LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN AND ADJACENT LANDS CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY AESTHETIC VALUES
TECHNICAL REPORT
1. Introduction
This report has been prepared by Context Pty Ltd. It details the method and results of a
social and community aesthetic values assessment of Lake Burley Griffin and adjacent
lands (the study area). It brings together a range of primary data (quantitative and
qualitative), gathered through a variety of techniques as part of the research process and
other secondary material. It is intended as a supplementary document to the Lake Burley
Griffin and Adjacent Lands Heritage Management Plan prepared for The National Capital
Authority by Godden Mackay Logan. Section 7 of the Conservation Management Plan
includes an analysis and assessment of social and community aesthetic values associated
with the study area drawn from the data contained in this report. The results reproduced
in this report are further supported by two attachments:
• Detailed web-based questionnaire results (tables) (Attachment A1); and
• A review of artistic and creative sources sub-report (Attachment A2).
2. Methodology
2.1 Target communities
A number of communities were identified as potentially holding significant social and
aesthetic values of Lake Burley Griffin, or information pertaining to the identification of
such values. These ‘target communities’ were as follows:
•
Creators of and carers for the lake—this group included those people with direct
associations with LBG, with its planning, design, engineering, landscaping,
construction, and/or day-to-day management from the 1960s to the present.
•
Organisations representing the lake users—this group included members of the lake
Users’ Group and other active recreational users of LBG (groups and individuals).
•
Visitors / tourists— this group included visitors to Canberra for business (including
politicians), holidays, events, or visiting friends or relatives.
• Professional or heritage organisations—this group aimed to capture people with a
professional interest in the lake in terms of its design, history or heritage values, for
example architects, designers, planners, artists/writers, landscape architects,
horticulturists/botanists, other heritage professionals and Walter Burley Griffin experts
and enthusiasts. Local Canberra students of landscape architecture were also targeted.
(Note, however, professionals were treated as members of a broader community, and
not as representatives of a collective of professionals or professional organisations).
•
Local heritage and environmental groups—this group targeted local nature
conservation groups, horticulturists, botanists, volunteers through organisations such
as Environment ACT, Urban Landcare, and the Canberra Ornithologists Group.
•
Local Canberra people—this group comprised local Canberra people for whom the
lake may form the backdrop to their everyday lives, and those who may use the lake for
independent active and passive leisure, recreation, reflection or contemplation. This
group also included tour operators, and staff working in government or national
institutions or in parks and reserves on the foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin. It also
considered people who live or work on or close by to the lake.
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SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY AESTHETIC VALUES TECHNICAL REPORT
•
Broader Australian community—included those people not living in Canberra and
who therefore are unlikely to have direct associations with Lake Burley Griffin, but
who may see LBG, in its own right or as a part of Canberra, as a symbol of the
national capital, or more generally as a symbol for Australia, Australians or Australian
identity.
2.2 Sampling methodologies
The following techniques were designed to identify and understand communities with
associations with LBG, and whether these associations gave rise to significant social and
community aesthetic values for these communities:
• Secondary sources—examination of previous studies and heritage listings to identify
information relevant to understanding associated communities and their social and
aesthetic values.
• Web-based questionnaire—A questionnaire include closed and open questions related
to associations and values of the study area. Promotion was undertaken to ensure
relevant community groups, local Canberra people and broader Australian
communities, were aware of its existence and were encouraged to participate.
• Focus groups and Interviews—Facilitated workshops with two of the seven targeted
community groups – the Creators and carers and the lake Users Group. Face to face
interviews were undertaken with some of the creators of Lake Burley Griffin were
undertaken, both as precursors to the focus groups (via telephone) and subsequent
follow-up interviews.
• Review of artistic and creative sources—Investigation of the occurrence of Lake
Burley Griffin in art and literature involved searching various Canberra-based libraries
and galleries as well as national databases.
• Review and analysis of tourism material—Print and web-based tourism material was
analysed to examine how LBG is portrayed in this material and how these
representations may indicate broader Australian community perceptions of the lake.
