place

Royal Canberra Hospital implosion

1990s in Canberra1997 disasters in Australia1997 in AustraliaAccidental deaths in the Australian Capital TerritoryAll Wikipedia neutral point of view disputes
Disasters in the Australian Capital TerritoryExplosions in AustraliaJuly 1997 events in OceaniaUse Australian English from March 2018Wikipedia neutral point of view disputes from March 2022

The Royal Canberra Hospital implosion was a failed building implosion that killed one person and injured nine others. The implosion occurred on 13 July 1997, when the city's superseded hospital buildings at Acton Peninsula on Lake Burley Griffin (that formerly constituted the Royal Canberra Hospital) were demolished to make way for the National Museum of Australia.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Royal Canberra Hospital implosion (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Royal Canberra Hospital implosion
Lawson Crescent, Canberra Acton

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Royal Canberra Hospital implosionContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N -35.29 ° E 149.12 °
placeShow on map

Address

Lawson Crescent
2601 Canberra, Acton
Australia
mapOpen on Google Maps

Share experience

Nearby Places

PS Enterprise
PS Enterprise

PS Enterprise is an 1878 Australian paddle steamer, currently owned by the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. It is still operational, and one of the oldest working paddle steamers in the world. It is listed on the Australian Register of Historic Vehicles.Enterprise is built from river red gum wood; the engine is a two-cylinder single expansion steam engine made by the Beverley Iron and Wagon Company in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England in 1877. The original boiler was replaced in 1988. It is 17.3 metres (57 ft) long, 4.6 metres (15 ft) wide, and 5.9 metres (19 ft) high (from waterline). It has a shallow draft of 75 centimetres (30 in), allowing it to cope with the low water levels of the Australian rivers, and a maximum speed of 5 knots (9 km/h; 6 mph).Enterprise was built in Echuca by William Keir between 1876 and 1878, and initially owned by his family, until they sold it in 1893. It changed hands several times over the years, and has been used as a cargo ship (towing barges), a store, a fishing boat and a houseboat, operating on the Murray, Darling and Murrumbidgee Rivers. From 1919 until 1945 it was owned by Augustus Creager, who, with his wife Hilda, raised a family of five children living on board.In 1973, amidst a general renewed interests in steamboats, Enterprise was restored by enthusiast Graeme Niehus and his father, and subsequently raced against other paddle boats.The National Museum of Australia bought Enterprise in 1984 and further restored it, including replacing the boiler. In 1988, as part of the Australian Bicentenary celebrations, it was recommissioned on Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra. It was opened to the public in January 1989.On 4 December 1993 Enterprise was temporarily recommissioned as HMA PS Enterprise of the Royal Australian Navy and allowed to fly the White Ensign for the day, as part of the Navy's Maritime Pageant.Enterprise is operated by the Museum – it is the largest functional object in the Museum's collection – and crewed by volunteers. It undergoes regular maintenance and occasional restoration work.

National Museum of Australia
National Museum of Australia

The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the National Museum of Australia Act 1980.The museum did not have a permanent home until 11 March 2001, when a purpose-built museum building was officially opened. The museum profiles 50,000 years of Indigenous heritage, settlement since 1788 and key events including Federation and the Sydney 2000 Olympics. The museum holds the world's largest collection of Aboriginal bark paintings and stone tools, the heart of champion racehorse Phar Lap and the Holden prototype No. 1 car.The museum also develops and travels exhibitions on subjects ranging from bushrangers to surf lifesaving. The National Museum of Australia Press publishes a wide range of books, catalogues and journals. The museum's Research Centre takes a cross-disciplinary approach to history, ensuring the museum is a lively forum for ideas and debate about Australia's past, present and future.The museum's innovative use of new technologies has been central to its growing international reputation in outreach programming, particularly with regional communities. From 2003 to 2008, the museum hosted Talkback Classroom, a student political forum.The museum is located on Acton Peninsula in the suburb of Acton, next to the Australian National University. The peninsula on Lake Burley Griffin was previously the home of the Royal Canberra Hospital, which was demolished in tragic circumstances on 13 July 1997.

Lake Burley Griffin
Lake Burley Griffin

Lake Burley Griffin is an artificial lake in the centre of Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was completed in 1963 after the Molonglo River, which ran between the city centre and Parliamentary Triangle, was dammed. It is named after Walter Burley Griffin, the American architect who won the competition to design the city of Canberra.Griffin designed the lake with many geometric motifs, so that the axes of his design lined up with natural geographical landmarks in the area. However, government authorities changed his original plans, and no substantial work was completed before he left Australia in 1920. Griffin's proposal was further delayed by the Great Depression and World War II, and it was not until the 1950s that planning resumed. After political disputes and consideration of other proposed variations, excavation work began in 1960 with the energetic backing of Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies. After the completion of the bridges and dams, the dams were locked in September 1963. However, because of a drought, the lake's target water level was not reached until April 1964. The lake was formally inaugurated on 17 October 1964. The lake is located in the approximate geographic centre of the city, and it is the centrepiece of the capital in accordance with Griffin's original designs. Numerous important institutions, such as the National Gallery, National Museum, National Library, Australian National University and the High Court were built on its shores, and Parliament House is a short distance away. Its surrounds, consisting mainly of parklands, are popular with recreational users, particularly in the warmer months. Though swimming in the lake is uncommon, it is used for a wide variety of other activities, such as rowing, fishing, and sailing. The lake is an ornamental body with a length of 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) and a width, at its widest, of 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi). It has an average depth of 4 metres (13 ft) and a maximum depth of about 18 metres (59 ft) near the Scrivener Dam. Its flow is regulated by the 33-metre-tall (108 ft) Scrivener Dam, designed to handle floods that occur once in 5,000 years. In times of drought, water levels can be maintained through the release of water from Googong Dam, located on an upstream tributary of the Molonglo River.