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National Museum of Australia

1980 establishments in AustraliaHistory museums in AustraliaMuseums established in 1980Museums in CanberraNational museums of Australia
Use Australian English from February 2014
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National Museum of Australia logo

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.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article National Museum of Australia (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

National Museum of Australia
Lawson Crescent, Canberra Acton

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N -35.293056 ° E 149.120833 °
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Lawson Crescent
2601 Canberra, Acton
Australia
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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.

Lennox Gardens
Lennox Gardens

Lennox Gardens, a park in Canberra, Australia, lying on the south side of Lake Burley Griffin, close to Commonwealth Avenue Bridge and Albert Hall in the suburb of Yarralumla. Before the construction of Lake Burley Griffin a road ran through the present garden, this road being one of two main crossing points across the Molonglo River. The name of the road was Lennox Crossing from which the present garden takes its name. The northern segment of the road is still present on Acton peninsula. The garden was officially named in 1963. Lennox Crossing was named after David Lennox, an early bridge builder in NSW and Victoria. The park in its current condition was established with the filling of Lake Burley Griffin in the 1960s; however the park's history is much older, as it was part of the original Royal Canberra Golf course which is now underneath the lake. The part of the golf course which had not been flooded was named Lennox Gardens. It has a number of memorials and monuments such as Kasuga stones presented to Canberra by Japan in April 1997, a monument to Australians in the Spanish civil war, and a stone monument commemorating the centenary of Federation and the Jewish National fund. It has a Wisteria pergola sponsored by Totalcare industries in celebration of the Nara sister city relationship. Located within the park is the Canberra-Nara Peace Park (not to be confused with Canberra Peace Park), a park which symbolises the friendship between Canberra and the sister city of Nara, Japan.

Canberra
Canberra

Canberra ( (listen) KAN-bər-ə; Ngunnawal: Ngambri) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest Australian city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory at the northern tip of the Australian Alps, the country's highest mountain range. As of June 2021, Canberra's estimated population was 453,558.The area chosen for the capital had been inhabited by Indigenous Australians for up to 21,000 years, with the principal group being the Ngunnawal people. European settlement commenced in the first half of the 19th century, as evidenced by surviving landmarks such as St John's Anglican Church and Blundells Cottage. On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies of Australia was achieved. Following a long dispute over whether Sydney or Melbourne should be the national capital, a compromise was reached: the new capital would be built in New South Wales, so long as it was at least 100 mi (160 km) from Sydney. The capital city was founded and formally named as Canberra in 1913. A blueprint by American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected after an international design contest, and construction commenced in 1913. Unusual among Australian cities, it is an entirely planned city. The Griffins' plan featured geometric motifs and was centred on axes aligned with significant topographical landmarks such as Black Mountain, Mount Ainslie, Capital Hill and City Hill. Canberra's mountainous location makes it the only mainland Australian city where snow-capped mountains can be seen in winter; although snow in the city itself is uncommon. As the seat of the Government of Australia, Canberra is home to many important institutions of the federal government, national monuments and museums. This includes Parliament House, Government House, the High Court and the headquarters of numerous government agencies. It is the location of many social and cultural institutions of national significance such as the Australian War Memorial, the Australian National University, the Royal Australian Mint, the Australian Institute of Sport, the National Gallery, the National Museum and the National Library. The city is home to many important institutions of the Australian Defence Force including the Royal Military College Duntroon and the Australian Defence Force Academy. It hosts all foreign embassies in Australia as well as regional headquarters of many international organisations, not-for-profit groups, lobbying groups and professional associations. Canberra has been ranked among the world's best cities to live and visit. Although the Commonwealth Government remains the largest single employer in Canberra, it is no longer the majority employer. Other major industries have developed in the city, including in health care, professional services, education and training, retail, accommodation and food, and construction. Compared to the national averages, the unemployment rate is lower and the average income higher; tertiary education levels are higher, while the population is younger. At the 2016 Census, 32% of Canberra's inhabitants were reported as having been born overseas.Canberra's design is influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation. Its design can be viewed from its highest point at the Telstra Tower and the summit of Mount Ainslie. Other notable features include the National Arboretum, born out of the 2003 Canberra bushfires, and Lake Burley Griffin, named for the city's architects. Highlights in the annual calendar of cultural events include Floriade, the largest flower festival in the Southern Hemisphere, the Enlighten Festival, Skyfire, the National Multicultural Festival and Summernats. Canberra's main sporting venues are Canberra Stadium and Manuka Oval. The city is served with domestic and international flights at Canberra Airport, while interstate train and coach services depart from Canberra Railway Station and the Jolimont Centre respectively. City Interchange is the main hub of Canberra's bus and light rail transport network.

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.

Immigration Bridge

The Immigration Bridge was a proposed footbridge in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was proposed that it be built between the National Museum of Australia and Lennox Gardens on the south shore of the West Basin of Lake Burley Griffin, in the centre of the city. The non-profit organisation Immigration Bridge Australia (IBA) was promoting the bridge as a means of recognising the contributions immigrants have made to Australia and was seeking AUD22 million in donations from the public and between AUD10 million and AUD15 million from the Commonwealth Government for its construction. Initial concept plans for the bridge showed it as having a walkway twelve metres above the lake's surface supported by twelve pylons. IBA have claimed the original design was a "concept only" and a small number, or possibly zero, pylon bridge is a possibility. The proposal had proven controversial, and a Commonwealth Parliamentary inquiry into the bridge held during early 2009 received 20 submissions, most of which opposed the concept. The inquiry's final report recommended that the bridge be redesigned to take the needs of other lake users such as cyclists and sailors into account and that its site be moved if it is not possible to reach a compromise.Many argue that the inclusion of a bridge within West Basin is inconsistent with Walter Burley Griffin's vision for the lake, however the inclusion of a bridge to Acton Peninsula is clearly visible in the winning design, although in a slightly different location to the concept design.The Immigration Bridge was abandoned on 30 March 2010 due to heritage and safety concerns. The project has already raised hundreds-of-thousands of dollars from the public. The proponents of the bridge are working on plans for a national immigration monument that will be located near the National Archives of Australia in the parliamentary triangle in Canberra, using the money already raised.