Forgotten town


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Published: December 29th 2006
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The drive to Canberra was the longest of this road trip, taking me almost 500km south. This part of the world is peppered with corking place names and I saw signs to the towns of Orange, Wee Jasper, Wombat, and Murrumbateman.

I stopped at Cowra, site of a Japanese PoW camp during World War 2 from which nearly 400 prisoners had staged a break-out. The escape and ensuing round-up left more than half of them dead. They were buried in Cowra and their graves were tended by the local Returned Servicemen's League, a gesture that resulted in an official Japanese War Cemetery being built in the town and subsequently a memorial garden, paid for by the governments and various companies of both countries. I visited the garden and found it to be peaceful and easy on the eye, although somewhat greener than gardens I'd seen in Japan. However it was baking hot (~35C), so even sitting in the shade was uncomfortable.

Since my guidebook was written, a game of Musical Hostels had taken place in Canberra resulting in the YHA moving from its "quiet bush setting" north of the city to "a parking nightmare" in the centre. I only discovered this when, on arriving at the address of the YHA, the only thing I could see was a YMCA, and the chap who answered the doorbell explained what had happened. The new location of the YHA did indeed pose something of a parking issue, but I got lucky by finding a nearby carpark that the reception staff didn't even know of that was free after 5:30PM and at weekends, my luck being that I arrived late Friday afternoon.

Canberra is in the unenviable position of being capital of Australia, yet probably only the 4th or 5th city that people would name if asked to list all the Australian cities they know. This is no doubt due to the fact that it was created artificially rather than via organic growth, a compromise location decided upon after Australia had become a commonwealth of states - choosing either of the existing rival options of Sydney or Melbourne would have been politically disruptive. A chunk of New South Wales was set aside as Australian Capital Territory (ACT) to contain the new capital, together with a separate slice of land on the coast at Jervis Bay to be the ocean access for the territory. Even today only about 300,000 people live in and around Canberra so it has in no way acted like a people magnet in the way that London, Paris, and Tokyo, for example, have.

Despite the sizzling temperatures, I enjoyed Canberra so much that I extended my stay to 2 nights. The place was lacking the impersonal nature I'd found in the big cities here (or in any country) and I didn't sense the inhabitants were in any great rush. It helped that one of my dorm mates was a Manhattanite who'd quit his job to go travelling for a while.

I saw a lot of parallels between Canberra and Washington DC, the latter of which has a similar relationship to New York as Canberra does to Sydney (sorry Melbourne ...) Both capitals have wide open spaces, broad streets, and a high concentration of government buildings as well as cultural ones. Even the layout of both has similiarities, with the Mall in Washington linking the Capitol and Lincoln Memorial, and in Canberra ANZAC Parade and a notional extrapolation connecting New Parliament House with the Australian War Memorial.

The war memorial is situated at the north end of ANZAC Parade, which itself has memorials dedicated to the various wars that Australia has taken part in. The main building contains the Hall of Memory, built in Byzantine style on a rise to represent Gallipoli, site of the disastrous ANZAC invasion of Turkey in World War 1 that simultaneously heralded Australia's debut on the world stage and claimed the lives of 11,000 Australian and New Zealand men. The hall contains some beautiful mosaic work and stained glass windows, overlooking the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. In front of the hall is a pool containing a burning flame, flanked by a series of panels bearing the names of the fallen in conflicts through the years. Poppies have been stuck into the gaps between the panels, giving some colour to the relentless list of the dead.

Part of the memorial is a comprehensive museum containing exhibits such as an in-depth look at the Gallipoli campaign, a display of all Australian Victoria Cross holders together with abridged citations, and a moving section on the effects of war on those that survive it - the wounded, the soldiers whose comrades died, the families whose father or son never came home. The museum also found room for a Lancaster bomber, a Messerschmitt 109, a Zero, a Mark V tank, and a Japanese midget submarine, amongst other hardware.

Lake Burley Griffin, named after the American architect who designed Canberra, splits the city into northern and southern parts, connected by Commonwealth Avenue. The north contains the main civic centre whereas the south contains virtually all the political and cultural institutions. In the lake itself can be found the Captain Cook Memorial Jet, a fountain shooting water 140m into the air.

I was lucky that the National Gallery was showing a special exhibition of Egyptian antiquities from the Louvre. Though the pieces were generally not from the tombs of any of the more famous personalities in Egyptian history, they were in superb condition, with the highlight being a grey stone sarcophagus from the 2nd century BC that bore detailed inscriptions that could have been carved yesterday. The normal exhibitions were of interest too, in particular some of Sidney Nolan's "Ned Kelly" series of paintings, and the Sculpture Garden, where at every turn you were confronted by large-scale pieces of art lurking in the forest.

I also paid a visit to the New Parliament House, built into the side of Capitol Hill. It was possible to access almost everywhere within it, though security procedures on a par with getting on an international flight were in force. I wouldn't claim to be an expert on the Australian political system, but their 2 chambers (the House of Representatives and the Senate) are set up so that the former is based on representation per equally-sized voting area, whereas the latter has equal representation from each state regardless of population (with Northern Territory and ACT having fewer representatives). I think the purpose of this is to ensure that both state and individual concerns are taken into account when formulating, legalising, and executing policy, but I suspect there are many books out there containing the truth of the matter rather than my guesses.

My final sightseeing in Canberra was to tour the diplomatic district. Countries had been encouraged to build their embassies/high commissions in their native style, and nations like Papua New Guinea and China clearly didn't need to be asked twice. I also passed a couple of 1 man protests, one outside the Chinese Embassy taking aim at human organ trafficking and the treatment of Falun Gong, and one near the US Embassy criticising the Iraq war. The second chap was strolling around with a piece of cardboard bearing an anti-war slogan, which he brandished at all passing drivers.

I then headed east, for an appointment with glow worms.


Additional photos below
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Star fishStar fish
Star fish

Japanese garden at Cowra
Lion from Menin GateLion from Menin Gate
Lion from Menin Gate

Given by the Belgian government
Roll of honourRoll of honour
Roll of honour

Another one of the clan


4th March 2007

Caricato Gaetano
My father, Gaetano Caricato born 10.04.14 in Italy/ Foggia was an prison in the 2 ww in cowra. He worked at the farm. During 1941 - 1946 he was in cowra. He produced 2 children. There are my half brother and sister. I can not found there. Who can help me ??? — Caricato Massimo, Cologne - Germany contact: massimo.caricato@freenet.de

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