Life Down Under (Part 12): Canberra's Flora and History

- September 17-19, 2022, Saturday to Monday.

- Canberra might be tamer than other major cities in Australia, but I was glad that I went to Canberra at the perfect time! I found out that after a two-year hiatus, the city would once again be holding the annual Floriade. The Floriade is a spring festival celebration that mixes amusement park rides, shopping, food, live shows, and of course, endless flowers (particularly tulips.)

Welcome to this year's Floriade!

Kangaroo statues pretending to drink water from the lake.

So many flowers.

- The Floriade began in 1988 as a celebration of Canberra's 75th founding anniversary. It is held in Commonwealth Parks. The Floriade's concept was based on the Keukenhof in the Netherlands. That's the popular garden with rows and rows of different colorful tulips. I wasn't able to visit during my trip to the Netherlands as it is only open for a specific time during the year (but not when I went), so I guess this was a good alternative to the Keukenhof. 

SO. MANY. TULIPS.

I'm so glad my shirt matches the whole Floriade.

Again, more tulips.

There was a Filipino stall at the Floriade; 'bout time I had a proper longganisa meal!

I also miss playing the piano. I've been too too busy.

- Also within the vicinity of Commonwealth Parks is the National Capital Exhibition. Opened in 2018, this small museum narrates the story of Canberra. It also has a stunning view of Lake Burley Griffin and the Captain Cook Memorial water jet.

National Capital Exhibition, at the Regatta.

It was a rather small place.

A very detailed model of Canberra.

There was a special exhibit about Queen Elizabeth II, because of her passing.

The water jet from the museum.

So many Queen Elizabeths.

- I spent the rest of the afternoon at the mall since it was too late to go anywhere else. I had a good rest that night too.

- The following day, I rode an Uber to the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG). While it was conceptualized in the 1930s, it was only completed in 1970. Like many botanical gardens across Australia, the ANBG is separated into distinct ecological sections. My favorite section was the Red Centre Garden as it shows the distinct desert landscape of Australia.

Colorful bird.

Note: that's not a real lizard. I am also not a lizard.

"I hate this part right here." - Pussycat Dolls. (If you know how the video looks like, you get the reference.)

Now with the Telstra Tower at the back.

Hidden in plain sight. (These are long blades of grass commonly found in deserts.)

More colorful birds!!

- I late rode an Uber to the National Museum of Australia, which was established in 1980 but only had its permanent building in 2001. It was supposed to have a big collection of many artifacts and memorabilia, but for some reason I did not feel that it was "big." Perhaps I was just used to national museums that had endless halls with a wide(r) variety of things to see. However, it was still nice to learn more about Australia through the museum.

National Museum.

Lobby.

The car Queen Elizabeth II used during her visit to Australia during her first royal tour to Australia in 1954.

Giant windmill (but this isn't even the whole windmill, just the top part!) This was used to help provide water to the city.

Aboriginal art.

Breast plates, used by Australians to label law-abiding aborigines, aboriginal chiefs, or other people worthy of some honor.

Manchurian-Chinese attire, from some of the early migrants to Australia.

The sunshine harvester - the most advanced grain harvester of the early 1900s.

- From the museum, I rode yet another Uber to the Blundells Cottage. The Blundells Cottage was actually built in the 1850s and was originally resided by the Ginn family before the house was rented to the Blundell family. The Blundell family lived in the farm house for around 60 years. After the Blundell patriarch, George Blundell, passed away, the house was rented to the Oldfield family until 1958. Instead of demolishing the house, the house was instead turned into the house-museum that it is today.

Blundells Cottage.

Old instruments.

Mid-century.

Probably from the early 1900s.

- I had lunch after my visit to the museum, before visiting the Saint John's Anglican Church and the Saint John's Schoolhouse Museum. Both were built in the 1840s. More significant than the church, at least for me, is the schoolhouse. It was Canberra's first school. The house attached to the school was the residence of the headmaster (and all-around teacher) and his family.

Saint John's Anglican Church.

View of the church organ.

Church facade.

Schoolhouse.

Ready for face to face classes!!

I laughed when I saw the "dunce" cap.

Headmaster/teacher.

I was told that needlework was taught by the women of the community, although they were not always compensated for their lessons.

House part of the schoolhouse.

- Canberra might not be everyone's cup of coffee, but I definitely had an interesting visit. It might be a bit quieter than other bustling Australian cities, but visiting Canberra can be a good learning experience!

Bonus 1: By the way, I saw this plane inside the airport on the way back to Melbourne!

It was a nice goodbye surprise by Canberra!

Bonus 2: Upon arriving in Melbourne, this was my welcome-back surprise at the tram!

See the grandma and her larger than life hair!