Editing Australian Capital Territory (section)

==History==
{{main|History of the Australian Capital Territory}}

=== Indigenous inhabitants ===
[[Aboriginal Australians|Indigenous Australians]] have long inhabited the area.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=Canberra in two centuries: A pictorial history |last=Fitzgerald |first=Alan |publisher=Clareville Press |year=1987 |isbn=0-909278-02-4 |pages=4–5,12,92–93,115,128}}</ref> Evidence indicates habitation dating back at least 25,000 years,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Osborne |first1=Tegan |title=New dating shows 25,000 years of history at Birrigai rock shelter in ACT |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/curious-canberra/2016-04-04/new-research-shows-human-occupation-in-act-extends-25,000-years/7288132 |access-date=20 August 2019 |agency=ABC News |date=5 May 2016}}</ref> and it is possible that the area was inhabited for considerably longer. The principal group occupying the region were the [[Ngunnawal|Ngunnawal people]], with the [[Ngarigo]] and [[Walgalu]] living immediately to the south, the [[Wandandian|Wandadian]] to the east, the [[Gandangara]] to the north and the [[Wiradjuri]] to the north-west.<ref name="Gillespie84">{{cite book |last=Gillespie |first=Lyall |title=Aborigines of the Canberra Region |publisher=Wizard (Lyall Gillespie) |location=Canberra |year=1984 |pages=1–25 |isbn=0-9590255-0-2}}</ref>

=== European colonisation ===
Following European settlement, the growth of the new colony of New South Wales led to an increasing demand for [[arable land]].<ref name="Gillespie84" /> Governor [[Lachlan Macquarie]] supported expeditions to open up new lands to the south of [[Sydney]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |title=Canberra 1820–1913 |last=Gillespie |first=Lyall |publisher=Australian Government Publishing Service |year=1991 |isbn=0-644-08060-4 |pages=3–9,110–111,149,278,303}}</ref> The 1820s saw further exploration in the Canberra area associated with the construction of a road from Sydney to the [[Goulburn]] plains. While working on the project, [[Charles Throsby]] learned of a nearby lake and river from the local Indigenous peoples and he accordingly sent Wild to lead a small party to investigate the site. The search was unsuccessful, but they did discover the [[Yass River]], and it is surmised that they would have set foot on part of the future territory.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |title=Old Canberra and the search for a capital |last=Fitzhardinge |first=L. F. |publisher=Canberra & District Historical Society |year=1975 |isbn=0-909655-02-2 |pages=1–3, 31–32}}</ref>

A second expedition was mounted shortly thereafter, and they became the first Europeans to camp at the [[Molonglo River|Molonglo]] (Ngambri) and [[Queanbeyan River|Queanbeyan]] (Jullergung) Rivers.<ref name=":2" /> However, they failed to find the [[Murrumbidgee River]].<ref name=":4" /> The issue of the Murrumbidgee was solved in 1821 when Throsby mounted a third expedition and successfully reached the watercourse, on the way providing the first detailed account of the land that now comprises the territory.<ref name=":4" /> The last expedition in the region before settlement was undertaken by [[Allan Cunningham (botanist)|Allan Cunningham]] in 1824.<ref name=":2" /> He reported that the region was suitable for grazing and the settlement of the Limestone Plains followed immediately thereafter.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Watson |first=F. |date=1931 |title=Special Article: Canberra Past and Present |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/4e782ee652d0db0aca2569de001fb2dd?OpenDocument |journal=Year Book Australia |access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref>

=== Early settlement ===
[[Image:ACT historic buildings map-MJC2.png|thumb|alt=Map locations concentrated in the northeast and east, west and south largely deserted except for the southern tip|Significant homesteads, structures and settlements in the ACT prior to 1909.]]
The first land grant in the region was made to Joshua John Moore in 1823, and European settlement in the area began in 1824 with the construction of a homestead by his stockmen on what is now the [[Acton Peninsula]].<ref name=":3" /> Moore formally purchased the site in 1826 and named the property ''Canberry'' or ''Canberra''.<ref name=":2" />

