</ref> After the ceremony, bureaucratic disputes hindered Griffin's work;{{sfn|Wigmore|1971|pp=70-71}} a Royal Commission in 1916 ruled his authority had been usurped by certain officials and his original plan was reinstated.{{sfn|Fitzgerald|1987|p=101}} Griffin's relationship with the Australian authorities was strained and a lack of funding meant that by the time he was fired in&nbsp;1920, little work had been done.{{sfn|National Capital Development Commission|1988|p=4}}{{sfn|Wigmore|1971|pp=69-79}} By this time, Griffin had revised his plan, overseen the earthworks of major avenues and established the Glenloch Cork Plantation.<ref name="act">{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalcapital.gov.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=136&Itemid=171 |title=History of the NCA |date=11 June 2009 |publisher=National Capital Authority |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212091704/https://www.nationalcapital.gov.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=136&Itemid=171 |archive-date=12 February 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=26 February 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tams.act.gov.au/live/heritage/heritage_assets/duntroon_wollshed |title=Glenloch Cork Oak Plantation |publisher=Territory and Municipal Services |access-date=26 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080721193100/http://www.tams.act.gov.au/live/heritage/heritage_assets/duntroon_wollshed |archive-date=21 July 2008}}</ref>