29 October 2008

Canberra least popular travel destination

| johnboy
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The Canberra Times is having a giggle that Canberra has come stone motherless last in an online poll.

    “One in three of the 2526 people surveyed in a poll taken by online travel marketplace totaltravel.com rated Canberra as the least appealing vacation destination.”

“Come to Canberra and watch politicians sing bad karaoke at the Holy Grail” might have to be the new marketing line.

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Well ddderrrhhhh

A major population increase is not really all that necessary to get a successful tourism industry going. A bit more concentration of population in the CBD would be useful to keep certain businesses operational during the lean times, and also to get some more vibrant street culture going on there. But like I said in a previous post – the Gold Coast only has about 450000 permanent residents.

tylersmayhem2:05 pm 31 Oct 08

I reckon it would be a really good thing if we could find a way to increase the overall size and population of Canberra.

Sweet Jesus NO! Why do we want to be like every other city, and loose the unique part of Canberra which IS being quiet, chilled out and laid back?!

Omigosh, a doctor and a pair of scissors would make me think twice ….

*!*

Gran: tell Gramps that if he gets the snip, everyone will call him “Christmas Tree”. That’ll make him think twice. 🙂

caf said :

where they go further and break down which areas within the Territory had the highest and lowest growth etc.

Probably need to include QBN in the figures too, because apparently it’s NSW fastest growing regional town… from memory I think the ABS has a regional analysis that includes it?

Granny said :

That is awesome, Rad! I love babies!! I have made it to V6.0, and now Gramps has the gall to tell me he wants the snip. Humph. What is his problem?!?!@?!?!@@@@?!

Gran, thanks for the feelings of awesomeness. Yes.. it’s awesome, but has been 8 years since V2.0 (due to V2.0’s cardiac issues).. I’ve forgotten what we are in for! 🙂 This will be our first non-Queenslander baby, but I am figuring that if its born in the ACT, it can still wear a Maroons jersey come State of Origin time by virtue of being born on neutral ground 🙂 Hopefully we’ll make it across the state border in time, but being #3, the labour is going to be quick.

The estimated resident population of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) increased by 5,600 people in 2006-07 to 339,900. This was the largest population increase for the territory since 1990-91. The annual growth rate of 1.7% was higher than the ACT’s average annual growth rate of 1.0% for the five years to June 2007.

From the ABS here, where they go further and break down which areas within the Territory had the highest and lowest growth etc.

That is awesome, Rad! I love babies!! I have made it to V6.0, and now Gramps has the gall to tell me he wants the snip. Humph. What is his problem?!?!@?!?!@@@@?!

V8: Mrs Radonezh and I are doing our bit for the population. RadonezhBaby V3.0 is due to be released mid-December! 🙂

V8: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/03/21/1597214.htm states that Canberra’s population growth was the lowest in the nation as at the 2006 census

Oh, thank goodness they were non-core promises that’s all I can say! I was beginning to feel nervous ….

; )

*bites fingernails to the quick*

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy12:20 pm 31 Oct 08

I reckon it would be a really good thing if we could find a way to increase the overall size and population of Canberra. It’s a nice quiet city now, but I think some steady growth would be good for all concerned.

Is Canberra growing much population wise? By what sort of amounts? Anyone?

Holden: If you are bored by my opinions, then why are you bothering to read or attack them (or me personally, for that matter)? Why get defensive and put yourself through the heartache?

The reality is that you are not bored by it because it touches a raw nerve in your psyche. It arouses an intense reaction in you. It does that because you recognize that there is at least a grain of truth in what I’ve said (though, I categorically repeat, there is absolutely no malice behind my words – regardless of whether you imagine that there is.)

Equally, regardless of what you think you may have observed in this one thread, I genuinely don’t mind good-natured criticism of Brisneyland or of Queenslanders. Stereotype Qld as much as you want – I find it funny too. For Qld’ers, it has become a tradition to bait “youse southerners” with wildly exaggerated caricatures of ourselves, and it’s actually amazing how rarely southerners actually pick up on the fact that they are being baited in the most brazen fashion.

Of course, like Canberra, Qld has been the butt of jokes for decades. Good, I say. The jokes and stereotypes have been stimulating a massive economic and social uplift in that state over a period of 30 years (starting from when Brisbane was the size that Canberra is today). The place has never looked back. Keep it coming – it’s not perfect there yet by a long shot (if it was, I would never have left the place, even for this temporary stint down here).

But since you have asked me so nicely, I will from now on, promise* to refer to all of the national monuments in Canberra as “tourist attractions”, and I promise* to be very austere about it all and never to poke fun at this very serious and important town ever again. Happy?

(* non-core promises, awaiting Treasury modeling) 🙂

Holden Caulfield6:50 pm 30 Oct 08

radonezh said :

Yes well, the figures would be well worth researching because otherwise we are both speaking out of our backsides. 🙂

Nonetheless, I answered your question in relation to other cities of similar magnitude that achieve high marks in the realm of tourism. I trust that you can at least acknowledge those as being suitable examples?

The thousands of school kids going on excursions to Parliament House or the War Memorial would be a significant bread-and-butter income for the local accommodation venues. I wonder how many of the tour operators are local to the region, and also how much money (besides accomodation) actually gets spent in the region as a result of this sort of tourist. Again useful stuff to find out.

Why should I acknowledge your “suitable examples” when you still reckon Canberra’s “main attraction is the proximity to the snow fields”.

Even when given examples of bona fide attractions you work a negative spin, implying the tourists they attract don’t count (eg. tour buses and accommodation). Either there are attractions in Canberra or there are not. Just because you might not like them or choose to visit them does not make them invisible.

Slagging off Canberra for eczema sufferers was probably one of the best (read pathetically banal) criticisms of the city as a tourist option I have ever read! I don’t deny your claim at all, but gee I could say Brisbane’s no good because it’s full of Queenslanders. Both might be facts, but both are stupid!

All you have done is jumped on your soapbox to evangalise about how great Brisbane is and taken every opportunity to denigrate Canberra.

Now, that is boooooooring!

Holden Caulfield said :

How many people come to Floriade each year?
How many people visit the War Memorial each year?
How many people visit Parliament House each year?

…and so on.

I don’t have the figures for those attractions at hand, but at a guess I’d say Floriade is comfortably in the low-mid 6 figure region and the latter would be nudging or over 1 million visitors per year.

Yes well, the figures would be well worth researching because otherwise we are both speaking out of our backsides. 🙂

Nonetheless, I answered your question in relation to other cities of similar magnitude that achieve high marks in the realm of tourism. I trust that you can at least acknowledge those as being suitable examples?

