Canberra is the national capital of Australia. It is located in the Australian Capital Territory and links with the Hume Highway, which is the main overland route between Sydney and Melbourne. Canberra's first design, known as the Griffin plan, which defined Canberra as the capital of the Commonwealth, was developed in 1913 (Neil & Sheldon, 1975). After more than sixty years' development, the population of Canberra reached 183,000 in 1974, and was forecasted to be half a million in 1980 (National Capital Development Commission, 1975). Consequently, to deal with the problems existing with the increasing population, the planning up to 1980 became of great importance. This paper will introduce the significant planning of Canberra between 1970 and 1980.
The objective of Canberra was not only to be able to provide government and residents with infrastructure, which could reflect the nation's ambition and conflict, but also a place which contains education, communication, conventions, and visitors? (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970, p. 111). However, the biggest challenge of the design of Canberra is how to manage the plan and existing planned elements, and design a suitable and sustainable development for Canberra (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970). Therefore, the 'Y' plan, which targets at addressing the problem of land use and transportation, came up and gave guidance to the development of Canberra ('Why the new structure for Canberra', 2007). Y plan aims at creating some districts in the form of 'Y' ('Why the new structure for Canberra', 2007). The main intent of Y plan is to develop particular towns for residential purpose and link those towns together by parkways (Meng, 2002).
One of the essential aspects of Canberra's plan focuses on land use, which was designed to address the problems with national capital use, the employment centres, towns, and open spaces (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970). In terms of national capital use, it was suggested that the Parliamentary triangle, which could be the symbol of capital city, should be set up on the southern side of Lake Burley Griffin (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970); the employment centres, which was designed to relieve the transportation pressures of central areas, should continue being developed in the residential districts (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970); for three towns, the original Inner Canberra, Woden-Weston Creek to the south-west Inner Canberra, and Belconnen to the north-west Inner Canberra, residential areas draw most of the attentions and they were looked as the major land use areas, and for creating more liveable societies, shopping centres, schools and road systems would be specially developed, and rental densities would be limited (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970); the major land uses in the open spaces were broad-acre uses, hill and forest areas, major recreational space and rural land (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970). Broad-acre uses are the uses of the large outside areas (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970). Though A.C.T restrains these areas from over-expanding, the city's need for variety requires the suitable use of these areas (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970). An additional aspect of land uses is the recreational space. Since increasingly citizens of Canberra are now pursuing exciting sports, which requires large amount of money, the use of these areas should be increased (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970).
Due to the dependency of the existing two-lane highways, the traffic pressure was increasingly heavy, so the adjustment of transportation became an essential part in 1970-1980's plan (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970). The most important aspect is the need of developing various freeway routes to link the residential districts (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970). Therefore, the public transportation-arterial road, which was prepared to be built and the arms of Y plan, would be the main access between towns, and parkways, which were surrounding the towns, would became the major elements for single town (National Capital Development Commission, 1975). Moreover, airport terminal and parking were another two crucial aspects (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970). The Morshead Drive and rail terminal off Wentworth Avenue would continue to be treated as the significant elements, while a new design of railway, which would be more direct from Yass via Majura Valley, was defined as the future major airport terminal (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970). However, due to the influence of Griffin's plan for Canberra, which designed the city and Capital Hill as the centre of traffic system, the development of transportation has a number of limitations, which should be further discussed (Tomorrow's Canberra, 1970).
Before European settlement, the area which eventually became the Australian Capital Territory was inhabited by Indigenous Australians. Historical sources have identified them as different tribes with a range of names. Historian Lyall Gillespie has recorded local settlers using the terms "Nganbra", "Pialligo", "Kamberra" and "Kgamberry" in relation to the indigenous inhabitants. Anthropologist Norman Tindale suggested the principal tribe occupying the region were the Ngunnawal people, while the Ngarigo lived immediately to the south of the ACT, The Wandandian to the east, the Walgulu also to the south, Gandangara people to the north, and Wiradjuri to the north west. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the region includes inhabited rock shelters, rock paintings and engravings, burial places, camps and quarry sites, and stone tools and arrangements. The evidence suggests human habitation in the area for at least 21,000 years.[2]
The Ngambri had at least two burial grounds, a northern limestone cave and a cave in what is now known to Ngambri as Tharwa. At least in some cases, dead aborigines were buried in a sitting position. The Bogong Moths were an important source of food for the Aboriginal people, which would collect in their thousands in caves and rock crevices; they were roasted on heated rock or ashes and eaten whole.
European exploration began in the Canberra area as early as the 1820s. Four successive expeditions whose routes took in the Canberra area were those of Charles Throsby Smith (1820), Charles Throsby (1821), Major John Ovens and Captain Mark Currie (1823), and Allan Cunningham (1824). All four expeditions explored the course of the Molonglo River that is now the site of Lake Burley Griffin. Smith and Cunningham also penetrated further south, into what is now called the Tuggeranong Valley.