Nearly at journey's end

Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th December. In 1901 the six colonies of Australia decided to form a nation, and after much bickering Canberra was built between Sydney and Melbourne, 2000 feet above sea level and surrounded by mountains. An American architect, called Walter Burley Griffin was hired to design the new city which today is home to 300,000 people, mainly diplomats, politicians, and civil servants. (Those people that ‘are far removed from the soil’ as the farmers in Dubbo and Greenethorpe noted with some feeling!)

We made the most of our day and a half in the city visiting the Australian War Memorial which was built between 1925 and 1941 as a tribute to those who died in World War 1. It also houses Australia’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Australia has always supported Britain during time of conflict, even though they have only been directly attacked once when the Japanese bombed Darwin during the WW2. We found the whole visit moving especially the hall which individually described the courage and sacrifice of the Victoria Cross recipients. An Australian SAS soldier was the last to receive that ultimate recognition of courage during the recent and ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.

We also spent some time in the National Portrait Gallery, and also the National Gallery which had a comprehensive collection of Aboriginal Art. The Aborigines fate is of grave concern to modern Australia, and the Government is still striving to find the best way to involve and preserve an ancient culture which has been severely victimised in the past.

We flew from a quiet sedate Canberra, to a vibrant and busy Sydney for our final flight home to London via Dubai.