The thousands of school kids going on excursions to Parliament House or the War Memorial would be a significant bread-and-butter income for the local accommodation venues. I wonder how many of the tour operators are local to the region, and also how much money (besides accomodation) actually gets spent in the region as a result of this sort of tourist. Again useful stuff to find out.

New Yeah: Modern Canberra shares a lot of the characteristics of Brisbane in the early ’80s and late 70’s. The biggest similarities are:

a) The lack of traffic on the roads – everyone drives their car everywhere, but there is still heaps of space on the roads and never any sight of a traffic jam
b) There are virtually no high rise buildings to speak of (the most prominent structure is a government building)
c) Most of the suburbs outside the 6klm radius from the centre are very new and some are only still being built-on for the very first time.
d) There is little competition among retailers and other suppliers, so some goods are difficult to find, or comparatively expensive if they are available
e) The airport is rudimentary
f) After 7pm, the CBD is almost completely empty

Of course, the modernity is there, but that’s just fashion and styling. In its day, the Old Parliament house was considered extremely modern. One day, the boxy condos will be considered quaintly spartan in their olde worlde simplicity. At one time, Queenslander houses were considered the heighth of modernity, and recently it was popular again to build in that style using modern materials. Such things are never static.

Holden Caulfield5:35 pm 30 Oct 08

radonezh said :

Huh? What, cities like Cairns, Darwin, Port Macquarie, Byron Bay, Hobart (all of which are significantly smaller than Canberra)? Even the Gold Coast only has 466,000 people, so it ain’t much bigger than Canberra.

They’re all punching well above their weight when it comes to tourism – far more than Canberra (both in raw numbers and per capita) with its excellent lifestyle and planned cityscape. The numbers speak for themselves. Of course, I agree it’s a great place to live. Reminds me a lot of Brissie back in the late 70’s/early 80’s – but you gotta wonder how long it can stay that way.

How many people come to Floriade each year?
How many people visit the War Memorial each year?
How many people visit Parliament House each year?

…and so on.

I don’t have the figures for those attractions at hand, but at a guess I’d say Floriade is comfortably in the low-mid 6 figure region and the latter would be nudging or over 1 million visitors per year.

Canberra may not be the place that people think of coming to for a “holiday”, but it appears that plenty of people actually do.

Tourism in Canberra could well improve, but let’s not pretend it’s got nothing more to offer other than being close to the snow like you did in your first piece of generalisation.

radonezh said :

Holden Caulfield said :

Of course, I agree it’s a great place to live. Reminds me a lot of Brissie back in the late 70’s/early 80’s – but you gotta wonder how long it can stay that way.

Modern Canberra reminds you of old school Brisbane? I’m intrigued – how so? It would seem to me that modern Canberra is just as revamped and rejigged as Brisbane is now and doesn’t share any of the subtropical charm that Brisbane once had and is now sadly losing, one new boxy condo after another.

Townsville has a great fake beach and water playground too. I like the idea a lot! With some adaptation for the colder weather, it would totally rock – but would it attract tourists??

Margate also has an extremely nice fake beach …. and people come from all of Brisbane to meet there

Holden Caulfield said :

I love how radonezh got the sh!ts for people stereotyping Brisbane and then applied the same methodology when appraising Canberra. Love your work, you certainly won’t be getting my vote, haha!

Find another city in Australia with a population of 350,000 or thereabouts and see what there is to do, then come back and judge Canberra.

Huh? What, cities like Cairns, Darwin, Port Macquarie, Byron Bay, Hobart (all of which are significantly smaller than Canberra)? Even the Gold Coast only has 466,000 people, so it ain’t much bigger than Canberra.

They’re all punching well above their weight when it comes to tourism – far more than Canberra (both in raw numbers and per capita) with its excellent lifestyle and planned cityscape. The numbers speak for themselves. Of course, I agree it’s a great place to live. Reminds me a lot of Brissie back in the late 70’s/early 80’s – but you gotta wonder how long it can stay that way.

some good meat art

now, there’s a phrase you don’t hear every day…

radonezh said :

Granny said :

What about my ship? Can’t I have even a little ship?

Will an aluminium dinghy suffice? The budget’s a bit skint after we bought the Collins class..

We could get a tinny, stick some cylinders on it (old rubbish bins would work) and pretend it’s the titanic.

It’s inside Anzac Hall at the War Memorial now.

peterh said :

radonezh said :

Ant,

Holbrook has a submarine. An effing huge black Oberon class submarine stuck in a park!

Does the sucker still run? Is LBG deep enough for this thing to float?

Just get a collins. if it sinks, it isn’t that deep in the lake…

I know! Where did they put that little submarine that used to be outside the War Memorial? We used to climb all over that. Stick it back together and it would be happy in the Lake. It could hunt that Ferry.

Ant,

Holbrook has a submarine. An effing huge black Oberon class submarine stuck in a park!

Well, it must have got lost. I can’t see an old ship wandering in lost just because we suddenly need one.

Peterh: I lived 6klms from town on the Southside. The bus stop was three houses up the street. I never drove to work – ever. Hardly anyone who worked in the CBD ever did if they had any sense. It took some adjusting to get used to driving to and from work here. The guilt took months to subside! It seems that I am forever driving here.

Civic to Banks == Margate to CBD? Probably so. R’cliffe is a totally separate city though. It’s also locked in by the fact that its on a peninsula, making it quite separate from Greater Brisbane. Nice area though.

Tourism-wise, if you arrive in Brisbane and set up camp in a hotel, you have quite a few options as to how to get around and explore the city. You can catch a train out to the Bay at Shorncliffe or Cleveland and then a ferry to Stradbroke Is for a couple of days, or down to the Gold Coast. The buses go everywhere and the 24 hr buses are a good thing so that people are stuck in the city if they decide to go out at night.

Back in the 80’s, the population of Brisbane was similar to what Canberra’s is today. The tourism market began to be perceived as an important thing at that time. It’s fair and reasonable that Canberra should begin to seriously explore avenues at this stage in its growth. One thing is for sure, it wouldn’t hurt Canberra’s economy in any way.

radonezh said :

peterh said :

12km to drive? what about margate to brisbane? bit more than 12km, isn’t it?

Margate is in the City of Redcliffe. I know people who do commute, to the CBD from there, but they are not in the majority. Even so, the bus service is pretty good to Redcliffe.

but it would equate to the city to banks. it is further to travel in brisbane, but at least the arboretum at woody point is a good spot to picnic, and there are heaps of free BBQs up to scarborough.

peterh said :

12km to drive? what about margate to brisbane? bit more than 12km, isn’t it?

Margate is in the City of Redcliffe. I know people who do commute, to the CBD from there, but they are not in the majority. Even so, the bus service is pretty good to Redcliffe.

