Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 340,000, it is Australia's largest inland city. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, 280 km (170 mi) south-west of Sydney, and 650 km (400 mi) north-east of Melbourne. The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation's capital in 1908 as a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two largest cities. It is unusual among Australian cities, being an entirely purpose-built, planned city.

As the seat of the government of Australia, Canberra is the site of Parliament House, the High Court of Australia and numerous government departments and agencies. It is also the location of many social and cultural institutions of national significance, such as the Australian War Memorial, National Gallery of Australia and the National Museum of Australia. The federal government contributes the largest percentage of Gross State Product and is the largest single employer in Canberra.

Before European settlement, the area in which Canberra would eventually be constructed was seasonally inhabited by the Ngunnawal and Walgalu tribes. The Ngarigo lived south-east of the Canberra area, the Gundungurra to the north, the Yuin on the coast and the Wiradjuri to the west. Archaeological evidence from the Canberra region suggests human habitation in the area for at least 21,000 years. The word "Canberra" is derived from the name of the local Ngabri people dialect, one of the Ngunnawal family groups, from the word Kanbarra meaning "meeting place" in the old Ngunnawal language. The Ngunnawal name was apparently used as a reference to corroborees held during the seasonal migration of the Ngunawal people to feast on the Bogong moths that pass through the region each spring.

Canberra has four distinct seasons, because of its latitude, elevation and distance from the coast. The climates of most Australian coastal areas, which include all the state capital cities, are moderated by the sea. Canberra experiences hot, quite dry summers, and cold winters with heavy fog and frequent frosts, with a rare spot of snow in the CBD but the surrounding areas get annual snowfall through winter and often the snow capped mountains can be seen from the CBD. The highest recorded maximum temperature was 42.2 °C (108 °F) on 1 February 1968. The lowest recorded minimum temperature was 10.0 °C (14 °F) on 11 July 1971. Light snow falls in the city in one out of approximately three winters but is usually not widespread and quickly dissipates. Thunderstorms can occur between September and March, with rainfall maximums in spring and summer.

The two main tertiary institutions are the Australian National University (ANU) in Acton and the University of Canberra (UC) in Bruce.[citation needed] The ANU was established as a research university in 1946; it continues to have a strong research focus and is ranked among the best universities in the world in The Times Higher Education Supplement and the Shanghai Jiao Tong World University Rankings. Both ANU and UC also have campuses interstate and overseas. There are also two religious university campuses in Canberra: Signadou in the North Canberra suburb of Watson is a campus of the Australian Catholic University; St Mark's Theological College adjacent to the Parliament House is a campus of the secular Charles Sturt University.

The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) and the Royal Military College, Duntroon are near the suburb of Campbell in Canberra's inner north-east. ADFA teaches military undergraduates and postgraduates and is officially a campus of the University of New South Wales; Duntroon provides Australian Army Officer training. Tertiary level vocational education is also available through the multi-campus Canberra Institute of Technology.

Canberra is home to many national monuments and institutions such as the Australian War Memorial, the National Gallery of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery currently housed at Old Parliament House, the National Library of Australia, the National Archives of Australia, and the National Museum of Australia. Many Commonwealth government buildings in Canberra are open to the public, including Parliament House, the High Court and the Royal Australian Mint. Lake Burley Griffin is the site of the Captain Cook Memorial and the National Carillon. Other sites of interest include the Telstra Tower and the Australian National Botanic Gardens on Black Mountain, the National Zoo and Aquarium on Scrivener Dam, the National Dinosaur Museum and Questacon – the National Science and Technology Centre.

Population : 340,800 (December 2007)
Density : 1005/km² (2,602.9/sq mi) (2006)
Established : 12 March 1913
Area : 805.6 km² (311.0 sq mi)