Canberra History

History

For over 20,000 years the Ngunnawal Aboriginal people made this country their home. Nomadic by necessity, the seasonal abundance of foods, such as the yam daisies of the plains and the Bogong moths of the high country, precipitated occasional large gatherings of people, and ‘Canberra’ or ‘Kanberra’ is believed to be an Aboriginal term for ‘meeting place’.

European settlement began in the 1820s and many Ngunnawal people ended up working on expansive sheep stations. Despite years of persecution, introduced diseases, official disregard and massive environmental change, the Ngunnawal have endured and have increased their profile in recent years.

When Australia’s separate colonies were federated in 1901 and became states, the decision to build a national capital was written into the constitution. In 1908 the site was selected, and in 1911 the Commonwealth government created the Federal Capital Territory (changed to the Australian Capital Territory in 1938).

Canberra took over from Melbourne as the seat of national government in 1927, but the city’s expansion really got under way after WWII – in the next decade the population trebled to 39,000.

The western and southern outskirts of the city were struck by devastating bushfires in January 2003. The fires claimed four lives, 530 homes, 30 farms and the historic Mt Stromlo Observatory, and decimated large swaths of Namadgi National Park. Almost all of the 5500 hectares of Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, including most wildlife, were destroyed. The regeneration of the fire-scorched landscape, however, began quickly and the area is well worth exploring.