• Review of community activities and events—Existing sources and websites were
consulted to identify current and past level of recreational activity, and the occurrence
of locally or nationally important events within or adjacent to the study area.
Australians (including visitors )
9
Canberra residents
9
Canberra residents with a role in:
9
9
• Design & construction
• Day to day management
Canberra organisations representing lake
users
2
9
9
Other
Art, Literature,
Tourism
sources
Interviews
Focus Groups
Community
Questionnaire
The use of multiple research techniques was designed to allow a variety of opportunities
for input, and to enable verification of the data collected – that is, to see if the same kinds
of values arose, or the same places were identified, through different sources.
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LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN AND ADJACENT LANDS CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
2.3 Limitations
The information obtained through the focus groups and web-based questionnaire does not
claim to be exhaustive, but rather has been considered as a sample of the views and social
and aesthetic values held by individuals and associated communities relevant to the lake as
a whole, and particular aspects or features of LBG and associated lands.
The social values assessment methodology sought to determine the values of LBG to both
the local Canberra and broader Australian communities. The values of Lake Burley Griffin
to the broader Australians were sought through targeted email promotion of the web-based
questionnaire, media searches, interviews, analysis of tourism imagery and a review of other
secondary sources.
Limitations on promotion and therefore the breadth of data available for consideration,
however, meant that the values of few ‘non-Canberrans’ were sampled in this study.
The results therefore do not indicate strong social or aesthetic values held for communities
outside of Canberra. However, the assessment process did not provide sufficient data to
conclude that such values to the broader Australian community do not exist.
3. Consultation outcomes and results
This section provides a summary analysis of the range of data gathered through the
sampling techniques described above.
The raw data is held by Context Pty Ltd.
3.1 Secondary sources
Previous social and aesthetic significance assessments
Previous significance assessments of Lake Burley Griffin or its component parts, which
discuss consideration of social and aesthetic significance of Lake Burley Griffin and
adjacent lands include
Several of the component parts of the study area (in whole or in part), are individually
listed heritage items:
• Lake Burley Griffin Conservation Area CHL Place ID: 105230, RNE Place ID: 101595
• Stirling Ridge RNE Place ID: 13359, and CHL Place ID: 105468
• Stirling Park Precinct RNE Place ID: 101600, and CHL Place ID: 105301
• Carillon RNE Place ID: 18373
• Scrivener Dam (Category 1 ACT Heritage Register)
• Parliament House Vista (part of listed area as defined by the RNE 13371 includes the
study area)
Previous analysis of heritage values (specifically the RNE and CHL indicative place listing
for the Lake Burley Griffin Conservation Area) indicate relevant social and aesthetic values
of the lake:
• unifying the central precincts of Canberra;
• expressing the water axis as a component of the Walter Burley Griffin design concept;
• focussing the natural beauty of the distant mountains and adjacent hillsides;
• providing a setting to public buildings and memorials;
• providing a place for recreation, social and public events and community gathering;
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SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY AESTHETIC VALUES TECHNICAL REPORT
• containing ephemeral aesthetic qualities and valued environmental features.
Various foreshore areas, including the Stirling Park Precinct, are recognised for both
natural and cultural landscape values, in particular for providing places of contrast to the
urban city environment, for evidencing ‘layers of Aboriginal and European cultural and
social history’, and for providing public landscaped areas that are much used and valued by
the community. From an aesthetic perspective the Carillon and Captain Cook Memorial
Water Jet, as balancing focal points within West Basin, are valued in these statements of
significance for their landmark qualities.
Other secondary sources
Additional secondary sources were also consulted to assist in understanding perceptions of
Lake Burley Griffin to communities, in particular the Australian community. These
included:
• National Perceptions Survey (2006), prepared by the University of Canberra, for the
National Capital Authority.
