The National Capital Authority (NCA) is a

statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example reg ...

of the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

that was established to manage the Commonwealth's interest in the planning and development of

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 ...

as the capital city of

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 ...

. Timeline of the NCA and preceding bodies: * 1921–1924: Federal Capital Advisory Committee (FCAC) * 1925–1930: Federal Capital Commission (FCC) * 1930–1938: No body in existence * 1938–1957: National Capital Planning and Development Committee (NCPDC) * 1958–1989: National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) * 1989–present: National Capital Authority (NCA)

1921–1924: Federal Capital Advisory Committee (FCAC)

The FCAC oversaw the construction of Canberra from 1921 to 1924 following the termination of the contract of architect

Walter Burley Griffin Walter Burley Griffin (November 24, 1876February 11, 1937) was an American architect and landscape architect. He designed Canberra, Australia's capital city, the New South Wales towns of Griffith, New South Wales, Griffith and Leeton, New So ...

. The Committee was chaired by Australian architect Sir John Sulman, and advised the Minister of Home Affairs on the Construction of Canberra and conducted a review of the Griffin Plan. The Committee proposed that development should take place in three stages: * Stage one, which was to take three years, would see the transfer of Parliament and key administrative staff moved from Melbourne to Canberra. * Stage two, also to take three years, would include the construction of railways in addition to other key buildings * Stage three would create character and permanence in the capital. The Committee was largely unsuccessful in achieving its aims, for example Parliament did not move to Canberra until 1927, and no permanent rail connection between

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Canberra and

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

was ever completed. However Sulman was instrumental in developing the garden city aspects of Canberra, he declared that the development of Canberra should take the form of 'a garden town, with simple, pleasing, but unpretentious buildings'. In 1924 the Committee was abolished due to the slow pace of development, it was replaced by the more successful Federal Capital Commission in 1925.

1925–1930: Federal Capital Commission (FCC)

The FCC was formed to construct and administer Canberra from 1 January 1925. The Chief Commissioner of the body was Sir John Butters. The FCC was to prepare Canberra for the arrival of 1,100 civil servants and their families. During the first 2 years of FCC operation Parliament House, The Lodge, the Albert Hall, the Institute of Anatomy, the Australian School of Forestry and an observatory on Mount Stromlo were completed. The FCC also oversaw construction of the Sydney and Melbourne commercial buildings in the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and significant residential development. The FCC was disbanded on 1 May 1930 following the start of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

in 1929. Development after this point was not centrally planned until the establishment of the National Capital Planning and Development Committee in 1938.

Federal Capital Architectural Style

Federal Capital Commission architects designed houses in the new city and public buildings using a mixture of elements from the

Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

and Georgian styles. The result is known as the FCC style and is unique to Canberra. FCC style houses can be found in the suburbs of Barton, Braddon,

Forrest Forrest may refer to: Places Australia *Forrest, Australian Capital Territory *Forrest, Victoria, a small rural township *Division of Forrest, a federal division of the Australian House of Representatives, in Western Australia *Electoral distric ...

and Reid. Sir John Sulman began the development of Federal Capital Architecture. Before emigrating to Australia in 1885, he had been a friend of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

and active in the Arts and Crafts movement. Other than Sulman's leadership, the influences on the architects employed by the Federal Capital Authority and Commission were reflecting the thinking after the peak of the nationalistic Australian Federation style and looking to America for inspiration and seeking to practically respond to the Australian climate. By the time Canberra was being built, the popularity of the uniquely Australian Federation style architecture was waning. The architect William Hardy Wilson led the reaction against the ornateness of the Federation style and advocated adopting approaches from the United States. When Leslie Wilkinson arrived in Australia in 1918 to take up his position as the first Professor of Architecture at an Australian university, he reinforced Wilson's view and advocated building appropriately for the climate, suggesting the Spanish Mission style of architecture in California and Mexico as being an appropriate style for Australia. When

arrived in 1913, there was interest in the Prairie Style of mid-western America with which Griffin was associated. The Classical revival style was popular in America, reflected in

Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorporated Renaissance and ...

. There was also interest in

Classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

by English architects, including

Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...

, who was responsible for many of the public buildings in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

built from 1912 to 1929 in the wake of the decision to replace Calcutta as the seat of the British Indian government.

