附圖是堪培拉的地標澳大利亞國會（Canberra Parliament House），1988年五月九日英女王伊麗莎白二世親自為它主持揭幕啟用儀式。這個建築以及周邊建設總耗資11億澳元，是澳大利亞歷史上建造費最昂貴的建築物。
城市歷史
堪培拉是個年輕的城市，早在100多年前，這裏還是澳大利亞阿爾卑斯山麓的壹片不毛之地，1820年被人發現，此後有移民來建牧場，到1840年發展成壹個小鎮。1901年，澳大利亞聯邦政府成立以後，為定都問題，悉尼和墨爾本兩大城市爭執不下，壹直爭了八九年，直到1911年，聯邦政府通過決議，在兩個城市之間，選壹個風調雨順、有山有水的地方建立新首都，於是選了這塊距悉尼238公裏，距墨爾本507公裏的空地。這就是堪培拉的雛形。
1912年，聯邦政府主持了壹次世界範圍內的城市設計比賽，壹年之後，國會從送來的137個版本中，選中了美國著名風景設計師、36歲的芝加哥人沃爾特·伯裏·格裏芬（Walter Burley Griffin）的方案。這位設計師描繪的堪培拉街道圖是他和他的妻子（也是壹位建築師）***同畫在壹塊棉布上的，這份珍貴的原作至今仍保留在澳大利亞國家檔案館。建設中間，經過了因第壹次世界大戰的停頓，***用了14年，於1927年建成，並遷都於此。後來，又為確定新首都的名字商討了好長時間，最終選擇了當地居民的傳統名稱--堪培拉，意思是"匯合之地"，民眾又叫做"聚會的地方"。
Canberra is a picturesque（風景如畫的）20th-century concoction on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin（貝裏哥裏芬湖）that has struggled to establish itself as the focus of Australia's national identity. It has often been perceived as a 'fat cat'（有權有勢的）town of politicians and bureaucrats living off the rest of the country.
english9>However, you'll only have to step outside the Parliamentary Triangle to realise that there's more to Canberra than machinations（密謀）and money. One of only two artificially-conceived cities in the world, Canberra is eerily symmetrical, surprisingly workable and endlessly intriguing.
english9>Autumn in Canberra is quite simply gorgeous. The days are sunny and crisp, the trees are changing and everything looks lovely. Winter is really cold. Spring is much wetter and windier, though the very popular Floriade festival（花卉節）brightens things up.
english9>Canberra was first settled by Europeans in 1824, when Joshua Moore bought the first land grant（政府贈予地）in the area, at the foot of Black Mountain. By 1845 a town had grown up in the shadow of the mountain, with the newly built St John's Church and the nearby school at its centre.
english9>The establishing of a national capital and surrounding Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was one of the tenets（原則）of the constitution created when the colonies were federated into Australian states in 1901. The site was selected in 1908 - diplomatically situated between arch rivals（主要競爭對手）Sydney and Melbourne. Canberra was named in 1913, from an Aboriginal term believed to mean 'meeting place', and an international competition to design the city was won by the American architect Walter Burley Griffin. Development of the site was slow and although parliament was first convened in the capital in 1927, it was not until after the World War Two that the dream of a national capital began to reach fruition（實現）.
english9>In 1957 the Menzies（孟席斯，羅伯特·戈登，1894-1978澳大利亞政治家，曾兩度任職總理）Government created the National Capital Development Commission, to establish Canberra as the seat of government and generally spruce（打扮、裝飾）the place up a bit. Over the next 20 years it was full steam ahead - bridges were built over a hypothetical lake, then a year later the lake followed; the Mint, the National Library, the Botanic Gardens and the Carillon sprang up; the civic centre was packed full of offices, shops and theatres. Throughout the 60s the public service became Canberra's major industry, with departments shifting to the capital from all over the country, bringing with them hordes of happy families in search of a quarter-acre block to call their own. In line with its reputation as a planned city, Canberra's growth was less than organic - rather than filling in the city centre and letting suburbs sprawl around it, the NCDC oversaw the setting up of 'satellite towns' to the north and south. Woden, to the south, was set up first, then Belconnen to the north. In the 70s they were followed by Tuggeranong, and in the 80s Gunghalin.
english9>Since Federation the ACT had been under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, with no local government of its own. In a 1978 referendum（公民投票）Canberrans had voted no to self-government, but despite this in 1988 the Federal Government passed four bills to make the Territory self-governing and in 1989 the first Legislative Assembly was elected.