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The Australian
Capital Territory (ACT) is the
capital territory of the Commonwealth
of Australia and its smallest
self-governing territory. It is
an inland enclave in New South
Wales, situated in bushland.
The ACT was conceived during
the federation conventions of
the late 1800s as neutral location
for a new National Capital. The
Australian Constitution provided
that following Federation in 1901,
land would be ceded to the new
Federal Government. The Territory
was transferred to the Commonwealth
by the state of New South Wales
in 1911, and construction of the
capital, Canberra, began in 1913.
The floral emblem of the ACT
is the Royal Bluebell and the
faunal emblem is the Gang-gang
cockatoo.
Before European settlement the
area now known as the ACT was
inhabited by three Aboriginal
tribes: the Ngunnawal, Walgalu,
and Ngarigo.
White exploration and settlement
did not occur until the 1820s.
From 1824 onwards, settlements
and homesteads, and ultimately
some small townships such as Hall
and Tharwa, were established in
the area.
One homestead of special historical
interest was Lambrigg, near Tharwa.
This was the place in which William
Farrer developed the rust-resistant
Federation wheat strain that had
a major beneficial effect on Australia's
wheat industry. Farrer died at
Lambrigg in 1906.
When the constitution for the
Commonwealth of Australia was
being negotiated between the colonies,
a point of contention between
the colonies was the location
of the national capital, with
both Melbourne and Sydney claiming
the right to be the capital. A
compromise was reached whereby
a separate capital city would
be created in New South Wales,
provided it was no closer than
100 miles to Sydney. Until such
time as the new city was established,
Melbourne was to be the temporary
capital of Australia.
The present site was chosen in
1908[1], with additional territory
at Jervis Bay (now a naval base
on the NSW coast) allocated so
the national capital could have
a seaport. In 1909 New South Wales
transferred the land for the territory
to federal control and in 1910
an act of parliament created the
legal framework for the territory[2][3].
The Minister for Home Affairs,
King O'Malley, who had charge
of the legislation creating the
ACT, also proposed a bill making
the ACT an alcohol-free area.
With his strong support, the bill
became law later that year. O'Malley
also pushed for a form of land
tenure that restricted land holders
to leasehold, rather than freehold,
on the basis that this would stop
land speculation and give the
national government, as the lessor,
more control over development.
This too was adopted by the national
Parliament. As of 2006 all land
in the ACT is held on 99 year
crown leases.
In 1911 an international design
competition was held, which was
won by Walter Burley Griffin.
The official naming of Canberra
and its official construction
began on March 12, 1913.
The seat of the Federal Government
officially moved to the ACT from
Melbourne on the formal opening
of the Provisional Parliament
House on 9 May 1927. Among the
first acts passed by the parliament
in its new location was the repealing
of the prohibition laws. At first
the public service continued to
be based in Melbourne, but the
various departments were gradually
moved to Canberra over many years.
The territory was initially known
as the Federal Capital Territory
(FCT). In 1938, the territory
was formally named the Australian
Capital Territory.
In a 1978 referendum, Canberrans
rejected self-government by 63%
of the vote [4]. Despite this,
in December 1988, the ACT was
granted full self-government through
an Act of the Commonwealth Parliament
that made the ACT a body politic
under the crown[5]. Following
the first elections in February
1989, a 17-member Legislative
Assembly sat at its offices in
London Circuit, Civic, on May
11, 1989. The Australian Labor
Party formed the ACT's first government,
led by the Chief Minister Rosemary
Follett, who made history as Australia's
first female head of government.
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