Thanks for the yabbie advice… my chef advises me that the big ones are less flavoursome. Cancel the order on that Collins guys..

maybe that could be an election catch cry – I want a Boat, and I Vote.

I’m with granny – no subs. If there was a sub in the lake then it would be easier for the bloody ‘skeptics’ to argue that the mysterious loch burl monster doesn’t exist.

radonezh said :

I’m assuming there are yabbies in LBG, of course.. can someone please confirm that? Geez, imagine the media circus the Minister would be subjected to if after all that money spent there were no yabbies in lake..

the yabbies, if they are there would be huge. they would need to be, to fight off the carp.

12km to drive? what about margate to brisbane? bit more than 12km, isn’t it?

Wel, I’m not voting for Rad if he’s getting a Collins.

>: (

Granny said :

No, not good points! What’s wrong with some swashbuckling and sails, eh? A bit of derring-do in the day.

Granny, I’ve made a few calls and the best we can is to get the Wiggles to bring Captain Feathersword’s pirate ship in for a few shows after Cirque du Soleil vacate.

Holden Caulfield2:58 pm 30 Oct 08

I love how radonezh got the sh!ts for people stereotyping Brisbane and then applied the same methodology when appraising Canberra. Love your work, you certainly won’t be getting my vote, haha!

Find another city in Australia with a population of 350,000 or thereabouts and see what there is to do, then come back and judge Canberra.

Part of the appeal is the quiet lifestyle it offers, well at least that’s the case for me. Most of the complaints here are bunk. There’s heaps to do if we all want to rattle off the touristy options, but is there as much to do here as there is in Sydney, or Melbourne? No, and nor should there be when Canberra is one tenth the size.

Like most appraisals of Canberra, or anywhere really, remove the rhetoric and it’s a pretty good place. It’s just easy for middle Australia to slag off Canberra at any opportunity. Still, at least most Australians are aware Canberra is our capital, which certainly wasn’t the case when I visited Perth for the first time in 1982.

I’m assuming there are yabbies in LBG, of course.. can someone please confirm that? Geez, imagine the media circus the Minister would be subjected to if after all that money spent there were no yabbies in lake..

No, not good points! What’s wrong with some swashbuckling and sails, eh? A bit of derring-do in the day.

tylersmayhem2:53 pm 30 Oct 08

@radonezh: all very good points!

Yabbies with lemon sauce.. yum!!!!

Ships are more romanticer and picturesque. Subs are butt ugly. Besides weren’t the Collins ones embarrassing lemons?

Granny said :

Who is Collins? I want my ship!

Collins? Dunno, some guy they named a class of submarines after. Whaddya want a ship for when we just bought a submarine? Ships can only patrol the surface – submarines can dive to the bottom of the lake to fetch fresh yabbies for the barbie!!

Well, we can’t very well go there if it doesn’t exist! Remember: “If you build it, they will come!”

tylersmayhem said :

Nice idea in theory, but our club, pub, bar, restaurant scene struggles as it is during the economic heard times that are here as it is. How many people here, honestly has the money to go and buy a $7 beer or a $5 coffee down by the lake, or eat a $12 piece of cake as it is?

Sure, maybe everyone on here once a week, but Canberra simply doesn’t have the money and population to support the sad food and bev culture that we already have.

Hmmmm.. I take your point, but I have a feeling it has something to do with the decentralized location and long distances between everything in Canberra. In Brisbane, I would go out with the work colleagues once every week after work to an upmarket river-side venue that was within 1 min walk of the office. We’d spend a couple of hours there and head home by bus or train. The reason this worked was because all the venues were centralised and in the same precinct as the work places. The more localized, suburban style venues that we have in Canberra were only just starting to take hold in Brisbane in the last 5 years, and they are only successful because the population has grown to a degree that they can make money.

If the Canberra venues were close to the main workplaces, and had decent transport links so we wouldn’t have to drive 12 k’s to get home, I suspect they’d get more patronage. Anyway, we can’t change the layout of the city now, but I think more could be done to build a “beating heart”. A fast cat ferry service across the lake would be good too, so that people on one side didn’t have to drive or walk to get to a venue on the other side.

radonezh said :

Granny said :

What about my ship? Can’t I have even a little ship?

Will an aluminium dinghy suffice? The budget’s a bit skint after we bought the Collins class..

and we should have one too. prominently displayed in the lake…

We need a Loch Burl Monster

radonezh said :

deezagood: this’d be awesome, the water could be put through a solar heater to warm it up to a comfortable temp all year round. Worthwhile endeavour. People working in the surround buildings could go for a dip at lunchtime.

And you watch the little cafes and kiosks spring up all around it. Goddamit – I want a beach!

radonezh said :

Granny said :

What about my ship? Can’t I have even a little ship?

Will an aluminium dinghy suffice? The budget’s a bit skint after we bought the Collins class..

Maybe we could cordon off small aluminium dingy area near the big fake beach?

Who is Collins? I want my ship!

Granny said :

What about my ship? Can’t I have even a little ship?

Will an aluminium dinghy suffice? The budget’s a bit skint after we bought the Collins class..

tylersmayhem2:22 pm 30 Oct 08

Seriously though, I do agree that the LBG shores need to have venues of all different types. IN any other city, the shores’d be lined with restaurants, jazz bars, cafes.

Nice idea in theory, but our club, pub, bar, restaurant scene struggles as it is during the economic heard times that are here as it is. How many people here, honestly has the money to go and buy a $7 beer or a $5 coffee down by the lake, or eat a $12 piece of cake as it is?

Sure, maybe everyone on here once a week, but Canberra simply doesn’t have the money and population to support the sad food and bev culture that we already have.

lets just invade NSW and create a corridor to the coast. ACT border from Canberra to north durras, then to malua bay…

deezagood: this’d be awesome, the water could be put through a solar heater to warm it up to a comfortable temp all year round. Worthwhile endeavour. People working in the surround buildings could go for a dip at lunchtime.

What about my ship? Can’t I have even a little ship?

I think the very best thing that Canberra could do is build a huge, free artificial ‘beach’ (pool with sandy banks), like the big pool in Cairns or Southbank in Brisbane – right on the banks of Lake BG. People would flock there – just as they do in Cairns and Brisbane. Little cafes and kiosks all around, a play park for the kiddies, some BBQs and shaded areas, life guards etc… Expensive, but so worth it! Teenagers would certainly love it, as would the little kiddies and their folks. Bring some beach life to the ACT.

It’s the exterior of an O-boat only. Concrete for guts now.

radonezh said :

Ant,

Holbrook has a submarine. An effing huge black Oberon class submarine stuck in a park!

