9 May 2009

'Australia's underwhelming capital'

| RiotFrog
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I’ve found this interesting piece from the BBC’s Nick Bryant on our beloved(?) city.

    I should state from the outset that I don’t happen to agree with the hoary old joke that the best view of the city comes in the rear-view mirror as you head back to Sydney or Melbourne. Parts of it are stunningly beautiful.

    But on a national scorecard that is replete with green and gold stars, you are left with the feeling that Canberra merits only a “could do better”.

    Put another way, if cities were cars then Melbourne would probably be an Audi (a European feel, well designed and well engineered) and Sydney would probably be a 1970s MG convertible (a bit flash, fabulous in the summer, but prone to occasional breakdowns)

    Canberra has something of the Skoda about it, albeit with some pretty fancy add-ons, like the new Parliament House which celebrates its 21st birthday this very week.

I thought this was a reasonably balanced article, but what do people think? Could (or should) Canberra “do better” ?

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I agree with pretty much all the comments here – Canberra is a wonderful place to live, but yeah I can understand from a touristy point of view we don’t have a one-stop-shop like Sydney does in Darling Harbour (haven’t been to Melbourne enough to comment). I have to say though, that while I enjoy having a weekend in Darling Harbour (staying right in the Harbour so I don’t have to drive anywhere once I’ve arrived), I don’t see that there’s overly much to do there apart from the usuals PH museum, IMAX, markets (totally over them btw), and wandering around the harbour itself watching the occasional performer. Am I missing something? The cafe’s and restaurants are pretty decent, but can be pricey for what you get. Canberra, on the other hand, you have to sometimes know where to go but we have some absolute gems here (War Memorial, gallery etc), and you have easy parking and it doesn’t take you forever to get from a to b.

Agree it would be great to get the town centres done up a bit (particularly Civic) they’ve all gone massively down hill and a lot could be done to brighten them up and make them feel more welcoming.

I think it’s true that you have to be a local to know where to go – it’s because most outsiders expect that Civic is where we congregate, and a lot of pubs, cafes and hang outs have closed their doors in the CBD over the last few years….. On that note, it will be nice to have Civic renovated and more welcoming some time in the future…. and in the meantime, we’ll be entertaining ourselves at all the hidden gems located throughout Canberra!!

I’ve often thought that we are in a unique position here in Canberra to become what I would like to name ‘Canbradam’: kind of an Amsterdam of the southern hemisphere.

We have a large cycling population, porn, pot, prostitution. We are a fairly open minded bunch of people. We have waterways, and are getting more outdoor cafes. I can just see the Kingston foreshore being alive with the infamous coffee shops and New York Pizza cafes. And chips with mayonaise.

It could just be the niche we are looking for to make this place a must see for the under 50’s who visit Australia.

Sounds to me like Nick Bryant hardly got out of the Parliamentary Triangle! And why do they always drag up Burley Griffin and all his contemporaries? Quotes from 1909, comments about Post-war development, suburb naming (oohohohhh), pointless information about Parliament…

What a load of bullshit.

Melbourne is the burlesque performer who is a little bit ugly, but has a nice body which is tastefully concealed behind some fancy feathers.

Sydney is a slightly overweight, slightly too-old lady with no clothes on, legs spread wide yelling “come and get it, boys” in a grating, nasally voice.

Canberra is the immaculately dressed young lady, and even though the suit she’s wearing reveals almost nothing, when you see her smiling and laughing with her friends at the cafe at lunch time she makes you weak at the knees.

Who is Bryant trying to kid with his fanciful claim that Canberra’s post-war expansion was left to the British town planner, Sir William Holford. The bloke apparently wrote one report on Canberra’s future development at the invitation of Menzies in 1957. The only recommendation of note was that he believed the lake should be built as originally proposed by Griffin.

aronde said :

Moved here from Brisbane a few years ago and have not looked back! Yes a great place for the kids with lots of options for entertainment all within a nice easy drive / cycle. When we go back to Brisbane to visit the family the traffic alone is enough to make me glad we moved. It sometimes take me longer to get out of Brisbane Airport and through that damned roundabout then it does to take the kids to Tidbinbilla!

I couldn’t agree more! Brisbane was great when I was a kid, but boy have they destroyed the place with their lack of infrastructure planning. The whole city and suburbs are like a giant carpark; the traffic doesn’t move at all – it took me and hour and a half to drive 30 kilometers one day – I just couldn’t believe it. I just couldn’t stand living there now – although I love the weather and friendly people.

I went to the AWM today and seriously, the view from there down Anzac parade across lake, taking in OPH and onto New Parliament House is incredible, just stunning…

I was at the AWM today also… not stalking you but I concur the view is excellent.

farnarkler said :

Canberra is a late 90’s beige Toyota Camry. Bland and with an asthmatic engine but most of it works and it’ll get you from a to b.