A significant influx of population and economic activity occurred around the 1850s [[Australian gold rushes|gold rushes]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/New-South-Wales/Kiandra/2005/02/17/1108500196974.html |title=Kiandra |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=5 February 2005 |access-date=19 February 2010}}</ref> The gold rushes prompted the establishment of communication between Sydney and the region by way of the [[Cobb and Co|Cobb & Co]] coaches, which transported mail and passengers.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |title=Canberra: history of Australia's national capital |last=Wigmore |first=Lionel |publisher=Dalton Publishing Company |year=1971 |isbn=0-909906-06-8 |pages=20,113}}</ref> The first post offices opened in [[Ginninderra]] in 1859 and at Lanyon in 1860.<ref name=":3" />

During colonial times, the European communities of Ginninderra, [[Molonglo Plains|Molonglo]] and Tuggeranong settled and farmed the surrounding land. The region was also called the [[Queanbeyan]]-[[Yass, New South Wales|Yass]] district, after the two largest towns in the area. The villages of Ginninderra and Tharwa developed to service the local agrarian communities.

During the first 20 years of settlement, there was only limited contact between the settlers and Aboriginal people. Over the succeeding years, the Ngunnawal and other local indigenous people effectively ceased to exist as cohesive and independent communities adhering to their traditional ways of life.<ref name=":3" /> Those who had not succumbed to disease and other predations either dispersed to the local settlements or were relocated to more distant [[Aboriginal reserve]]s set up by the New South Wales government in the latter part of the 19th century.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}

=== Creation of the territory===
[[Image:Surveyors camp Canberra.jpg|left|thumb|alt=Single wooden cabin and many white tents in open dusty field with single tree in foreground|The Federal Capital survey camp was established c. 1909. An extensive survey of the territory was completed by Charles Scrivener and his team in 1915.]]

In 1898, a referendum on a proposed Constitution was held in four of the colonies – [[New South Wales]], [[South Australia]], [[Tasmania]], and [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]. Although the referendum achieved a majority in all four colonies, the New South Wales referendum failed to gain the minimum number of votes needed for the bill to pass. Following this result, a meeting of the four Premiers in 1898 heard from [[George Reid]], the [[Premier of New South Wales]], who argued that locating the future capital in New South Wales would be sufficient to ensure the passage of the Bill. The 1899 referendum on this revised bill was successful and passed with sufficient numbers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www-etsav.upc.es/personals/iphs2004/pdf/017_p.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www-etsav.upc.es/personals/iphs2004/pdf/017_p.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Contested places for Australia's capital city |last=Birtles |first=Terry G. |date=2004 |website=11th Annual Planning History Conference |access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref> Section 125 of the [[Constitution of Australia|Australian Constitution]] thus provided that, following Federation in 1901, land would be ceded freely to the new [[Australian Government|federal government]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

{{Location map many
| New South Wales
| width = 300
| float = right
| caption = Location of each site within [[New South Wales]]. The 100-mile (160 km) exclusion zone around Sydney is indicated by a red circle.
| label = Dalgety
  | marksize = 8
  | label_size = 70
  | pos = right
  | coordinates = {{coord|36|30|S|148|50|E}}
| label2 = Yass-Canberra
  | mark2size = 8
  | label2_size = 70
  | pos2 = top
  | coordinates2 = {{coord|35|17|S|149|07|E}}
| label3 = Tooma
  | mark3size = 8
  | label3_size = 70
  | pos3 = right
  | coordinates3 = {{coord|35|58|S|148|04|E}}
| label4 = Lyndhurst
  | mark4size = 8
  | label4_size = 70
  | pos4 = left
  | coordinates4 = {{coord|33|40|S|149|02|E}}
| label5 = Armidale
  | mark5size = 8
  | label5_size = 70
  | pos5 = top
  | coordinates5 = {{coord|30|30|S|151|39|E}}
| label6 = Tumut
  | mark6size = 8
  | label6_size = 70
  | pos6 = left
  | coordinates6 = {{coord|35|18|S|148|13|E}}
| label7 = Bombala
  | mark7size = 8
  | label7_size = 70
  | pos7 = bottom
  | coordinates7 = {{coord|36|55|S|149|14|E}}
| label8 = Albury
  | mark8size = 8
  | label8_size = 70
  | pos8 = top
  | coordinates8 = {{coord|36|04|S|146|54|E}}
| label9 = Orange
  | mark9size = 8
  | label9_size = 70
  | pos9 = top
  | coordinates9 = {{coord|33|17|S|149|06|E}}
| label10 = 
  | mark10 = Circle and its center.svg
  | mark10size = 88
  | coordinates10 = {{coord|33|52|S|151|12|E}}
}}