Does the sucker still run? Is LBG deep enough for this thing to float?

Just get a collins. if it sinks, it isn’t that deep in the lake…

Canberra does have lovely bushland close by, and cute small towns around. they should promote those as something to do in addition to the Galleries etc.

johnboy said :

LBG shores are controlled by the NCA and not the ACT Government.

How does one infiltrate the NCA and what does it take to implant remote-control devices in their skulls?

Ant,

Holbrook has a submarine. An effing huge black Oberon class submarine stuck in a park!

Does the sucker still run? Is LBG deep enough for this thing to float?

tylersmayhem said :

Personally, I the we should start calling our fair town Canbizzle

It needs something sexy.. actually, I like the way Peter Harvey always pronounced it when he says “Peter Harvey… Cam-Braaaa”. Makes me think of undergarments. 🙂

LBG shores are controlled by the NCA and not the ACT Government.

tylersmayhem said :

Personally, I the we should start calling our fair town Canbizzle from now on. I’m coming around to these brilliant and witty namesakes. And I have always been a keen fan of Snoop Dogg. A win-win IMHO

I like your thinking, but it rhymes with “fizzle”??

Granny said :

I’m sure we could get an old ship from somewhere. Don’t they cut houses in half and stuff and stick ’em on trailers? An old ship would be cool. It wouldn’t have to be the Queen Mary or anything ….

*chuckle*

Ships? Why stop at ships? I’ll get my mates to bring in a couple of old locos and we can reconstruct part of the old line from Kingston into Civic. People living in Kingston could hop on a joyride to go shopping in the Canberra Centre. I’m sure the Defence blokes could bring in an old submarine, and chopper and a couple of leopard tanks to add to the collection. It’s all good. A couple of working howitzers loaded with blanks – you could charge the kiddies 10 bucks to fire off a salvo.

Seriously though, I do agree that the LBG shores need to have venues of all different types. IN any other city, the shores’d be lined with restaurants, jazz bars, cafes.

tylersmayhem1:39 pm 30 Oct 08

Personally, I the we should start calling our fair town Canbizzle from now on. I’m coming around to these brilliant and witty namesakes. And I have always been a keen fan of Snoop Dogg. A win-win IMHO

I reckon you might be right Radonezh – not sure where we (Brisbanites) originally picked it up from, but it def sounds like North QLD sarcasm … bless ’em!

deezagood said :

From Wiki:

‘Bris Vegas, is a name given to the Australian city of Brisbane in Queensland. The source of the nickname, which some believe to have come from the relatively more cosmopolitan cities of Melbourne and Sydney,[1] has never been identified with certainty, although it has been connected with a Sydney Morning Herald headline, an Elvis Presley tribute CD[2] and the city’s growing live music scene.[3] It is believed to have been first used in print in a 1996 edition of the Courier Mail,[2] also approximately the time of the opening of the Treasury Casino in Brisbane and the popularisation of poker machines in Brisbane bars and clubs. The name has also been attributed to the city’s nightlife[4], relatively compact size of the central business district and previous lack of sophistication when compared with more populated Australian cities[5][6] and also to Las Vegas.[7]’

Noting that we were definately calling the city Brisvegas well before 1996 (I’m Brisbane born and bred)!

Yeah, I had heard it long before ’96, but it was much rarer than RockVegas, which was basically being heard all over CQ and throughout the QR coal and freight operations community. Everyone knew what was meant by RockVegas.

One thing is for sure, the newspapers can’t take credit for it and it has nothing to do with music scene or the casino. It’s at least as old Callemondah and Goonyellah coal fields, which really took off in the early to mid-80’s with the electrification of the rail network up to Rocky and out to the mines.

Yeah, alright.

ant said :

Why not turn the place into a mini darling harbour, complete with piers and an old ship for a a floating restaurant.

Where the hell are they going to get an old ship from? It’d have to be a Fake Old Ship.

Radonzh for Chief Minister (based on his/her posts here, excellent work).

Merci beaucoup.. just remember – next election, vote early and vote often!

I’m sure we could get an old ship from somewhere. Don’t they cut houses in half and stuff and stick ’em on trailers? An old ship would be cool. It wouldn’t have to be the Queen Mary or anything ….

*chuckle*

Why not turn the place into a mini darling harbour, complete with piers and an old ship for a a floating restaurant.

Where the hell are they going to get an old ship from? It’d have to be a Fake Old Ship.

Radonzh for Chief Minister (based on his/her posts here, excellent work).

We have Farmers Union iced coffee here. I can’t remember if it was in the DFAT cafeteria, or the IGA at Kingo, but I have it a lot. I’m pretty sure my mind’s eye is seeing it in the Milk section of Coles at Manuka, too. Certain, in fact.

The Immigration Bridge will provide great entertainment and prove a tourist drawcard, as we all watch the yachts crash into it.

Tourists who have friends or rellies in Canberra to put them on to the good stuff have a great time, I am sure, but those who come without that resource, or part of tours etc, don’t see the same place.

From Wiki:

‘Bris Vegas, is a name given to the Australian city of Brisbane in Queensland. The source of the nickname, which some believe to have come from the relatively more cosmopolitan cities of Melbourne and Sydney,[1] has never been identified with certainty, although it has been connected with a Sydney Morning Herald headline, an Elvis Presley tribute CD[2] and the city’s growing live music scene.[3] It is believed to have been first used in print in a 1996 edition of the Courier Mail,[2] also approximately the time of the opening of the Treasury Casino in Brisbane and the popularisation of poker machines in Brisbane bars and clubs. The name has also been attributed to the city’s nightlife[4], relatively compact size of the central business district and previous lack of sophistication when compared with more populated Australian cities[5][6] and also to Las Vegas.[7]’

Noting that we were definately calling the city Brisvegas well before 1996 (I’m Brisbane born and bred)!

Skidbladnir said :

I’m a fan of Brisneyland myself.

re: BrisVegas
Apparently getting a single casino (Conrad’s) to set up in the old Treasury building turned the entire city into Vegas.

‘Brisvegas’ is a very sarcastic term that was started by the residents of Brissy around about the time of Expo 88 – in acknowledgement of the fact that Brissy really was a bit of a sleepy-hollow (and most un-vegas-like). The term really caught on with the new Casino opening and interstate people still refer to Brisbane as Brisvegas …. but I think the ‘piss-take’ aspect has kinda died and it isn’t nearly as funny now that Brisbane has become so bustling and er ‘cosmopolitan’.

For mine, I absolutely love living in Canberra – I just love it. I’ve lived in numerous cities/countries and I choose to live here and intend staying for a good long time. My vistors have a great time for about a week – but once you have done the Canberra stuff, there isn’t much else to do for week number two. I think Canberra is a lovely place to visit, but for no more than a week.

flat out like a lizard drinking is my personal favorite.

