Canberra is the federal capital of Australia. It is Australia's largest inland city with a population of more than 360,000 and ranks eighth among all Australian cities. It is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory ,280 km from Sydney and 660 km from Melbourne, two metropolitan cities on the eastern coast of Australia.
The Commonwealth of Australia decided in 1908 to establish a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne, And today Canberra. it's one of the few planned cities in Australia, Construction started in 1913, The master plan was designed by American Chicago architects Walter Bury Griffin (Walter Burley Griffin) and Marion Mahoney Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. The Griffins' designs stood out in the global design competition, Combined with circular, hexagonal, triangular geometric patterns, And to the capital territory of the terrain characteristics for the main axis. As an early planning city in the world, Griffin designed a grand, solemn blueprint for Canberra that reflects Australia's natural characteristics, This design basically uses the basic structure of circle plus ray, And according to the concept of garden urbanism, Separate important buildings from large semi-planned green areas and waterscape. Urban design is influenced by the garden city movement, Throw away the old idea of parks, Direct integration of many important areas into natural vegetation, As a result, enjoy the "natural capital" reputation.
Nevertheless, at the beginning of Canberra's development, there was a sharp increase in the differences between World War I and economic major panic, plans and a sharp decline in the pace of urban development. After World War II, at the initiative of Prime Minister Robert Mencius, the National Capital Development Commission was established to coordinate the development of the Canberra, Canberra began to flourish as a new capital. The Australian Capital Territory is now an autonomous territory with responsibilities for state government and Canberra local government, but some of the authority remain under the control of the Federal Capital Authority.
As Australia's political center, Canberra city has parliament buildings (Parliament House), the Australian High Court (High Court of Australia) and numerous other government departments and diplomatic agencies. In addition, Canberra is also home to many national social and cultural institutions, such as Australian National War Memorial (Australian War Memorial), Australian National University (The Australian National University), Australian National Gallery (National Gallery of Australia), Australian National Library (National Library of Australia), Australian army headquarters, The Royal military College and the Australian Defence Institute are also located in Canberra., the main military educational institutions
Canberra population is dominated by public servants, the unemployment rate and average income are better than the national average, and prices are relatively high, partly due to relatively limited development regulations. The federal government is the largest single employer in the Canberra, while contributing the highest proportion of GDP in the territory. Canberra higher education level, the domestic population structure is also younger.
