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A weekend in Canberra.A weekend in Canberra.
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Catching up with Trish and Paul. Paul has a singing competition on the Saturday so we're making a weekend of it - going Friday and returning Monday. Read more
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  • Janette and JohnA weekend in Canberra.
    Day 1

    First stop, the War Memorial.

    June 3, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Managed to get away at 6.45. Stopped at Gundagai at 9.45. Fuelled up both us and the car. Egg and bacon roll and a cuppa and then back on the road.

     Arrived at the War Memorial at about 11.45. Five hours door to door. There's a cafe, Poppy's, at the War Memorial and we had arranged to meet Trish and Paul there for lunch. They arrived not long after us.

     Paul had booked us into the War Memorial for 1.20pm. Once inside, we were asked if we would like a guided tour. That's how Bob became our guide. He's been guiding for 17 years. He explained, “we can only see a fraction of the exhibits in an hour and a half”.

     We started at the reflection pool with its eternal flame and flanked on both sides by walls of remembrance with the names of all Australians killed in conflicts. One side is for WW1. It contains 62,000 names.

     There is a story behind each and every name on these walls - this is one:-
    https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/alex-bidice

     The tomb of the unknown soldier is in the Hall of Memory at the far end of the reflection pool.

    “Plans to honour an unknown Australian soldier were first put forward in the 1920s but it was not until 1993 that one was at last brought home. To mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the First World War, the body of an unknown Australian soldier was recovered from Adelaide Cemetery near Villers-Bretonneux in France and transported to Australia. After lying in state in King's Hall in Old Parliament House, Unknown Australian Soldier was interred in the Hall of Memory at the Memorial on 11 November 1993. He was buried with a bayonet and a sprig of wattle in a Tasmanian blackwood coffin, and soil from the Pozières battlefield was scattered in his tomb.
    The Unknown Australian Soldier represents all Australians who have been killed in war.”

    We were then shown through WW1 and WW2 exhibitions. As Bob had warned us, this short tour would just give us a small taste of the exhibits. To see everything would take a long, long time as there are some 80,000 items on display. In Bob's words, “if you were to spend one minute at every item, you would take 55 days.”

     There are extensions underway, so even more time will be needed in future. This is certainly a place worth re-visiting.

     Then it was time to head to our hotel and check in…    Read more

  • Janette and JohnA weekend in Canberra.
    Day 1

    Dinner at the Banana Leaf.

    June 3, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    The hotel is well located to walk into town. Lots of shops and eateries. On our way to buy bread, butter, milk and marmalade for brekky, we saw the Banana Leaf Sri Lankan restaurant. It looked really nice and it was only a few minutes walk back to the hotel.

     Probably because it was Friday night with its late night shopping, most shops were open and there were lots of people around. Having found Aldi and bought our stores, we decided an early night was in order and we would head back to the Banana Leaf to dine. We were back there before 6pm.

     Two pale ales and a bottle of Marlboro Sauvignon Blanc and mains were ordered. We fully intended to only have mains but…

     This has set the bar high for future meals!    Read more

  • Janette and JohnA weekend in Canberra.
    Day 2

    Botanic Gardens and Mt Ainslie.

    June 4, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Paul has his singing competition today.

    Met Trish in hotel lobby at 9.30am and headed off to the Botanic Gardens. Strolled around for about one and a half hours. They are very reminiscent of the Dandenongs in Victoria. The gardens are located well up on Black Mountain but even so, they are set out for easy walking.

    It was quite cold with an icy wind, but it was most enjoyable to wander amongst the extensive collection of Australian natives.
    “The Australian National Botanic Gardens, on the lower slopes of Black Mountain in Canberra, has the world’s most comprehensive display of living Australian native plants”.

     As with much of Canberra at present, there are many expansion and renovation works happening in the gardens, so this will also be worth re-visiting.

     We returned to our starting point at 11.30am and decided to go to the cafe and have an early, light lunch.

     After lunch we drove to the lookout at the top of Mt Ainslie. From this vantage point, one can see all of Canberra. From this vantage point one can see the War Memorial below, then Anzac Pde, Old Parliament House and New Parliament House. Walter Burley Griffin designed Canberra to have these types of alignments.

     Our original agenda was to go to the singing comp at 1.15 and watch Paul but a message from Paul informed us that they were running behind schedule.

     So, it was back to the hotel for a cup of tea and wait for Paul to let us know when he'll be 'on'. Unfortunately, he couldn't get the message to us, so we missed his heat - we'll have to wait to see him in Hobart in November…    Read more

  • Janette and JohnA weekend in Canberra.
    Day 2

    Going Afghan for dinner.

    June 4, 2022 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Went for a drive around the City in the afternoon with a view to deciding where to dine tonight. We found Lonsdale St which looks to have wall to wall eateries. We drove up and back. Trish noticed an Afghan restaurant that she knew from Sydney - Bamiyan. She assured us it would be good. Up till then we were considering Greek.

     As we drove around it became more and more obvious that the biggest problem would be parking somewhere close to the restaurant. Even in the afternoon people were obviously cruising for that elusive parking spot.

     Trish made a booking for 6pm and we met in the hotel lobby at 5.30. The traffic seemed even heavier than earlier. It was Saturday night after all plus it was dark and wet. It was obvious that we weren't going to get a park on Lonsdale St so we headed for a car parking area we had seen earlier. We joined the queue to get in, took a ticket and joined the 'snake' of cars driving around hoping for a spot to open up.

    Janette must have phoned ahead.

     We were at a standstill in a line of cars. In the parked cars, immediately in front on our left was a dual cab ute. As we waited the 'ute people' arrived to drive out. We had a spot!!! We even got to the restaurant on time.