Or flat out like a Gnu in a pear tree…

Oh, hang on…

That reminds me of the “how do you hide a bull elephant?” joke.

Mr Evil said :

Just wait until we get the Immigration Bridge across LBG – that’ll make the outsiders change their tune about how boring Canberra is!

I love telling outsiders that I’m from Canberra, that we all get free houses here, only have to work 10 hours per week and that every time a infrastructure project gets cancelled in their local area, it’s because we in Canberra needed to fund a new theatre production or musical.

As a resident of NSW, I am an ardent supporter of an Immigration Bridge for the ACT, but only if it is built by, and for the exclusive use of, immigrants or potential immigrants. Additionally, it should be built out of imported materials and to an iconic design produced by a cranky, pedantic Norwegian Architect so that it is internationally recognizable in QANTAS advertisements. That design should be extensively modified by local architects to make the bridge difficult to use.

As an introductory offer for opening day, the QANTAS children’s choir can stand on it (provided they are the children of immigrants) while they sing “I still call Australia home” for the cameras, before it is permanently handed over during the smoking ceremony to the people of all the lands on earth from which we come. Baz Luhrman will be allowed exclusive rights to film this. Paul Hogan will not be invited unless he pays his taxes.

tylersmayhem said :

Thanks for the explanation Skid – mind you, I still think it sounds uneducated and ridiculous.

It’s meant to be uneducated and ridiculous. That’s what makes it so delightful. It comes from a long line of laconicisms like “chuckin’ a u-ey” or “mad as a cut snake” or “broker than a boy’s bicycle on Boxing Day”.

Skidbladnir said :

I’m a fan of Brisneyland myself.

re: BrisVegas
Apparently getting a single casino (Conrad’s) to set up in the old Treasury building turned the entire city into Vegas.

The Casino came after the terminology, but it certainly did help to cement in peoples’ minds.

tylersmayhem said :

Mind you, BrisVegas also scores very highly

Slightly off-topic…what’s with the idiotic term “BrisVegas”? I’ve always thought it sounds rediculous. Can someone clarify a decent reason as to why people call it this – other than trying to make it sound more interesting or glamorous than it actually is?

P.S. this is not a personal attack at you radonezh.

The term actually comes from from the laconic self-depracating humour from the Central Queensland coal and beef districts. Back in the days of the Great Fuhrer (Joh Bjelke-Petersen) when that region was really kicking off in a big way, the miners who moved to the small mining towns (e.g. Moranbah and Blackwater) started referring to Rockhampton as “Rock-Vegas” because it was the only nightlife within a 5 hour drive where they could got to at the end of the 2-week “on” stint to spend their huge paypackets, party-up and get a clean motel room (the mining towns were pretty much just dormitory suburbs in the middle of nowhere and everything is covered in coal dust). The terminology of RockVegas stuck, and was transferred by extension to Brisbane, ostensibly through the employees and families working for Queensland Rail who were often subject to transfer between the coastal centres of Rocky, Brisbane, Mackay, Gladstone or Townsville. Many QR families would’ve done stints in most (if not all) of those places and have close ties to the coal mining industry. To those QR employees living in Rocky, Brisbane became “BrisVegas”.

That term also stuck and has become part of the local jargon. Interestingly, the local arts scene in Brisbane (which is well supported) took up the charge and you’ll often see or hear the odd “Vegas” reference in a lot of the poetry or visual arts. It’s basically one of the local “in-jokes”. It is not meant to be a glamorisation per se, but rather speaks to the difficult and isolating conditions faced by the people of the mining and primary-producing heartland of Queensland.

tylersmayhem11:57 am 30 Oct 08

Thanks for the explanation Skid – mind you, I still think it sounds uneducated and ridiculous.

Des that mean we’ll be able to drink Lattes by the Lake at last?

That is an excellent vision, Thumper! I hope somebody important just read that and thought, “What a great idea, St George … let’s do it!”

I’m a fan of Brisneyland myself.

re: BrisVegas
Apparently getting a single casino (Conrad’s) to set up in the old Treasury building turned the entire city into Vegas.

tylersmayhem said :

Slightly off-topic…what’s with the idiotic term “BrisVegas”? I’ve always thought it sounds rediculous. Can someone clarify a decent reason as to why people call it this – other than trying to make it sound more interesting or glamorous than it actually is?

I always thought it was what passed for humour in the swampy north.

Slouch hat kangaroo feathers will always be thrilling to me, peterh.

radonezh said :

peterh said :

Getting famous for haute cuisine is something that Canberra could do without too much trouble. The other thing we have here is lots of open space. Perfect for setting up health spas and retreats for freaked-out Sydney stockbrokers. Speaking of health spas, are there any hot springs here? Any remotely warm artesian waters? That sort of stuff tends to go down very well with the tourists. It’s almost the sort of thing that you need the regional chamber of commerce to sit down with govt to brainstorm.

the lake in summer?

tylersmayhem11:23 am 30 Oct 08

Mind you, BrisVegas also scores very highly

Slightly off-topic…what’s with the idiotic term “BrisVegas”? I’ve always thought it sounds rediculous. Can someone clarify a decent reason as to why people call it this – other than trying to make it sound more interesting or glamorous than it actually is?

P.S. this is not a personal attack at you radonezh.

a bit like walking stick farms and slouch hat kangaroo feathers…

The Immigration Bridge does sound thrilling ….

Bahaha, Mr Evil, I bet they love that!

Just wait until we get the Immigration Bridge across LBG – that’ll make the outsiders change their tune about how boring Canberra is!

I love telling outsiders that I’m from Canberra, that we all get free houses here, only have to work 10 hours per week and that every time a infrastructure project gets cancelled in their local area, it’s because we in Canberra needed to fund a new theatre production or musical.

We have horseriding. And skydiving.

peterh said :

maybe there would be more interest in canberra if they set up a market aimed at providing cuisine from all the states of australia, for the homesick, and the tourist.

Getting famous for haute cuisine is something that Canberra could do without too much trouble. The other thing we have here is lots of open space. Perfect for setting up health spas and retreats for freaked-out Sydney stockbrokers. Speaking of health spas, are there any hot springs here? Any remotely warm artesian waters? That sort of stuff tends to go down very well with the tourists. It’s almost the sort of thing that you need the regional chamber of commerce to sit down with govt to brainstorm.

We have balloons.

the problem that canberra has, from a tourism perspective, is that we have a heap of galleries, and national icons, but nothing for the day to day after you have been to these sites.

