Canberra
[key], city (2020 pop. 457,000), capital of Australia, in the Australian Capital Territory, SE
Australia. The Canberra urban agglomeration includes a small area in New
South Wales. The federal government is the largest employer in Canberra;
there are also printing and service industries. The site chosen (1908) for
the capital city was first settled in 1824. In 1913, Canberra officially
became the second capital of the commonwealth (succeeding Melbourne); however, although the
Parliament first met there in 1927, the transfer of federal functions was
not completed until after World War II and the striking Parliament House, on
Capitol Hill, was not opened until 1988. The city was planned by the
American architect Walter Burley Griffin. In 2003 parts of Canberra were
ravaged by drought-intensified wildfires; the facilities of Mount Stromlo
Observatory were among the buildings destroyed. Canberra is the seat of the
Duntroon Royal Military College, Australian National Univ., the National
Gallery, the Australian War Memorial, the National Library, the National
Museum of Australia,
the
Academy of Science, and other research and scientific institutions.
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