Commonwealth Park is in
Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, adjacent to the north side of
Lake Burley Griffin. Centrally located in the city, it is an important part of the urban landscape. The park has an area of 34.25 hectares, which includes a variety of natural and constructed spaces.
Various designers have been involved in the construction of the park including
Charles Weston,
Lindsay Pryor, Richard Clough and John Grey. The park in it current form was strongly influenced by a master plan created by British landscape designer,
Dame Sylvia Crowe in 1964.
The park has many small ponds and water features, walking trails, bike paths, sculptures and memorials. Located within the park is the outdoor ''Stage 88'', which often holds concerts. The park includes Regatta Point and has a view of the
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...
,
High Court, and
National Library
A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, ...
on the other side of the lake.
Kings Park is located adjacent to Commonwealth Park, along the lake to the east.
Commonwealth Park is the home of many events hosted in Canberra. Among them is
Floriade, an annual event that has been running since 1988.
History of the location
In 1874, Ebenezer Booth built himself a house on the
glebe
A glebe (, also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s)) is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved to the church. ...
of
St John the Baptist Church, within the present boundaries of the park, to the east of what is now Nerang Pool. Murray's store, considered the area's first retail store, operated from the house. It burnt down in 1923. A number of stunted pines and English elms remain on the spot.
In his original plan for the city, Walter Griffin included a recreation area to the north of the man-made lake. His final plan of 1918 included an "aquarium pond", now Nerang Pool. Modifications from Griffin's plan of 1911 came about following his actual visit to the site and in order to reduce the amount of earthworks needed. The recreation area in the earlier plan was more formal and included many public buildings.
Works of Art in the Park
Memorials in the Park
References
Further reading
External links
Australian Heritage Database listing for the Lake Burley Griffin Conservation AreaNational Library of Australia: picture of Sylvia Crowe and Richard Clough viewing the construction of Nerang Pool, Commonwealth Gardens in 1977
* ttp://www.aila.org.au/actawards/floriade.htm Australian Institute of Landscape Architects: Award for Floriade in Commonwealth Parkbr>''Sylvia Crowe - Influence and Work in Australia'' by Richard Clough and Margaret Hendry
{{Canberra landmarks
Parks in Canberra