If you are here for a week, it gets a bit tedious after you have visited the touristy places, there is nothing that is unique about canberra that will leap out at the tourist (apart from scary drunks in civic) Most tourists are looking for exciting things to see and do. we have nothing that falls into this category.

canberry fair was the closest to an amusement park, but it is now gone….

Oops! Sorry.

Mr_Shab said :

Stay away from the Farmers Union iced coffees. Drink too many and the next thing you know you’ll be having sex with corpses and stuffing bodies in barrels full of hydrochloric acid.

*heh heh heh*

Enough with the Adelaide reminiscence.

Mr_Shab said :

Stay away from the Farmers Union iced coffees. Drink too many and the next thing you know you’ll be having sex with corpses and stuffing bodies in barrels full of hydrochloric acid.

Yeah, it’s either that or suddenly you’ll start producing the finest wines in the world.. it’s kind of a bit black and white there, isn’t it? 🙂

Devon … hah!! I spit on devon ….

Granny said :

I moved here from South Australia when I was six, and I do have a couple of regrets:

the mettwurst, pie floaters, German yeast cakes, honey biscuits, Cornish pasties, Balfours frog cakes, Kitchener buns, Arnotts Bush Biscuits, Golden North Ice Cream …

… but I can be shallow at times!

mmmmm… pie floaters

maybe there would be more interest in canberra if they set up a market aimed at providing cuisine from all the states of australia, for the homesick, and the tourist.

tried the fritz equivalent, devon yet?

uuurgh!

BTW, check out the following site re mettwurst “delivered to your door” – http://www.wintulichs.com.au/ – helps when the care packages are few and far between….

There are lots of Cornish people in SA, Thumper. I have in fact been to the Cornish festival at Kadina and it was awesome!

: )

Well, peterh, if we’re ever back in Kapunda or thereabouts we go into the shop and say, “Give me some mettwurst,” and we scoff it, and then we have to take some back for the rest of the family who all say, “Can you bring back some mettwurst?” and Mum also picks up some Hill of Grace.

But frankly she swears by Linke, the butcher in the main street at Nuri, or the butcher at Tanunda is also good. She likes a bigger, softer mettwurst. She reckons the ones you get here are hard like salami.

Fritz … oh my God! Stop talking about sausages dammit!!

*chuckle*

Granny said :

the mettwurst, pie floaters, German yeast cakes, honey biscuits, Cornish pasties, Balfours frog cakes, Kitchener buns, Arnotts Bush Biscuits, Golden North Ice Cream …

Arnotts Bush Biscuits… I love ’em !

Is there any product that Canberra can claim as a food icon ?

Stay away from the Farmers Union iced coffees. Drink too many and the next thing you know you’ll be having sex with corpses and stuffing bodies in barrels full of hydrochloric acid.

caf said :

And that bloody farmers union ice coffee that all south australians are seemingly addicted to.

right.

now i need to get another care package from home.

Wintulichs mettwurst – Garlic
Bung fritz
Farmers Union Ice Coffee
and the boiled lollies – shaped like fish…

And that bloody farmers union ice coffee that all south australians are seemingly addicted to.

Since it was created in 1974, 4 members of the labor party and 2 members of the liberals have been elected the seat of Canberra. All of the labor reps spent time either in cabinet or the shadow cabinet. Neither of the liberal reps did.

Any “facts” that happen to be based in reality behind your assertion, squashee?

la mente torbida10:20 am 30 Oct 08

I live in Canberra. It would be my last choice for a holiday destination (’cause I live here).

Having said that, visiting friends are always surprised by the number of activities and sights to visit.

Sure, we don’t have theme parks (except, maybe Parliament House) or IMax or all those other ‘tourist’ things. But most of the stuff around Canberra is free.

Granny said :

I moved here from South Australia when I was six, and I do have a couple of regrets:

the mettwurst, pie floaters, German yeast cakes, honey biscuits, Cornish pasties, Balfours frog cakes, Kitchener buns, Arnotts Bush Biscuits, Golden North Ice Cream …

… but I can be shallow at times!

yo yo biscuits! I have seen them in the shops!

which mettwurst granny? and what about bung fritz?

I moved here from South Australia when I was six, and I do have a couple of regrets:

the mettwurst, pie floaters, German yeast cakes, honey biscuits, Cornish pasties, Balfours frog cakes, Kitchener buns, Arnotts Bush Biscuits, Golden North Ice Cream …

… but I can be shallow at times!

Maybe if Canberrans didn’t blindly vote for Labor every time then Governments might have incentive to give a Ministry to a Canberra member

McMullan? They’d have to find him first as no-one in canberra ever sees him. Maybe he doesn’t really exist? maybe they just fly in a guy from perth every time we have an election?

You know i’m making sense 😉

and now i am scared.

tylersmayhem said :

You don’t like Canberra – sweet, stay the f**k away!
“!

At the outset let me state that I like Canberra a lot as a place to live, work and for the kids to go to school. On the Radonezh family scale of likability, I’d rate it an 8, which is an excellent score and one rarely achieved by any place we’ve been to. Mind you, BrisVegas also scores very highly, with the only negative being the road infrastructure, which is undergoing massive upgrades as we speak.

The question was about tourism though, not about livability. Tourism, is an important issue, because experience shows that the people who benefit most from tourism are the locals. The influx of money does excellent things to the local economy, the quality and availability of various facilities and consequently to the general mood of a place. The tangible benefits are very great.

Is tourism something that Canberra should be aiming to do? Yes, definitely. There are more benefits than costs. But to do it properly requires a plan. Back in the 80’s the Qld government had a seriously good look at what needed to be done to lift their game in tourism, and then they went about implementing it with gusto. It’s been successful, is all I am saying, and there’s nothing stopping this region from doing the same – except for political will.

ant said :

The museum is rubbish. Sorry! but I visited it a few years back, with a friend from Sydney, and it was terrible. They seemed to have rooms and rooms featuring bits of rock with labels claiming they were Aboriginal axes. Maybe they’ve trimmed that now and have widened the scope of the exhibitions, I certainly hope so.

When i heard that we were getting a national museum, all those years ago, images of fossils, dinosaurs, mega fauna, botany and other natural items were expected. By me, at least. Adelaide museum has items from our prehistory, as well as a whale skeleton, and as a kid, i enjoyed visiting and seeing the new exhibits as the museum grew.

The “national” museum has nothing of the sort. It seems to be a monument to indigenous australia, with some input from the 30’s till present day, for australian society.

great.

not what i expected, i do understand that the indigenous australians were here a lot longer than the white man, but the geology, flora and fauna are so diverse, why don’t we get to see how it has changed since prehistory?

unless they make some radical changes, I won’t be going back.