This, however, left open the question of where to locate the capital. In 1906 and after significant deliberations, New South Wales agreed to cede sufficient land on the condition that it was in the [[Yass, New South Wales|Yass]]-[[Canberra]] region,<ref name=":2" /> this site being closer to Sydney.<ref name="ausmap">{{cite web |url=https://www.ga.gov.au/products/servlet/controller?event=GEOCAT_DETAILS&catno=47987 |title=A4 Report Map of Australia |date=16 November 2009 |website=Geoscience Australia |access-date=19 February 2010}}</ref> Initially, [[Dalgety, New South Wales]] remained at the forefront, but Yass-Canberra prevailed after voting by federal representatives.<ref name=":4" /> The ''[[Seat of Government Act 1908]]'' was passed in 1908, which repealed the 1904 Act and specified a capital in the Yass-Canberra region.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item.asp?dID=110 |title=Seat of Government Act 1908 (Cth) |publisher=[[National Archives of Australia]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091017025122/http://foundingdocs.gov.au/item.asp?dID=110 |archive-date=17 October 2009 |url-status=dead |access-date=31 January 2010 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Government surveyor [[Charles Scrivener]] was deployed to the region in the same year to map out a specific site and, after an extensive search, settled upon the present location,<ref>{{Cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |last=Birtles |first=Terry G. |title=Charles Robert Scrivener (1855–1923) |id2=scrivener-charles-robert-8374 |year=1988 |volume=11 |access-date=2021-03-15}}</ref> basing the borders primarily on the need to secure a stable water supply for the planned capital.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/curious-canberra/2016-04-11/how-the-act-borders-were-determined/7304358 |title=How were the territory's boundaries determined? |last=Allen |first=Craig |work=ABC News |date=11 April 2016 |access-date=6 October 2022}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|+ Results of the 8 October 1908 House of Representatives ballot<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Sherrington|first=Geoffrey Edgar|date=June 1969|title=The selection of the Capital site in Federal politics, 1901–1909|url=https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/entities/publication/331f6c9b-8ff4-44f0-bfd4-b92478c3d655|doi=10.26190/unsworks/5356|type=Master Thesis|chapter=Chapter Four - the Third Parliament|pages=220–224|publisher=[[University of New South Wales]]|hdl=1959.4/57071 |access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref>
! rowspan=2| Site
! rowspan=2| {{small|Distance<br />from [[Sydney]]}}
! colspan=9| Ballot
|-
! width=35px| 1st !! width=35px| 2nd !! width=35px| 3rd !! width=35px| 4th !! width=35px| 5th !! width=35px| 6th !! width=35px| 7th !! width=35px| 8th !! width=35px| 9th
|-
| align=left| [[Dalgety, New South Wales|Dalgety]] || 452 km || bgcolor=#D0F0D0| '''27''' || bgcolor=#D0F0D0| '''26''' || bgcolor=#D0F0D0| '''28''' || bgcolor=#D0F0D0| '''28''' || bgcolor=#D0F0D0| '''27''' || bgcolor=#D0F0D0| '''27''' || bgcolor=#D0F0D0| '''24''' || 27 || 33
|-
| align=left| [[Yass, New South Wales|Yass]]-[[Canberra]] || 248 km || 19 || 22 || 23 || 21 || 22 || 22 || bgcolor=#D0F0D0| '''24''' || bgcolor=#D0F0D0| '''31''' || bgcolor=#D0F0D0| '''39'''
|-
| align=left| [[Tooma, New South Wales|Tooma]] || 514 km || 4 || 3 || 5 || 7 || 9 || 9 || 13 || 14
|-
| align=left| [[Lyndhurst, New South Wales|Lyndhurst]] || 269 km || 6 || 8 || 7 || 8 || 8 || 8 || 8
|-
| align=left| [[Armidale]] || 485 km || 7 || 5 || 5 || 5 || 5 || 5
|-
| align=left| [[Tumut]] || 411 km || 3 || 4 || 3 || 2 || 2
|-
| align=left| [[Canberra]] || 248 km || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1
|-
| align=left| [[Bombala, New South Wales|Bombala]] || 485 km || 1 || 1
|-
| align=left| [[Albury]] || 554 km || 2
|-
| align=left| [[Orange, New South Wales|Orange]] || 254 km || 2
|-
! colspan=2| Total !! 72 || 70 || 72 || 72 || 73 || 71 || 69 || 72 || 72
|-
| colspan=2| Abstention || 2 || 4 || 2 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 4 || 2 || 2
|-
| colspan=2| Absent || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1 || 1
|}

