National Capital Exhibition in Canberra, Australia: Is this museum worth visiting?

The National Capital Exhibition in Canberra is by no means the best attraction in the Australian Capital Territory. But it does provide an interesting insight into how Canberra was planned.

There are several better attractions in Canberra than the National Capital Exhibition. If you’ve only got a day or two in Australia’s national capital, then you’re better off spending your time at the Australian War Memorial, National Museum of Australia or National Gallery of Australia. There’s also a lot to be said for hot air ballooning or heading just outside the city to the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve or Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex.

Why visit the National Capital Exhibition?

But the National Capital Exhibition has a niche. Canberra’s other museums focus on Australia, but the National Capital Exhibition focuses on Canberra itself.

The story of Canberra (the name comes from the local indigenous word “Kamberra” which is thought to mean “meeting place”) unveils inside. Perhaps the most surprising thing is that Canberra wasn’t built from scratch on top of pristine bushland – European settlers had long swept that away. The land was actually quite barren and overgrazed, meaning English-born horticulturalist Charles Weston was given the task of regenerating the landscape. Between 1913 and 1926, he and his team planted two million shrubs and trees. By 1945, Canberra bloomed with 20 million of them, creating the leafy, almost forested cityscape that can be seen today.

National Capital Exhibition: How Canberra was designed

The exhibition looks at the competition to design the capital of Australia, too. Chicago architect Walter Burley-Griffin won this. But inside the exhibition are some of the runners-up’s designs for the federal capital. Some of them much more ostentatious (and thus expensive) than Burley-Griffin’s. But then, the city as it stands isn’t exactly what Burley-Griffin had in mind, either.

He planned it for around 75,000 people rather than the current 360,000. Serious plan-tweaking has gone on over the years. The original competition winner’s ideas have always been a guide rather than a rigid blueprint.

There’s no point having such a tremendous centrepiece if you’re not going to put some of your jewels around it. And this, of course, is what Canberra has done. Many of the city’s highlights such as the National Carillon can be found around the man-made Lake Burley-Griffin, and the 3D models on display show this.

3D model of Canberra in National Capital Exhibition — The 3D model showing the layout of Canberra inside the National Capital Exhibition. Photo by David Whitley/ Australia Travel Questions

National Capital Expedition tours

It’s all a little geeky, but in an engaging way. If you’ve any interest in how cities are planned, it’s worth dropping by the National Capital Exhibition if you’ve got a few days in Canberra.

The museum is in Commonwealth Park, and offers free guided tours at 11am every day. Canberra Segway tours also pass through Commonwealth Park.