TroyWilliams10:04 am 30 Oct 08

Actually Bob McMullan (when he was Senator for the ACT) entered Cabinet in 1993 as Minister for the Arts, and became Minister for Trade in 1994.

… and he’s been asleep ever since!

I moved here from the Gold Coast and have no regrets.

I just can’t believe I’ve been here since I was six and never been to Kingo markets!

*hehe*

tylersmayhem9:38 am 30 Oct 08

Maybe if Canberrans didn’t blindly vote for Labor every time then Governments might have incentive to give a Ministry to a Canberra member.

Hmmm, Wasn’t Howard…a liberal in for about 11 years? Haven’t the Liberals got a chance at winning a majority of seats of Labor in the ACT elections.

What are you on about?!

tylersmayhem9:22 am 30 Oct 08

Canberra’s a pit, Adelaide’s a pit, Wollongong want’s to be a pit when it grows up – next stop…

You really are a “Spam Box” aren’t you. Do you live in Canberra? If so f**k off with the w**kers who don’t like it here. What’s worse than someone who whinges about Canberra – someone who lives here, but refuses to leave. If you like, I’ll even pay for the bus fare you nob!

tylersmayhem9:10 am 30 Oct 08

If anything I think GOOD – keep the f**kwits away from Canberra, and leave it to us who love it here. Canberra has been the age old place to slag off, that is until the 90’s when the same people who slagged this great town off for years realised the gem that Canberra is and moved here to enjoy the more quite life (and drive our housing prices through the roof).

You don’t like Canberra – sweet, stay the f**k away!

To use the classic line from The Wedding Crashers:
“What an idiot…good…GOOD, more for me and you”!

The museum is rubbish. Sorry! but I visited it a few years back, with a friend from Sydney, and it was terrible. They seemed to have rooms and rooms featuring bits of rock with labels claiming they were Aboriginal axes. Maybe they’ve trimmed that now and have widened the scope of the exhibitions, I certainly hope so.

OTOH, I always recommend visitors to go to Questacon, they haven’t even put it on their list, and it is *always* the thing they rave about, young and old. Kingo markets always impress people too.

If Canberra had been situated where Bateman’s Bay is, things would be very different. From Durras to Malua Bay would have been suburbs and frosts would be a rarity.

Apart from the museum, which really isn’t anything to write home about, Canberra hasn’t changed in a decade. I did 22 years in CBR before moving to London. Everytime I come back to visit family (which is twice or thrice a year), all that’s changed is a few more apartment blocks have gone up and a few shops have changed hands. Let’s face it, Canberra is just not a particularly great place for tourists (apart from those interested in military history)*. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that; Bern’s not particularly interesing compared with Geneva. Same with Ankara compared with Istanbul.

Canberra is geared towards its’ residents which there’s nothing wrong with.

* I have visited the imperial war museum in London and Manchester, Les Invalides in Paris and the Brussels military museum and without doubt, the Australian War Memorial leaves them for dead. It is a definite world beater. On the flipside, why the hell is Canberra airport called ‘international’??? I couldn’t find any overseas destinations on the arrivals or departures. Why aren’t there flights to and from at the very least Auckland, Singapore, Bangkok and perhaps Fiji?

bd84 said :

At least Canberra has a lot of tourist destinations, would keep people busy for at least 2 or 3 days..

Brisbane has to be the worst place I’ve been, there’s absolutely NOTHING to do there. Down by the river 10 minute walk, nothing there, nothing in the CBD other than shops, no other tourist destinations and the weather is like living in a clothes dryer. I guess that’s why people flock to the Gold Coast.

This is all subjective opinion really. I don’t think a 10 minute walk on the boardwalk is sufficient exploration to justify an opinion about an entire city. On the other hand, I have lived in both Brisbane and Canberra.

The reality is that there are an average of 1500 people (nett) a week choosing to move to Brisbane and its surrounding satellite cities. Most of those people visit as tourists first. If they thought there was nothing to do in terms of lifestyle up in Brisbane, then they would never choose to move. The same cannot be said for Canberra. The evidence speaks for itself – Canberra is not a fun place to visit. There is nothing going on here that would attract anyone.

An extra 1500 people a week decide, after seeing it for themselves, that Brisbane has more positive lifestyle features than their originating city or any other town or city in Australia. Nor is Canberra’s weather any better in the summer than Brisbane’s. It’s hotter, though it is drier (not great for eczema if you suffer from it). There are flies in plague proportions here, making outdoor activities undesirable. Canberra has no nightlife whatsoever. The CBD is dead after 7pm. That’s not the case in Brisbane. Canberra appears sterile, much like a giant university campus. In Brisbane, you can go to Southbank and swim at Kodak Beach and the extensive rock pools in your lunch break and there is a mind-boggling variety of competing restaurants, cafes, bars and clubs when you get peckish or thirsty. It has historic buildings, beautiful islands nearby, and the Gold Coast is 40 minutes drive and 60mins by train from the CBD – so you can go there when you want to without any bother. From Brisbane, you are striking distance to the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, the Hinterland, and the Bay Islands. It also has a decent international airport to bring the tourists in and out.

Conversely, in Canberra, the main attraction is the proximity to the snow fields, but they are 2 hours away, and the cost of accommodation in Canberra is exhorbitant and very poor quality. Why not just drive the extra 2 hrs and stay at the snow itself or in Jindy? Canberra just doesn’t add up as a destination – and probably never will because the govt has no desire, nor incentive to make it desirable from a tourist perspective.

Gotta agree with Ant there. As a “holiday” destination it has nothing that people normally associate with holidays.

It certainly has more than enough for a tourist “been-there-done-that” destination, where you spend a couple of days, see the things that interest you personally, and then leave.

The trick with a tourist destination is being able to entice people to come back for future visits after they have crossed it off their list.

At least Canberra has a lot of tourist destinations, would keep people busy for at least 2 or 3 days..

Brisbane has to be the worst place I’ve been, there’s absolutely NOTHING to do there. Down by the river 10 minute walk, nothing there, nothing in the CBD other than shops, no other tourist destinations and the weather is like living in a clothes dryer. I guess that’s why people flock to the Gold Coast.

why on earth would you choose Canberra, seriously? Unless you really wanted to visit somewhere like the War Memorial, the Gallery, see Parly House… Or maybe for an event like Floriade (however I reckon teh private display at Tulip Top was way better).

For holidays, what are people after? Palm trees and white beaches and sun, soaring mountains, clear diving for coral or endless fields of white snow… good shopping and eating, gambling in glitz with entertainment…

What does Canberra really have to offer as a holiday destination? I love living here, but I wouldn’t generally choose it for a holiday. The coast, the mountains around, te countryside. But not Canberra.

