Walter Burley Griffin was the original designer of Canberra. He won the Federal Capital Design Competition, launched by King O’Malley, Minister for Home Affairs, in May 1911.
Burley Griffin had developed in a professional environment of radical European and North American architects. He was greatly influenced by the City Beautiful and Garden City movements which dominated town planning in the late 19th and early 20th century. Scholars have also detected a strong classical influence permeating Burley Griffin’s design of Canberra.
Burley Griffin’s wife, Marion Mahony Griffin, also an architect, collaborated with him on the design competition entry, and is known to have prepared the design drawings that accompanied the Burley Griffin entry.
The design for Canberra
Burley Griffin (entrant 29) was one of 137 entrants in the Federal Capital Design Competition. His original design drawings (on cotton cloth) as well as those of three other entrants noted by the judges – D Alf Agache (rated third); Griffiths Coulter and Caswell, an Australian firm (rated first in a minority report of the chairman); and Eliel Saarinen (rated second) – are held by the Archives in record series A710. Photographic copies of some of the other unsuccessful competition entries received are also held in series A763.
Director of Design and Construction
King O’Malley, as Minister, appointed a Departmental Board to oversee construction of the National Capital, based on the winning design. Disapproving of adaptations made to his design, Burley Griffin lobbied for his engagement to personally oversee construction. He was appointed Federal Capital Director of Design and Construction in October 1913 and the Departmental Board disbanded.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, which first met in 1915, had regular references to examine aspects of the early construction of Canberra, and Burley Griffin frequently appeared as a witness. Committee reports and transcripts of evidence of hearings for the 1915–20 period are in the bound volumes of Parliamentary Papers. A typed transcript of evidence given by Burley Griffin to the Committee hearings on Grading and Survey of Canberra Streets (which is
annotated, probably in his hand) is held by the Archives in series AA1964/71.
Opposition to Burley Griffin
Burley Griffin’s position as Director of Design and Construction was challenged by his critics. Accusations of poor administration and delays in construction led to the Royal Commission on the Federal Capital Territory. The Royal Commission, which reported in February 1917, confirmed Burley Griffin’s appointment.
With the decline in wartime spending, work on the capital slowed. Burley Griffin’s contract was due to expire in December 1919, however it was extended monthly until December 1920. Changes in government administration led to the establishment of the Federal Capital Advisory Committee, from which Burley Griffin was excluded because he rejected the conditions of appointment.
Records held in Canberra
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series number |
|---|---|---|
| Drawings submitted in the Federal Capital Design Competition | 1912 | A710 |
| Photographic copies of unsuccessful designs submitted in the Federal Capital Design Competition | 1912 | A763 |
| Design of the lay-out of the Federal Capital City of Australia as projected by the Departmental Board | 1912 | A767 |
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series, item number |
|---|---|---|
| Proposed appointment of Commission to control the Federal Capital Territory | 1910–51 | CP487/6, 10 |
| Agreement between Minister of State for Home Affairs and Walter Burley Griffin | 1913 | A110, FC1913/2427 |
| Walter Burley Griffin – letter dated January 1913 re his plan | 1913–16 | A110, FC1916/186 |
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series number |
|---|---|---|
| Walter Burley Griffin's plan of an arboretum | 1915 | AA1966/33 |
| Plan of city and environs | 1918 | A9332 |
| Contour map of Canberra, dated and signed by Burley Griffin | 1919 | AA1964/66 |
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series number |
|---|---|---|
| Correspondence files, Federal Capital series | 1910–17 | A110 |
| Correspondence files, Federal Capital Office | 1913–17 | A214 |
| Correspondence files, administrative works | 1915–16 | A784 |
| Correspondence files, Federal Capital Office, first system | 1916–17 | A791 |
| Correspondence files, Federal Capital Office, second system | 1917–21 | A792 |
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series, item number |
|---|---|---|
| Typed Transcript of Evidence given at Committee hearing on Grading and Survey of Canberra Streets | 1916 | AA1964/71 |
| Correspondence files and other papers of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works | 1915–62 | A11960 |
| Canberra streets – grading and survey | 1915–16 | A11960, 1916/263 |
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series, item number |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Commission on Federal Capital Territory | 1902–17 | A1, 1917/13695 |
| Federal Capital Administration – report of Royal Commission | 1917–20 | A192, FCL1922/736 |
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series, item number |
|---|---|---|
| Correspondence with Walter Burley Griffin in regard to his position on the Federal Capital Advisory Commission | 1918–21 | A199, FC1921/76 |
| Walter Burley Griffin – agreement with Australian Government | 1920 | A6006, 1920/12/31 |