Australian Capital Territory (the ACT)

On January 1st 1911, politicians in the fledgling Commonwealth of Australia finally ended ten years of committees within committees and agreed on a site for the new nation's capital. The wrangling was over, and 2,360 square kilometres around the Molonglo River became the Australian Capital Territory.

A few months later, a competition was launched to find a design for the city and the winner was American architect Walter Burley Griffin.

Politics, government funding and human nature being as they are, the wrangling started again not long afterwards. It was not until 1927 that Federal Parliament actually sat in Canberra, and even longer before Burley Griffin's vision was realised.

But in this case, the nation has been well compensated for the drama involved. Canberra today is an attractive city settled serenely into its natural environment as Burley Griffin intended. It is framed by the surrounding hills and centred on the large artificial lake formed by the damming of the Molonglo River.

Lake Burley Griffin is 9kms long and 300 - 1200m wide. It has become the social and recreational heart of Canberra as well as its civic and geographic centre. It's popular for sailing, paddling, cruising and swimming, with walking tracks and cycle paths around its shores.

Many of Canberra's must-sees can be found here. The National Gallery, the National Library, the National Museum and Questacon (the National Science & Technology Centre) all occupy lakeside positions, and Parliament House on the top of Capital Hill has a wide view of its waters. The National War Museum is set back from the lake at the end of Anzac Parade.

However, the ACT is not only occupied by Canberra. The area is also liberally dotted with nature reserves and national parks.

The Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and Namadgi National Park both have a rich Aboriginal heritage, a wide range of native wildlife and large areas of undisturbed forest and bushland.

The Murrumbidgee River flows through the ACT, creating several scenic areas for swimming, fishing, canoeing and bushwalking, with some well-serviced recreation facilities.

Canberra is an unusual national capital in that it is relatively small and relatively distant from the country's main population areas. Perhaps it's a subconscious desire to hang onto what we see as our bush heritage – or a vestige of our convict past that we prefer to distance ourselves from authority. But whatever the reason, the result is a fascinating mixture of urban sophistication and natural grass roots.

ACT map