• AILA award nomination: Lake Burley Griffin (1986). Nomination prepared by the
National Capital Authority. Awarded the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects
(AILA), Landscape Architecture Award, 1986.
• Institution of Engineers, Australia Nomination: The Lake Burley Griffin Scheme
(2001). Designated a National Engineering Landmark in 2001 by the Institution of
Engineers, Australia.
• Landscaping Lake Burley Griffin (April, 1964), by R Clough and J E Gray, Institute of
Park Administration Conference Canberra (conference paper).
• National Trust Register of Significant Places Citation: Lake Burley Griffin, n.d. (report
printed 2000).
3.2 Web-based questionnaire
Method
The web-based questionnaire was designed and promoted to capture the views of a broader
geographic spread of people with potentially special associations or special interests in Lake
Burley Griffin.
The web-based questionnaire comprised a series of questions designed to identify and
understand the nature of respondents’ associations, and the frequency and length of their
associations. Through open-ended questions, it offered the opportunity for respondents to
explain why Lake Burley Griffin was important to them, whether it was the Lake as a
whole or particular parts that they valued most, what it was they valued and why.
Statements covering a range of possible social and aesthetic values were also posed to assess
the relative strength of people’s attachments to the Lake.
Discussion of results
515 responses were received, 502 from Canberra residents (past and present), 12 from
people resident elsewhere in Australia (including one resident of Canada). Response
numbers did not equal 515 in all cases. This is because some respondents elected not to
answer particular questions, while others gave more than one response to the same
question. ‘No response’ has been used in the summaries of quantitative data to indicate
were this is the case.
A summary of the quantitative data gathered through these processes is included in
Attachment A.1.
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LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN AND ADJACENT LANDS CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
Nature of association
The majority of respondents, 93%, described themselves as Canberra residents with a
further 4% describing themselves as previous Canberra residents. 2.5% of respondents
described themselves as visitors to Canberra.
Table 2: Associated communities
Description
Number of
responses
Percentage of
total responses
Canberra resident
481
93%
Previous Canberra resident
21
4%
Visited Canberra and the lake
11
2%
Visited Canberra only
1
0.5%
Never visited
1
0.5%
Total
515
100%
Respondents’ primary reason for visiting LBG and adjacent lands was recreation and
leisure (82%); followed by work (7%). Respondents for the remaining types of uses;
visitors attending events, local Canberra people who live nearby, local Canberra people
who socialise there with family or friends; ranged between one and three percent (1—3%).
Table 3: Primary reason for visiting
Description
Number of
responses
Percentage of
total responses
Recreation and leisure
419
82%
Attend events
12
2%
Socialise with family or
friends
11
2%
I live nearby
15
3%
Sightseeing
5
1%
Work
36
7%
Other
16
3%
No response
1
0.5%
Total
515
The dataset below shows that the main thing respondents do at the lake is recreation and
leisure activities on its foreshores (1030/1916). 483/1916 responses identified water-based
recreation and leisure as the main thing they do at Lake Burley Griffin.
353/1916 identified they mainly used the lake when attending events; with 206/1916 of
those attending events held on the foreshores of the lake, and 147/1916 attending waterbased events. 50 responses identified using the lake for reasons other than those specified
in the questionnaire.
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LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN AND ADJACENT LANDS CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
Length of association
Length of association was relatively evenly spread across the data set; with 33.5% of
respondents having an association of 25 years or longer, 32.5% of respondents having an
association of between 11 to 24 years, while the remaining 34% of respondents said they
had been visiting the lake for ten years or less (and made little difference responses).
Values statements
Views expressed about Lake Burley Griffin are predominantly contained within questions
10 (values statements), 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the web-based questionnaire.
Question 10 posed a series of statements about Lake Burley Griffin and adjacent lands and
respondents were offered five possible responses: strongly agree, agree, neither agree or
disagree, disagree or strongly disagree.
The overwhelming majority of respondents strongly agreed or agreed with all of the
statements, or consistently disagreed or strongly disagreed for other statements.