Pommy bastard, Canberra is pretty much unknown in the UK. I had a friend whose young niece gave Canberra as the answer to ‘what is the capital city of Australia’ in a school quiz. Her teacher said no, Sydney is the capital.

You’d be surprised how many people think New York is the capital of the US or Auckland is NZ’s one.

I honestly couldn’t give a rats arse what other people think of Canberra. Its the people that live here that matters and you couldn’t get me out of here with a crowbar. Born and bred Canberra boy who has lived around the nation and the world. The quality of life in this town leaves what else I’ve seen for dead. Sure plenty of other places have more of various things that Canberra doesn’t, but that’s why I visit them and leave when I’ve had my fill of those ‘things’.

Sydney is great to get on the gas, go and watch the footy or visit mates for a few days. A few days is enough. Need convincing. Sit outside a cafe on any of the main streets of Sydney CBD from 0830-0900 on a Monday morning. You discover what ‘rat race’ means

sexynotsmart6:30 pm 10 May 09

Fave quote:

Fabulously, prime ministers, like Barton and Deakin, have suburbs named after them. Others, presumably, only rise to the level of cul-de-sac.

I like the fact that a Brit figured out Canberra isn’t on the coast. IMHO that explains why our national capital has such a small population. In population terms, the ACT Legislative Assembly is right up there with Northumberland Shire Council. (Nick, feel free to use that line in your next piece.)

Diff’rent stokes for different folks, I guess.

Moved here from Brisbane a few years ago and have not looked back! Yes a great place for the kids with lots of options for entertainment all within a nice easy drive / cycle. When we go back to Brisbane to visit the family the traffic alone is enough to make me glad we moved. It sometimes take me longer to get out of Brisbane Airport and through that damned roundabout then it does to take the kids to Tidbinbilla!

Hells_Bells744:11 pm 10 May 09

Agreed deezagood, don’t think you could beat it for a city to raise small kids.

ant said :

Maybe tourists miss the good stuff, while people who are shown around by a friend “get” Canberra. It’s not like bloody Sydney, it has no main street or laid-on entertainment. We did an Ikea run to Sydney today and fair dinkum, you’d have to be mad to live there. What a miserable existence! It’s just way too big, way too full.

I can’t wait for Canberra to get an Ikea though!

I’m a Melbourne girl (born in Brisbane, but lived in Melbourne for more than half of my life), but as a mother with smallish kids, I wouldn’t want to live in any other major Australian city. Honestly; name another capital city where if your kids have a school concert during the day you can whip away from work, go to the concert, go back to work (and find a parking spot) within a one hour timeframe? In Melbourne I worked in the city and lived about 15 kms out of the city, but it took a good 40 minutes to commute either way (by car or rail) – what a waste of precious time that could be spent with your kids. This city is so livable and convenient, I really can’t imagine anybody not appreciating the lifestyle here – especially if you have smallish kids. And Canberra is really pretty. I do miss having a close beach, but the proximity of the snowfields more than makes up for that and we have taken up waterskiing (lake life) to replace the beach life that we had in Melbourne. I absolutely love living here.

Canberra is a late 90’s beige Toyota Camry. Bland and with an asthmatic engine but most of it works and it’ll get you from a to b.

Pommy bastard, Canberra is pretty much unknown in the UK. I had a friend whose young niece gave Canberra as the answer to ‘what is the capital city of Australia’ in a school quiz. Her teacher said no, Sydney is the capital.

Hells_Bells7411:50 am 10 May 09

Trunking symbols said :

Sydney – a nice place to visit but you wouldn’t want to live there.

Used to hear that a lot until getting to know a lot of Sydneysiders and they love it there and most I know wouldn’t leave in any hurry.

They say the same thing about here anyhow.

Pommy bastard10:08 am 10 May 09

I’ve had more than a dozen friends from the UK come to stay with me since I’ve been living here. Without fail, they have gone away stating that Canberra is a little known gem of Australia, and should be promoted better.

I’ll be perfectly honest here, and admit that, before my courting days, I had no idea what or where Canberra was. I considered myself a worldly and well travelled Pom, and I know that I would not be alone in any group of well educated people from the UK in this lack of knowledge.

Thing is, do we want it promoted better? I’m happy to have all the advantages of living in what I consider one of the world great little cities, without having to share it with millions of grockles and emmets.

I have to agree Trunking symbols, I do like to visit Sydney for a weekend, but any longer and I start to itch for my home among the hills. I think Canberra is like a Suburu Liberty, good for the whole family, comfortable on road with a good ride off the beaten track too, plenty of space but not a mega flashy 4 wheel drive.