The territory was transferred to the Commonwealth by [[New South Wales]] on 1 January 1911, two years before the naming of Canberra as the national capital on 20 March 1913.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fitzgerald, Alan John. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/27587510 |title=Canberra in two centuries : a pictorial history |date=1987 |publisher=Clareville Press in association with the Limestone Plains Partnership |isbn=0-909278-02-4 |location=Torrens, A.C.T. |oclc=27587510}}</ref>

The Commonwealth gained control of all land within the borders of the new territory but ownership only of NSW Crown land, with significant parcels of extant freehold remaining in the hands of their pre-existing owners. Much of this was acquired during [[World War One]], though a few titles were not transferred until the late 20th Century.

Land within the territory is granted under a [[leasehold]] system, with [[99-year lease|99-year residential leases]] sold to buyers as new suburbs are planned, surveyed, and developed. The current policy is for these leases to be extended for another 99-year period on expiry, subject to payment of an administrative fee.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.planning.act.gov.au/leasing-and-titles/crown-leases/leasehold |title=Leasehold |website=Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate – Planning |access-date=26 July 2023 |archive-date=26 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726001305/https://www.planning.act.gov.au/leasing-and-titles/crown-leases/leasehold |url-status=dead }}</ref> In an arrangement inspired by [[Georgism]], the ideas of 19th-century American economist [[Henry George]], leaseholders had to pay 5% of the unimproved value of the underlying land in rent until the [[Gorton government]] abolished it in 1970.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/specials/curious-canberra/2016-07-04/can-people-own-land-in-the-act/7550166|title=Can people own land in the ACT?|publisher=ABC News|date=4 July 2016|accessdate=9 October 2021|first=Gordon|last=Taylor}}</ref>

=== Development throughout 20th century ===
[[Image:Naming of city of canberra capital hill 1913.jpg|thumb|alt=Five people on stone platform, from left: Man with mustache in military dress uniform and bushy tall black hat with chinstrap; man in military uniform with many medals and old fashioned naval officer's hat; man with white hair in suit with long dark coat and white collar; woman in Victorian dress with white hat; man with beard and wild hair in suit. Crowd and flags in background.|The ceremony for the naming of Canberra, 12&nbsp;March 1913. Prime Minister [[Andrew Fisher]] is standing, centre, in dark suit. To his right is the Governor-General, [[Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman|Lord Denman]], and to his left, [[Gertrude Denman, Baroness Denman|Lady Denman]].]]
In 1911, an international competition to design the future capital was held; it was won by the Chicago architect [[Walter Burley Griffin]] in 1912.<ref name=":3" /> The official naming of Canberra occurred on 12 March 1913 and construction began immediately.<ref name=":3" />

After Griffin's departure following difficulty in implementing his project,<ref name="act">{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalcapital.gov.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=136&Itemid=171 |title=History of the NCA |date=11 June 2009 |website=National Capital Authority |access-date=26 February 2010}}</ref> the [[Federal Capital Advisory Committee]] was established in 1920 to advise the government of the construction efforts.<ref name=":2" /> The committee had limited success meeting its goals. However, the chairman, [[John Sulman]], was instrumental in applying the ideas of the [[garden city movement]] to Griffin's plan. The committee was replaced in 1925 by the [[Federal Capital Commission]].<ref name=":2" />

In 1930, the ACT Advisory Council was established to advise the minister for territories on the community's concerns. In 1934, the [[Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory]] was established.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher=ACT Courts |title=ACT Supreme Court: About the Courts |date=16 December 2019 |url=https://courts.act.gov.au/supreme/about-the-courts |access-date=2020-06-18 |website=courts.act.gov.au |language=en}}</ref>