     Lonsdale St was humming with people, pubs and restaurants. It has certainly changed our view of a quiet, conservative Canberra that we probably had.

     Suffice to say, the food was amazing. We had banquet #1 and a bottle of wine.

     Back to the hotel to run through plans for the Tassie holiday in Oct/Nov.    Read more

  • Janette and JohnA weekend in Canberra.
    Day 3

    MoAD - Museum of Australian Democracy.

    June 5, 2022 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 11 °C

    Went to Old Parliament House, now called the Museum of Australian Democracy. WOW!!! What a surprise!

     Along the corridors, immediately inside the front door, is an exhibition of political cartoons titled 'Behind the Lines'.
    There are well over a hundred so it took quite some time to read them all.

     The next exhibition - Truth, Power and a Free Press - Can you tell the truth?
    “Our timely, permanent exhibition explores stories from those on the front line for the battle for truth.
    You will see objects from Australia’s media history brought together for the first time and hear stories direct from some of Australia’s leading journalists including Joanne McCarthy, Hedley Thomas, Laura Murphy-Oates, Hamish Macdonald, Adele Ferguson and more.
    You will leave moved, excited and empowered to navigate filter bubbles, fake news and the importance of trusted media sources in a healthy democracy.
    Find out if you can tell the truth”.

    11.00am - tea and scones in the cafe.

    Another exhibition, Democracy DNA looks at all Australia's Prime Ministers from 1901 to today. There is an artist's picture of each and a 'one pager' on their career.
    “Visit with the People and the Prime Ministers of Australia from 1901 to today. Explore the events that shaped the nation and the stories of the people who created our democracy”.

     Then - Democracy - are you in? looks at the falling trust in politicians.
    “Told through powerful stories of democracy in action, this exhibition will provoke thought and motivate you to recognise the power of your voice.
    Democracy is a living system and it works best when there is a healthy balance between trust and distrust - but that balance is tipping. Distrust is on the rise, and confidence in our political and social institutions is at its lowest point in decades”.

     The rest of the building has been left pretty much as it was when New Parliament House opened in 1988. It's as if someone announced that the 'new place' was ready and people just left everything and went 'up the hill'.

     At that time, Bob Hawke was PM, Joan Childs was Speaker and John Howard was opposition leader.

     Offices have all the old equipment still in place as if people have just stepped out for a minute. There are even jackets over the backs of office chairs. What is very evident are the cramped conditions everyone worked in.
    We visited the PM's office, the Cabinet Room, the Speaker's office and the Parliamentary Chamber itself.

     The timbers in the House represent all Australian States with timbers sourced from all States.

     There is one exception. The Speaker's Chair is a replica of the original Speaker's Chair in the House of Commons, Westminster. It was gifted to Australia in 1927 by Britain. It contains timbers from Westminster Hall and Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory and is meant to signify the ties between Britain and Australia.
    “This relationship was reinforced when the Speaker’s Chair in the British House of Commons was destroyed during an air raid in 1941. The Australian government paid for a replica of the Speaker’s Chair at the Provisional Parliament House and presented it to the British House of Commons in 1951. It was carved by British craftsmen out of black bean and had ‘The Gift of Australia’ inscribed across the back.”

    “On 6 October 1987, the Speaker, the Hon. Joan Child (ALP, Member for Henty, Vic., 1974‒5 and 1980‒90), advises the House of Representatives that the Joint Standing Committee on the New Parliament House Parliament had decided that the Speaker's Chair should not be transferred from the provisional Parliament House to the new building.”

     Thus, the Speaker's Chair in MoAD is the original.

     Unfortunately, the Senate was closed due to water damage - we'll see that next time.

     As morning tea had been so nice, we decided to go back to the cafe and have lunch.

    Unanimously, we decided that, as this place is still a work in progress, it will be well worth a return visit.    Read more

  • Janette and JohnA weekend in Canberra.
    Day 3

    National Museum.

    June 5, 2022 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    We decided we had enough time for one more visit. We opted for the National Museum.

     There was about an hour and a half available before closing time to have a look around.

     Entry is into the Gandel Atrium which is a very large area containing some large exhibits. From the atrium, there are further exhibition halls.

     There is a new exhibition, Decoded, which explores the exploits and achievements of the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), from its origins in the Second World War to cyber challenges today.

    'Reveal their secrets – protect our own'
    “Decoded visitors can find out if they have what it takes to be a cyber security operative in a multi-player game. Work in a team to complete a mission before time runs out.
    Code words can be scanned to reveal personal stories about collecting intelligence on foreign adversaries and keeping Australian secrets safe.
    The exhibition also features interactive sounds and light experiences and objects including an Enigma cipher machine.”

    Great Southern Land goes through to displays of human settlement in Australia.

    Dinner - Briscola Italian Restaurant - pizza all round.    Read more

  • Janette and JohnA weekend in Canberra.
    Day 4

    Heading for home.

    June 6, 2022 in Australia ⋅ 🌧 6 °C

    8.30 - met for Brekky at the ARC cafe on the corner of the hotel building.
    There is a statue on the corner. It is appropriately titled 'windswept'. It is of Andrew Inglis Clark. Turns out he played a significant role in writing the Constitution of Australia. That's probably why he stands outside 1 Constitution Avenue…

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Inglis_Clark

     9.45 - approx - departed.
    12.45 - fuel and lunch in Holbrook.
    3.30 - home.

     Five hours driving time plus 45 minute lunch break.

     We need to go back to Canberra as there's still so much to see.    Read more

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