Canberra

Canberra exists because Sydney and Melbourne couldn't agree. When Australia federated in 1901, the Constitution required a new capital at least 100 miles from Sydney, in New South Wales—a compromise that satisfied no one but prevented either rival from winning. For twelve years, Parliament sat temporarily in Melbourne while 137 architects from 15 countries competed to design a capital from scratch. Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin won with a plan of geometric circles, triangles, and hexagons aligned to surrounding hills. On 12 March 1913, Lady Denman announced the name 'Canberra' to 3,000 spectators on Kurrajong Hill—now Capital Hill, where Parliament House stands.

The Ngunnawal people had inhabited this highland valley for at least 20,000 years before Europeans arrived. The name 'Canberra' likely derives from 'Kamberra,' meaning 'meeting place' in the local language—fitting, since the city exists to resolve disputes between other places. But World War I halted construction almost immediately. Griffin left in 1920, 'bitterly disappointed' that only the framework of his plan existed. The Depression and World War II meant Canberra didn't resemble a city until the 1950s. Parliament finally moved from Melbourne in 1927, but growth remained glacial until Prime Minister Robert Menzies made populating the capital a national priority in the 1960s.

For decades, Canberra was dismissed as a 'planned city with no soul'—a bureaucratic monoculture where public servants commuted between identical suburbs and identical offices. The criticism was fair: even today, 75% of the economy consists of services related to federal and territorial government. But that concentration created something unexpected. The Australian National University, founded in 1946 as a research institution to serve the national interest, became one of the world's top 35 universities. CSIRO, the national science agency, built research campuses that spawned Wi-Fi, polymer banknotes, and spray-on skin. The proximity of government, universities, and research institutions created a knowledge cluster that no other Australian city can match.

Today Canberra is home to 478,000 people with the highest per capita GDP in Australia—A$112,663 in 2024. The ACT economy reached A$53 billion, growing 4% annually despite representing only 2% of the national economy. Public sector employment dominates, with Commonwealth government jobs rising 5.6% to 385,900 in 2025. The city is trying to diversify into technology and the 'space economy,' but remains fundamentally dependent on decisions made in Parliament House. ANU's belt-tightening—cutting A$250 million in costs by 2026—reflects the vulnerability of an economy built around a single employer.

By 2026, Canberra faces the question every capital city eventually confronts: what is it for, besides administering everywhere else? The Australian Space Agency is headquartered here; quantum computing research is growing. But the city's future still depends on federal budgets and political will. The meeting place remains a meeting place—just as the Ngunnawal name suggested 20,000 years ago.