{"id":346,"date":"2013-01-19T05:23:59","date_gmt":"2013-01-18T21:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.joel.net.au\/?p=346"},"modified":"2026-06-30T20:20:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T12:20:32","slug":"canberra-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/day.lat\/lon\/2013\/01\/19\/canberra-act\/","title":{"rendered":"The Capitol in The Capital"},"content":{"rendered":"

So cruising down the road, I’ve come over a hill to suddenly recognise a place! Why, it’s Canberra. Capital of Australia. And my car thermometer says it’s hovering around 40\u00baC outside. I’ve always been interested in visiting Canberra because I’ve always really liked Washington, DC, and Canberra seems to have been modelled on Washington. Not knowing the place at all, I just cruised down towards the parliament building to see it in person. I noticed a large exit ramp for the parliament building and immediately thought to myself, “I’d better not go up there, or I will get in trouble with security.” Needing lunch, I found my way back to a big park next to a big river for a bit of a picnic. While having my lunch, I had a quick squiz through my Lonely Planet guide to see what there was to do here. Lo and Behold, there were lots of free things you could do, including visiting Parliament and lots of museums — just like Washington DC.<\/p>\n

\"Parliament
Parliament House, Canberra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I immediately went to check out the Parliament because it does seem to dominate so much of the news in Australia. I was able to park my car for free under the building, catch an elevator up to the main floor, and pretty much tour the building on my own. I did tag along on a free tour as well, but I found the free access to be quite boggling. We had to go through airport-style security, and they did a pat-down search for explosives, but after that, I was free to roam. Mind you, there isn’t too much going on there at the moment with everyone away on summer vacation, but still… I was able to walk into the House of Representatives room and the Senate to take pictures.<\/p>\n

\"Old
Old Parliament House, as seen from the new Parliament House, Canberra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The House of Representatives, Parliament House, Canberra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The Senate, Parliament House, Canberra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Parliament
Parliament House, Canberra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Old
Old Parliament House, with the Australian War Memorial in the background, Canberra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Exploring Australia’s Parliament Building<\/strong>
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