An analysis of the data set showed overall, responses to the above statements were generally
consistent irrespective of the nature of use, frequency of use and length of association.
Responses from a relatively small percentage (between approximately 2-4%) of the large
numbers of recreation and leisure respondents, who use the lake frequently (mostly daily
and weekly, but also a few monthly), and predominantly limited to those frequent
recreation and leisure users with a less than 10 year and between 11 to 24 years association,
indicated relatively ambivalent responses to the values statements. This suggests that for
only a small number of respondents, Lake Burley Griffin and adjacent lands is primarily
important for utilitarian reasons.
Table 5: Values statements
Q10
Lake Burley Griffin is important as the setting
for the government buildings and national
institutions on its foreshores
Lake Burley Griffin is a key part of Canberra’s
design
Lake Burley Griffin is a beautiful and serene
landscape
Lake Burley Griffin is a major presence in
Canberra wherever you look.
Lake Burley Griffin is a refreshing place to be
Lake Burley Griffin is important as a place for
recreation and leisure
Lake Burley Griffin is important as a place of
retreat, reflection and contemplation
Lake Burley Griffin is important for bringing
nature close to the heart of the city
Lake Burley Griffin is special for its dynamic
seasonal qualities and changing moods
Lake Burley Griffin is just a playground for
the city
Lake Burley Griffin is a dramatic landscape.
Lake Burley Griffin is a special place for me
and my family
Lake Burley Griffin forms the backdrop to my
everyday life
Lake Burley Griffin is important as a symbol
of Canberra
Lake Burley Griffin is a strongly evocative
landscape
Lake Burley Griffin, in certain parts, still
recalls the river that was here before the lake
Strongly
Agree
%
Agree
%
Disagree
%
Strongly
Disagree
%
35
Neither
Agree or
Disagree
%
10
53
2
1
86
14
0.2
0
0
71
26
2
1
0.2
41
42
10
6
0.6
67
85
29
14
3
0.2
0.6
0.2
0.4
0.2
60
29
8
2
0.4
62
28
7
2
0.4
48
36
13
3
0.4
4
9
21
48
18
30
54
39
36
23
10
6
2
1
0.6
30
37
23
7
2
62
33
3
1
31
40
24
2
1
11
42
30
12
3
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SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY AESTHETIC VALUES TECHNICAL REPORT
Table 4: Main activities people do
Number of responses
Water-based activities
•
Sailing
156
•
Rowing
151
•
Windsurfing
36
•
Swimming
92
•
Fishing
48
Subtotal
483
Land-based activities
•
Cycling
240
•
Running / jogging
102
•
Walking
316
•
Walking my dog
86
•
Picnics / barbeques
286
Subtotal
1030
Attending events
•
Attending water-based events
147
•
Attended land-based (foreshore)
events
206
Sub-total
353
Other
50
Total
1916
Frequency of use
A significant proportion of respondents visit/visited Lake Burley Griffin on a daily or
weekly basis (87%), with the majority of these people (74%) visiting the lake primarily for
recreation and leisure. Fewer respondents visit/visited LBG monthly (9%), with 83% of
those people using the lake on a monthly basis for recreation and leisure. 29 people (6%)
visit LBG daily because they work nearby.
6
Daily
Leisure or
Recreation
134
Attend
Events
2
Socialise There With
Family or Friends
3
I Live
Nearby
8
Weekly
241
3
2
Monthly
39
1
4
Rarely
3
1
Only for special
events
1
5
No
response
2
Totals
420
12
Work
Sightseeing
Other
29
1
4
4
5
1
5
2
1
3
2
11
1
1
15
36
7
5
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SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY AESTHETIC VALUES TECHNICAL REPORT
Asked about the lake as whole in an open-ended response, respondents said it is important
to them because:
•
it provides for the interplay of a diverse range of experiences; from major public events
and recreation and leisure, social interaction, to space for contemplation, for quiet
reflection.