Trunking symbols9:20 am 10 May 09

Sydney – a nice place to visit but you wouldn’t want to live there.

damnintellectuals3:37 am 10 May 09

Canberra is an ACTION bus.

Maybe tourists miss the good stuff, while people who are shown around by a friend “get” Canberra. It’s not like bloody Sydney, it has no main street or laid-on entertainment. We did an Ikea run to Sydney today and fair dinkum, you’d have to be mad to live there. What a miserable existence! It’s just way too big, way too full.

I don’t think Canberra is worth being compared to other large international cities. Just as Old Canberran said, everything about our city is young but more importantly extremely unique.

I grew up in Canberra and there’s one thing here most other cities don’t have. I’ve lived in a few spots around the world, visited more, made frequent weekend trips to Sydney etc. What we have is unparalleled access to open green/wooded spaces as Deezagood explained. Sure, if you’re on the perpetual search for the perfect cafe latte, catching trams, buying expensive pieces of cloth is your thing the bush wont do much for you. But if you get out of suburbia, a maximum whopping 30min drive, there’s so much to see and do here. If you go even further (Bungonia, Alpes, Budawangs etc.) there’s even more spectacular things to discover.

I started bushwalking with my school. Where else can you be a 30-60min drive away from home, but in the middle of nowhere. As teens, go out on a trip with a few mates . I still bushwalk today. It also got me into mountain biking and consequently just riding on road for fun/commuting. This city is unique in the sense that it’s not a metropolis- nor was it ever designed to be a sky-scraper city.

Take a shot of the Brindabella’s. That’s Canberra.

A Pom criticising a city for being able to do better?

Deary me, pot this is kettle…………over

old canberran8:53 pm 09 May 09

What a lot of these blow-in critics tend to overlook is that Canberra is a very young city which has been sculptured from an empty limestone plain. It does not have the history and age of Sydney or Melbourne and it has yet to develop its own character. It is also the National Capital which makes it unique in this country. This means the emphasis is on the National Capital aspects of the city first and the urban infrastructure second.
If Mr Bryant thinks Canberra can do better then he should be told that it’s been under the control of amateur politicians for the past 21 years and perhaps he could use his journalistic influence to have this situation rectified.

Canberra could do a lot better…but it would lose some of its other charms as a result.

I’m with deeza, but I think it’s better to live in than to visit. Especially if you’re a philistine and don’t like galleries, museums and water features that are purely cosmetic in nature.

Nonetheless, I really can’t agree with the Skoda comparison. Far too modern. We’re more like an old 70s muscle car that’s been converted to LPG and has comfy woolen seat covers and an MP3 player.

Hells_Bells745:49 pm 09 May 09

Helps to have a friend here too sometimes and seeing I’m doing another stupid double post I think I shall fix accommodating*

Hells_Bells745:47 pm 09 May 09

Sounds like an awesome week Deezagood and still sooooo much more anyone could do, so i reckon we’re accomodating, just got to think outside of the square.

My Canadian friends just left after being here for a week. They toured the visitor hot-spots (galleries, museums, memorial etc.. ) by renting a bike, we hiked up around Tidbinbilla (where we saw wombat, emus, wallabies and a real live platypus!), we took photos from Mount Ainslie and Black Mountain, had brekky in Kingston, dinner in Manuka, had beer and trivia at the Durham and they oohed and ahhed each morning over the thousands of kangaroos that live in the Mcarthur horse paddocks. They also came to school for the cross country, met some of our friends and just hung out with us in the suburbs. Conclusion; they think Canberra is one of the most beautiful, accessable places they have ever visited (and they have literally been all over the world) and can’t believe how under-rated it is as a tourist destination. They have decided to come back through on their way back to Sydney. So there.

Clown Killer5:03 pm 09 May 09

Volvo.

In this month’s Open Road the Skoda Superb is described as ‘a genuine class act’

VYBerlinaV8_the_one_they_all_copy3:49 pm 09 May 09

Canberra’s like a soft-roader SUV. It looks the part, but is ultimately heavy, slow, and can’t do what the styling suggests.

Commentary like that in the OP smacks of someone who spent 3 days in the city and knows nothing of its culture, like most people who haven’t lived here.

Canberra is an easy target, unfortunately.

Canberra is a Lada Niva. It’s designed, sure, but it’s been designed badly. It’s not like much anything else of its vintage. It’s old, not especially shapely, and while it has its charms they are few and far between.

I’d say an old Valiant station-wagon, with the original driver. Don’t like change, even if it may be of some benefit.

Who exactly would need to “do better”?

I’m sick of people holding Canberran’s responsible for the city somehow not meeting their expectations. I had an uncle visit here some time ago. He and my auntie went for a walk, presumably around the flats near the city. Their comment to me was “we saw some parts that need work” … as if I or others are somehow the responsible custodians of the city. We just live here!

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