Examples of FCC style

Image:Old Parliament House.jpg, Provisional Parliament House Image:Hotel Canberra.JPG, Hotel Canberra Image:Calthorpes House.jpg, Calthorpes' House Image:AlbertHallMildenhall.jpg, Albert Hall Image:CapitolTheatreManukapic583Alb827.jpg, Capitol Theatre, Manuka Image:ManukaPoolNLApic583alb827.jpg, Manuka Pool File:Telopea park school-NLA01.jpg, Telopea Park school File:ANU School of Art.jpg, Former Canberra High School (now the ANU School of Art) Image:SydneyAndMelbourneBuildingsCivic1929.jpg, Sydney and Melbourne buildings, Civic

1938–1957: National Capital Planning and Development Committee (NCPDC)

The NCPDC was formed in 1938 to oversee the development of Canberra. The NCPDC was to advise the Minister of the Interior to safeguard the Griffin plan and maintain high aesthetic and architectural standards worthy of a National Capital. The Committee had no executive power, and was unable to direct development of the Capital. Dissatisfied with progress, the government established a Senate Select Committee in 1954 to inquire into Canberra's development. In 1958 it was replaced by the well funded and authoritative National Capital Development Commission.

1958–1989: National Capital Development Commission (NCDC)

The NCDC was created to complete the establishment of Canberra as the seat of government. It was created in 1957 through the ''National Capital Development Commission Act 1957''. Under the control of the NCDC Canberra grew from a population of 40,000 to 300,000. The NCDC was responsible for the development of Canberra's satellite cities; Woden Valley,

Belconnen Belconnen () is a Lands administrative divisions of Australia#Australian Capital Territory, district in the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. The district is subdivided into 27 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. As at the , the ...

, Tuggeranong and

Gungahlin Gungahlin () is a Lands administrative divisions of Australia#Australian Capital Territory, district in the Australian Capital Territory, one of the fastest growing regions in Australia. The district is subdivided into suburbs, sections and blo ...

. The NCDC also oversaw construction of Lake Burley Griffin and New Parliament House. The NCDC had four Commissioners: * Sir John Overall, Commissioner, 1958–1972 * W.C. Andrews, Commissioner, 1972–1974 * Tony Powell, Commissioner, 1974–1985 * Malcolm Latham, Commissioner, 1985–1989 The NCDC was advised by the National Capital Planning Committee which was chaired by the NCDC Commissioner and composed of six nominated representatives of the

Royal Australian Institute of Architects The Australian Institute of Architects, officially the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (abbreviated as RAIA), is Australia's professional body for architects. Its members use the post-nominals FRAIA (Fellow), ARAIA (Associate Member) an ...

, the Institution of Engineers, Australia and the Royal Australian Planning Institute plus two other members with special knowledge and experience in cultural matters. The NCDC was abolished after the ''

Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 The ''Australian Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988'' is an Act of the Parliament of Australia enacted on 6 December 1988, that establishes "a body politic under the Crown by the name of the Australian Capital Territory" and is the co ...

'', and most of its functions passed to the new ACT government and the National Capital Authority.

1989–present: National Capital Authority (NCA)

The National Capital Authority was established in 1989 when the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

was granted self-government. The Authority consists of a Chairperson and four other members, all members are appointed on the advice of the Australian Government. Under the '' Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988'', the NCA has the authority to prepare and administer a National Capital Plan.

References

*National Capital Authority
– 1924: Federal Capital Advisory Committee 1921 – 1924 Federal Capital Advisory Committee
*National Capital Authority
– 1924: Federal Capital Advisory Committee 1925 – 1930 Federal Capital Commission
*National Capital Authority
– 1957: National Capital Planning and Development Committee 1938 – 1957 National Capital Planning and Development Committee
*National Archives of Australi
Documenting a Democracy – National Capital Development Commission Act 1957
*National Capital Authority
– 1989: National Capital Development Commission and the National Capital Planning Committee 1958 – 1989 National Capital Development Commission
*National Capital Authority
– Present Day: National Capital Authority 1989 – Present Day: National Capital Authority

External links

National Capital Authority
{{Authority control Organisations based in Canberra Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia History of the Australian Capital Territory de:Federal Capital Advisory Committee de:Federal Capital Commission de:National Capital Development Commission de:National Capital Planning and Development Committee