When it couldn’t be decided if the nation’s capital should be Melbourne or Sydney, and the compromise that was Canberra was reached in 1908, Chicago architect Walter Burley Griffin was presented with what was essentially a blank canvas.
Influenced by the surrounding picturesque landscapes, Griffin, along with his wife Marion, began planning the city’s iconic layout, heavily influenced by the City Beautiful and Garden City movements, which was the style at the time. His influence is still readily visible in the Australian capital, as is the buildings that have grown around his original designs. For Enlighten, some of the most important buildings in the country are throwing open their doors for a series of tours, offering an often unseen insight into the workings of Australia.
