It was said by Albert Speer that moving the capital of a country out of the big city is a mistake. He understood that it reduced congestion, but felt that politicians and bureaucrats were just boring people and not being around the artists and achievers of the big city will leave the area a wasteland. He was talking in relation to Bonn in Germany but then pointed to Washington, Ottawa, and the subject of todays stamp Canberra, in Australia. Was he right? So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
Speers argument makes some sense when looking at this stamp. There is a home on the range aspect that is pretty strange on a picture of a then new Parliament Building. The building is done in the stripped neoclassic style that was common in the 1920s. Especially when the architect was American and had come from the Frank Lloyd Wright school of design. The stripping off of ornamentation and the strong sense of the spread out horizontal is right there to see. What is surprising is that in use the building proved quite cramped.
Todays stamp is issue A5, a 1 and a half penny stamp issued by the Commonwealth of Australia on May 9th, 1927. It was a single stamp issue that celebrated the completion of what is now the old Parliament building of Australia. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $1.10 used. An imperforate between them pair of this stamp is worth $11,000.
After Australia came together in 1901, there was a debate about what should be the capital. Provisionally it was Melbourne but others favored the larger Sydney. Eventually it was agreed to develop a new capital a hundred miles from Sydney, on an area of land ceded from New South Wales. This may sound familiar to the story of the American capital. Indeed the project was lead by Interior Secretary King O’Malley, who was an American expatriate who claimed Canadian birth to ease his entry into Australian politics. The design he picked to build was from another American Walter Burley Griffon. In another American frontier touch, he declared the capital area a dry, (no liquor) region. That sends shivers though this philatelist.
The city plan was not followed through on quickly due to the wars and lack of funds. In the 1950s they tried to redouble the efforts but by then Griffin had moved on to later work in India and the city resembled a strung out series of suburbs. Eventually a national Library, a University, and a few museums were strung together. A man made lake and a redwood forest that were part of the original plan are in place. The city has about 400,000 residents.
In 1988, a new Parliament house opened to coincide with further self rule. The House on the stamp still stands though over the years it was haphazardly added on to, losing the gardens. It currently houses the Museum of Australian Democracy.
Well my drink is empty and I am glad I am not stuck in a dry county. Come again for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.