"One people, one destiny" - Henry Parkes
On the 1st of January 1901, the Commonwealth of Australia was formed by the six colonies. After being discussed for 50 years, it was agreed that Australia needed a united approach towards defence, and needed to achieve democratic independence. Due to each colony having their own distinct history and settlement development, there was an apparent issue in relation to where the new federal capital should be located.
At the time of Federation, many architects and surveyors had ideas about the "ideal capital city". Melbourne and Sydney were the main two contenders, however with the new Australian Constitution it was stated that the capital "shall be in the State of New South Wales, and be distant not less than one hundred miles from Sydney." This agreement was reached due to the Parliament agreeing to sit at Melbourne until the construction of the new territory was completed. This idea of creating a new city followed with the ideas behind Australia being able to create an "ideal city" for the Nation's Capital.
The search for the location of the new Capital was completed between the years of 1902 and 1903; several sites included Albury, Armidale, Bathurst, Bombala, Dalgety, Delegate, Goulburn, Lake George, Lyndhurst, Orange, Queanbeyan, Tumut, Wagga Wagga and Yass. The first choice was Dalgety, however it was said to be too far from Sydney, so the site at Yass-Canberra was chosen.
Map displaying a variety of locations noted for the Capital of Australia.
(Information and Image Source: http://www.idealcity.org.au/a_nation_needs-1.html)
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