•
it provides peace and tranquillity within the city (as an escape from), peaceful place
providing relief from chaos and busy-ness (as back drop to everyday life). A peaceful
place for leisure activities in a natural setting.
•
it provides important water habitat for native wildlife.
•
it is an accessible place that is not ‘elitist’ and is a space for all to appreciate and access.
•
of its beauty and changing, ephemeral qualities.
•
it provides a beautiful setting for national institutions, cultural buildings and events.
•
it provides a focal point for, and is a feature and symbol of Canberra.
Little distinction was observed between views on why Lake Burley Griffin as a whole was
important to respondents, relative to nature, frequency or length of association.
An analysis of the above statements (Question 10) and Q11 suggests that Lake Burley
Griffin and adjacent lands is important to respondents both at a general level, as well as
personally.
Which parts of Lake Burley Griffin are valued?
Respondents were asked which areas of Lake Burley Griffin and adjacent lands they use/d
most (Question 7). They were also asked which areas, if any, were most important to them
(Question 12). The two datasets were compared, as follows (listed in order of number of
responses):
Table 6: Which parts of Lake Burley Griffin are valued?
Place most valued
Number of responses
to Q12 (one answer
only)
All areas
236
West Basin
74
Yarramundi Reach
46
Central Basin
43
West Lake
24
East Basin
23
Tarcoola Reach
9
The surrounding buildings &
7
landscapes
Stirling Park
6
Scrivener Dam
4
Kings Avenue Bridge
2
Springbank Island
2
Spinnaker Island
1
Other
4
Commonwealth Avenue Bridge
0
No response
50
Total
515
NB: respondents could select more than one answer for Q7
8
Analysis by areas
most used (Q7)
(multiple responses)
84
291
198
236
132
142
142
116
71
113
133
87
67
20
154
1854
LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN AND ADJACENT LANDS CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
Summary
The lake as a whole was valued the most strongly by the majority of respondents. Where
individual areas of the lake were separately identified as being more important than others
by respondents, the areas identified were generally consistent with those areas most used.
The diversity of the lake’s water and foreshore environments provides for a range of uses,
with particular uses better suited, or restricted, to some areas more than others. The data
from Q7 therefore, could reasonably be interpreted as, at least partly, influenced by these
reasons.
While the surrounding buildings and landscapes option did not rank as highly as
anticipated (relative to the results from Question 4), it was uncertain whether respondents
were referring to the water or foreshore areas when singling out West Basin, Yarramundi
Reach, Central Basin, East Basin and Tarcoola Reach. (It cannot therefore be concluded
whether these results refer to places within or outside of the study area boundary, or both.)
Asked to describe particular aspects or qualities that make certain parts of LBG important,
the responses provided were generally similar to views expressed about the lake as a whole.
Some interesting exceptions include the following for Central basin, Stirling Park, West
Basin and Yarramundi Reach:
Central Basin
This is the heart of Canberra. This is where its soul lives (Questionnaire ID 2324).
The majesty of the changing trees and its foliage. The music played at the carillon. Important
members have been married there. I mourn the death and loss of loved ones there under a special
tree. I rejoice and give thanks under that special tree. I look at the lake and see the seasons and
flows in the cycle of life. (Questionnaire ID 2568).
West Basin
All parts of the foreshore are accessible to the public and no private development has been allowed
to encroach on this magnificent public recreation area. The public buildings located near the
foreshore are mostly national symbols and enhance the dignity of the city (Questionnaire ID
2691).
I watched the sun set over the lake from the old hospital jetty while my father was dying in the
old hospice (Questionnaire ID 2771).
Stirling Park
The foreshore are stretching from Stirling Park to Weston Park and around to Government
House is particularly significant to me. When I was younger my dad would bring me to Weston
Park to play and as an adult I continue to love the walk along the south west of the foreshore
(Questionnaire ID 2803).
Yarramundi Reach
This Reach and Stirling Park are closest to the original vegetation of the Molonglo Valley and
give some indication of the state of the area while under Aboriginal stewardship (Questionnaire
ID 2435).
