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Australia more than natural wonders

The country's capital, Canberra, is a lovely planned city with memorable architecture, attractions and parks.

By CHRISTOPHER KLEIN
Published December 11, 2005

CANBERRA, Australia - Given the bustling cities of Sydney and Melbourne and the natural wonders of the Great Barrier Reef and the Outback, only a political junkie might consider the national capital of Canberra a must-see in Australia. Which means many travelers miss out on some particularly noteworthy buildings - and a whole city - that reflect the special spirit of the Australians.

Like Washington, D.C., Canberra is a planned federal capital, chosen in 1908 and later created out of a barren landscape. But it is filled with monuments and interesting museums, tree-lined avenues and a lake. Surrounded by mountains, Canberra gives visitors the sense of being in a park.

Interestingly, it was Chicago landscape architect Walter Burley Griffin who won the international competition in 1912 to transform the sheep-grazing bush into a federal capital for the new nation.

Most of Canberra's attractions surround the centerpiece of Griffin's plan, a huge artificial lake, which was later named for him. While it's possible to walk to all the major sites, the distances are larger than they may seem on a map, and the abundance of traffic circles can make crossing intersections an adventure. One site along the banks of Lake Burley Griffin, the National Capital Exhibition, provides an excellent orientation for visitors.

Through interactive displays, photographs and a three-dimensional model, the exhibits tell the story of the development of the city. You can see a reproduction of Griffin's original plan for the city - along with some of the 136 other architectural plans that didn't make the cut.

One of the main attractions in Canberra, a city of about 327,000, is Parliament House, which opened in 1988. It is located on Capital Hill, one of the highest points in the city.

But unlike probably any other congressional building, the Australian Parliament is built into the hillside, its roof covered with grass. Picnickers enjoy lunch and a commanding 360-degree view of Canberra, and groups of schoolchildren run around, while members of Parliament debate issues beneath them.

The symbolism of the architectural design is clear: The citizens ultimately hold the power and thus are above the legislators.

Another distinctive feature of Parliament House is its 250-foot-tall, four-legged, stainless steel flagpole, a landmark for the city. The Australian flag that flies from it is the size of a double-decker bus, visible throughout the city day and night.

Knowledgeable guides provide tours of Parliament House every half hour, explaining unusual aspects of the Australian political system and the symbolism in design elements of the building itself.

Visitors are free to wander and are welcome to sit in when the House of Representatives and Senate are in session. The best time to visit is during Question Time, when the debate can be spirited.

Nearby is Old Parliament House, which originally was planned to be sort of a temporary headquarters for the young nation's legislators. Instead, it served as Australia's seat of government for more than 60 years.

Ultimately, overcrowding of legislators and staffers forced the creation of the new Parliament House. But the former building is now also home to the National Portrait Gallery. Forty-minute guided tours are available, for a fee.

On the other side of Lake Burley Griffin is the Australian War Memorial, which is also one of the world's great military museums. (Traveling through Australia, the number of war memorials is striking.)

The museum has an extensive collection of art, photographs, battlefield dioramas and audio-visual recordings depicting both world wars and the other armed conflicts and peacekeeping missions in which Australians served.

The central feature of the memorial is the copper-domed Hall of Memory, which contains the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier. It sits at the far end of a courtyard with a reflecting pool crowned by an eternal flame.

Flanking the sides of the pool are bronze plaques engraved with the names of more than 100,000 Australians who died while serving their country.

The Australian War Memorial was originally conceived to honor those who died in World War I: One out of every five enlisted Australian men was killed in that war, a terrible toll for a country then barely a decade old.

As the memorial closes at the end of the day, a solitary bagpiper enters the courtyard. The haunting notes of the pipes become muffled as he enters the Hall of Memory and the heavy doors close behind him. It is a poignant conclusion to this unusual experience.

- Christopher Klein is a freelance writer living in Waltham, Mass.

GETTING THERE: Several airlines offer nonstop service from Los Angeles or San Francisco to Sydney and Melbourne. The Australian national airline Qantas flies from Miami to Los Angeles and, after a 95-minute layover, on to Sydney, where there is another change of planes and on to Canberra. Total time is about 241/2 hours.

Qantas also has a money-saving Aussie AirPass that offers a flight from Los Angeles or San Francisco and then three flights within Australia. All rates are higher during most of December and through January but drop hundreds of dollars after that, especially during May and June.

Canberra is a three-hour drive from Sydney.

STAYING THERE: Being a federal capital, Canberra has a wide range of accommodations. Rates noted here are in Australian dollars; $1 Australian equals about 77 cents U.S. Among hotels are:

Rydges Lakeside Hotel Canberra, call from the United States 011-61-2-6247-6244; go to www.rydges.com/locations/ Located on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin, rooms have views of the city or the lake and the surrounding mountains. Doubles from $100.

Hyatt Hotel Canberra, 011-61-2-6270-1234; http://canberra.park.hyatt.com Luxurious boutique hotel restored to its Art Deco heritage, located in the Parliamentary Triangle. Rooms from $179.

Crowne Plaza Canberra, 011-61-2-6247-8999; www.crowneplaza.com Modern hotel centrally located in the main business district next to Casino Canberra. Rooms from $103.

THE SIGHTS: The National Capital Exhibition, at Regatta Point. Open daily 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. For more information, www.nationalcapital.gov.au 011-61-2-6257-1068.

Parliament House. Open daily 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free. Guided tours available every half hour, self-guided audio tours available. When Parliament is in session, Question Time begins at 2 p.m. For tickets to Question Time in the House of Representatives, call 011-61-2-6277-4889. For general information, www.aph.gov.au 011-61-2-6277-5399.

Old Parliament House, on King George Terrace. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Forty-minute guided tours available. Admission is $2 adults, $1 children. www.oldparliamenthouse.gov.au 011-61-2-6270-8222.

Australian War Memorial, on Treloar Crescent. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Free. www.awm.gov.au 011-61-2-6243-4211.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Go to www.visitcanberra.com.au

[Last modified December 9, 2005, 08:38:03]