From 1938 to 1957, the [[National Capital Planning and Development Committee]] continued to plan the further expansion of Canberra. However, it did not have executive power, and decisions were made on the development of Canberra without consulting the committee.<ref name=":5" /> During this time, Prime Minister [[Robert Menzies]] regarded the state of the national capital as an embarrassment.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |title=Canberra 1954–1980 |last=Sparke |first=Eric |publisher=Australian Government Publishing Service |year=1988 |isbn=0-644-08060-4 |pages=30,170–180}}</ref>

After World War II, there was a shortage of housing and office space in Canberra.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Canberra 1913–1953 |last=Gibbney |first=Jim |publisher=Australian Government Publishing Service |year=1988 |isbn=0-644-08060-4 |pages=231–237}}</ref> A Senate Select Committee hearing was held in 1954 to address its development requirements. This Committee recommended the creation of a single planning body with executive power. Consequently, the [[National Capital Planning and Development Committee]] was replaced by the [[National Capital Development Commission]] in 1957.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Canberra's Engineering Heritage |last=Andrews |first=W.C. |publisher=Institution of Engineers Australia |year=1990 |isbn=0-85825-496-4 |pages=90}}</ref> The [[National Capital Development Commission]] ended four decades of disputes over the shape and design of [[Lake Burley Griffin]] and construction was completed in 1964 after four years of work. The completion of the centrepiece of Griffin's design finally laid the platform for the development of Griffin's [[Parliamentary Triangle, Canberra|Parliamentary Triangle]].<ref name=":6" />

=== Self-government ===
In 1978, an [[1978 Australian Capital Territory self-government referendum|advisory referendum was held]] to determine the views of citizens resident in the territory about whether there should be self-government. Just under 64 percent of voters rejected devolved government options, in favour of the status quo.<ref>{{cite web |last1=ACT Legislative Assembly |title=Establishing self-government in the ACT |url=https://www.parliament.act.gov.au/Explore-your-Assembly/resources/fact-sheets/self-government |access-date=30 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418023423/https://www.parliament.act.gov.au/Explore-your-Assembly/resources/fact-sheets/self-government |archive-date=18 April 2020 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Nevertheless, in 1988, the new federal minister for the territory [[Gary Punch]] received a report recommending the abolition of the [[National Capital Development Commission]] and the formation of a locally elected government. Punch recommended that the [[Bob Hawke|Hawke government]] accept the report's recommendations and subsequently [[Clyde Holding]] introduced legislation to grant self-government to the territory in October 1988.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Canberra: yesterday, today & tomorrow: a personal memoir |last=Overall |first=John |publisher=Federal Capital Press of Australia |year=1995 |isbn=0-9593910-6-1 |pages=128–129}}</ref>

The enactment on 6 December 1988 of the ''[[Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988]]'' established the framework for self-government.<ref name="ACT1988">{{cite web |url=http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item.asp?sdID=117 |title=Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 (Cth) |publisher=[[National Archives of Australia]] |access-date=21 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050716075342/http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item.asp?sdID=117 |archive-date=16 July 2005}}</ref> The [[1989 Australian Capital Territory election|first election]] for the 17-member [[Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly]] was held on 4 March 1989.<ref>{{cite web |title=Past ACT Legislative Assembly Elections |publisher=ACT Electoral Commission |url=http://www.elections.act.gov.au/elections_and_voting/past_act_legislative_assembly_elections |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110329041523/http://elections.act.gov.au/elections_and_voting/past_act_legislative_assembly_elections |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 March 2011 |access-date=29 January 2010 }}</ref>

The initial years of self-government were difficult and unstable.<ref name=anniv>{{cite web |title=Turbulent 20yrs of self-government |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/11/2566162.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513124128/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/11/2566162.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 May 2009 |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] |access-date=31 January 2010 |date=11 May 2009}}</ref> A majority of territory residents had opposed self-government and had it imposed upon them by the federal parliament. At the first election, 4 of the 17 seats were won by anti-self-government single-issue parties due to a protest vote by disgruntled Canberrans and a total of 8 were won by minor parties and independents.<ref name=anniv/>

In 1992, Labor won eight seats and the minor parties and independents won only three. Stability increased, and in 1995, [[Kate Carnell]] became the first elected Liberal chief minister. In 1998, Carnell became the first chief minister to be re-elected.