Indigenous inhabitants Indigenous Australians have long inhabited the area. Evidence indicates habitation dating back at least 25,000 years, and it is possible that the area was inhabited for considerably longer. The principal group occupying the region were the
Ngunnawal people, with the
Ngarigo and
Walgalu living immediately to the south, the
Wandadian to the east, the
Gandangara to the north and the
Wiradjuri to the north-west.
European colonisation Following European settlement, the growth of the new colony of New South Wales led to an increasing demand for
arable land. 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. A second expedition was mounted shortly thereafter, and they became the first Europeans to camp at the
Molonglo (Ngambri) and
Queanbeyan (Jullergung) Rivers.
Early settlement 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. The gold rushes prompted the establishment of communication between Sydney and the region by way of the
Cobb & Co coaches, which transported mail and passengers. The first post offices opened in
Ginninderra in 1859 and at Lanyon in 1860. Section 125 of the
Australian Constitution thus provided that, following Federation in 1901, land would be ceded freely to the new
federal government. 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-
Canberra region, Initially,
Dalgety, New South Wales remained at the forefront, but Yass-Canberra prevailed after voting by federal representatives. 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, basing the borders primarily on the need to secure a stable water supply for the planned capital. 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. 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 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. 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.
Development throughout 20th century is standing, centre, in dark suit. To his right is the Governor-General,
Lord Denman, and to his left,
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. the
Federal Capital Advisory Committee was established in 1920 to advise the government of the construction efforts. 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. After World War II, there was a shortage of housing and office space in Canberra. 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. 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. 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
Hawke government accept the report's recommendations and subsequently
Clyde Holding introduced legislation to grant self-government to the territory in October 1988. The enactment on 6 December 1988 of the
Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 established the framework for self-government. The
first election for the 17-member
Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly was held on 4 March 1989. The initial years of self-government were difficult and unstable. 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. 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. ==Geography==