You’ve gotta remember that 90% of people’s idea of a good holiday is shopping, eating McDonalds and lying on a beach.

For the rest of us, art galleries, museums, outdoors pursuits and good restaurants all contribute to a great holiday. Some favoured holiday destinations (think: Noosa) don’t have these and are p!ss boring as a result. Canberra has the lot.

To quote a Manly-Warringah banner seen at many, many games over the years: “Everyone hates us…but we don’t care!”

trevar/squashee: Actually Bob McMullan (when he was Senator for the ACT) entered Cabinet in 1993 as Minister for the Arts, and became Minister for Trade in 1994.

I found a broken reference to the survey.

I think they just took a web poll and put out a media release.

Everyone else picked it up, us included, because it confirmed a prejudice.

Preferential voting, however, might have come up with a very different result.

Assuming the CT report is accurate (a big assumption), I’m not surprised. I can’t see many people choosing Canberra if they have 1 opportunity to take a holiday. But, after they’ve ‘done’ Sydney, Perth, maybe.

OTOH, does anyone else find it suss that there seems to be no reference to this survey on the totaltravel website? And hence, no way of knowing what the questions actually were, who was asked…

Wasn’t there some good meat art in Wollongong a few years back?

Canberra’s a pit, Adelaide’s a pit, Wollongong want’s to be a pit when it grows up – next stop…

It’s safe for us, Canberra and Fraser MPs never get cabinet positions, so ‘Canberra’ would never say anything ever again!

Maybe if Canberrans didn’t blindly vote for Labor every time then Governments might have incentive to give a Ministry to a Canberra member.

justbands said :

Haha…sory Granny. Wont hapen agan.

Goode!

Steady Eddie4:00 pm 29 Oct 08

Wide Boy Jake said :

Spam Box said :

“What does one do in Adelaide after you’ve been on the tram to Glenelg?”

Leave

Before that you can take a trip to Snowtown and see the building where the bodies in the barrels were found . . .

. . . or travel to Truro and see where seven women were buried after being abducted off the streets and murdered.

Wide Boy Jake3:54 pm 29 Oct 08

Spam Box said :

“What does one do in Adelaide after you’ve been on the tram to Glenelg?”

Leave

Before that you can take a trip to Snowtown and see the building where the bodies in the barrels were found . . .

Clown Killer3:50 pm 29 Oct 08

What does one do in Adelaide after you’ve been on the tram to Glenelg?

Well for starters if its a warm afternoon, you could pull up a pew at any of the licensed cafes at the beach end of the strip there and hope to catch a glimpse of one of Glenelgs more colourful characters – a weird looking seven foot tall black dude with Larry King hair wearing nothing more than speedo’s and white gumboots who walks down the middle of the road on his way to the beach for a swim …

harvyk1 said :

The way he was acting you’d have thought that me and my mate had personally increased taxes, forced him to work a 200 hour week and slaughtered his first and second born.

That’s Packer and Murdoch’s fault for allowing reporters to use the phrase “Canberra says…” whenever the government says anything. I think every politician should be identified by their electorate, so when Wayne Swan says he’s raising taxes, the report should be “Brisbane has raised taxes”. See how they like it…

It’s safe for us, Canberra and Fraser MPs never get cabinet positions, so ‘Canberra’ would never say anything ever again!

Haha…sory Granny. Wont hapen agan.

When did band type people start caring so much about spelling? This is severely messing with my head. Both of you!

*chuckle*

Wollongong

peterh said :

Spam Box said :

“What does one do in Adelaide after you’ve been on the tram to Glenelg?”

Leave

off to hahndorf, the Fleurieu Peninsula, check out the wineries, back to the city via crafers and the eagle on the hill, into one of many pubs, and back to your hotel.

then next day, take a ride on the boat called popeye on the river torrens, go to the zoo, the museum and then the national wine centre. (in that order, or you will have difficulty with the boat ride)

anywhere else?

canberra:

we are land locked, with many roads in and out. Don’t like it, keep driving.

Yeah, how could anyone visiting Adelaide not go on Popeye?!

When I think of “holidays”, and I suspect most people do, I think of Beaches or Country retreats. I don’t really think of visiting National Galleries or Memorials as a holiday. In that sense Canberra is not really a “holiday” destination.

Having said that I think Canberra is an awesome city and people should at least see it before they make up their mind that all we are is a place full of beaurocrats fat cats politicians.

I’ve always had fun in Adelaide. Then again, I love Canberra. I don’t think my finger is on the pulse of Australia.

Spam Box said :

“What does one do in Adelaide after you’ve been on the tram to Glenelg?”

Leave

off to hahndorf, the Fleurieu Peninsula, check out the wineries, back to the city via crafers and the eagle on the hill, into one of many pubs, and back to your hotel.

then next day, take a ride on the boat called popeye on the river torrens, go to the zoo, the museum and then the national wine centre. (in that order, or you will have difficulty with the boat ride)

anywhere else?

canberra:

we are land locked, with many roads in and out. Don’t like it, keep driving.

> The way he was acting you’d have thought that me and my mate had personally increased taxes, forced him to work a 200 hour week and slaughtered his first and second born.

Yes, I’ve had the “You Canberra people cost my family their farm!” line once or twice in outback Queensland. The response I use is “The d1ckheads you voted for did that mate, not me”.

The airport bars in Adelaide are pretty good.

To be honest most of the “we hate Canberra because” crowd are people you really don’t want to associate with anyway. I was with a mate of mine in a pub in Perth, talking to people as you do, when a bloke asked where we where from, we said Canberra and he instantly turned his back on us, it was as if we where the devils re-incarnate as far as he was concerned. A few of his mates came up and said “don’t worry about it, he can be a bit of a dickhead sometimes”.

The way he was acting you’d have thought that me and my mate had personally increased taxes, forced him to work a 200 hour week and slaughtered his first and second born.

“What does one do in Adelaide after you’ve been on the tram to Glenelg?”

Leave

Fine, don’t come then ! That results in less queues crowds for me to put up with.

Yeah, but how much of that is just that it is traditional for Aussies to hate Canberra, even though they have either never been here, or once when they were 12 y.o on a school excursion?

When I have friends come and stay from Sydney, Adelaide or Wollongong they all remark that they didn’t think that the Cafe culture of Manuka or Bunda St existed. Canberra is pretty good for tourism considering its population. What does one do in Adelaide after you’ve been on the tram to Glenelg?

Total travel is a bit of a dodgy website, anyone is meant to be able to sign up and write a review of a place but in my experience if you write anything negative it never appears on there, and I suspect all the reviews are written by the owners of the place being reviewed.

Well, they’re right… It is

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