The data suggests that:
•
it is the combination of place, ambience and a range of intangible aesthetic qualities
that provide strongly evocative places for reflection, memory, remembrance,
celebration at a personal level.
•
the physical or tangible aspects of particular places, such as landscape, vegetation,
topography, spatial qualities, lake edge treatment, adjacent development), in particular
the more remote/distance/less used Reaches, that evoke past landscapes and stories.
Particular places identified by respondents as ‘favourite views’ include the following:
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SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY AESTHETIC VALUES TECHNICAL REPORT
• Commonwealth Avenue Bridge
• Mt Ainslee
• Yarramundi Reach, Parkes Way, Scrivener Dam, Weston Park
• Kings Avenue Bridge
• Sullivans Creek
• Mt Pleasant
• National Gallery / National Library
• Within PHV, Anzac Parade, etc.
• From in a boat on the water
• Black Mountain
Asked to describe their favourite view, respondents identified a range of aesthetic qualities
from the entire lake basin and distant mountains as setting and backdrop, as an important
setting for the national buildings and monuments on its foreshores, to more ephemeral,
fleeting and dynamic aspects:
• Brindabellas / mountain backdrop
• Sunrise / dawn
• Fog / mist
• Seasons (autumn)
• Birds / wildlife
• Trees (exotic and native)
• Lack of buildings / clutter (esp Yarramundi Reach and East Basin)
• Activity (boats, people fishing, cyclists, hot air balloons)
• Carillon
Asked to consider the importance of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra’s overall design, a
large number of respondents responded positively, describing LBG in terms of it being the
focal point of Canberra’s overall design, a key component of Griffin’s vision for Canberra,
setting and the overall aesthetics of the city-scape, and as a key element in contributing to
the distinctiveness of Canberra.
Strength of importance is demonstrated by the following responses:
Lake Burley Griffin is a key component of Walter Burley Griffin's vision for Canberra.
(Questionnaire ID 2558).
It is the singularly most important element in Walter Burley Griffins Design of the capital.
(Questionnaire ID 2805).
It was the centrepiece of Walter Burley Griffin’s plan for Australia's capital. It holds all the other
features of the plan together. (Questionnaire ID 2737).
It is intrinsic to the Walter Burley Griffin's design. (Questionnaire ID 2833).
It is the most important feature to the central design of Canberra. Walter Burley Griffin wanted
it so, and he has succeeded admirably. It ties the institutions, Parks, transport links and
recreation together in a harmonious serpentine. (Questionnaire ID 2630).
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LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN AND ADJACENT LANDS CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
Overall, results from the web-based questionnaire suggest:
• A strong appreciation of the Lake for its use and accessibility as a social and recreation
resource, at a personal level and for larger scale events.
• A strong appreciation of the Lake for its naturalness, as an environmental resource and
as providing a place of contrast to the city.
• A strong appreciation for the intangible aesthetic qualities of the lake (visual, aural,
ephemeral), and as interrelated to their everyday experience of the lake, as well as
through use for recreational and social purposes.
• A strong appreciation of the Lake in its broader visual setting and landscape context.
• A strong recognition of the relationship between the Lake and the original Griffin
design.
• A strong appreciation of the lake as a whole. (Proportionately, after the Lake as a whole,
areas most valued were generally consistent with areas identified as most frequently
used, with the exception of the Commonwealth Avenue and Kings Avenue Bridges.)
The majority of respondents identified themselves as local Canberra residents. Little
distinction was observed between people’s feelings towards Lake Burley Griffin relative to
nature, frequency or length of association. Only a very small number of the overall
respondents valued the lake solely for utilitarian purposes. This variation against the
general trend of responses has not therefore been considered statistically significant.
3.3 Focus groups and individual interviews
Method
Two focus groups were held to help understand the views of local Canberra people with
direct and potentially long-standing, or continuing and special associations with Lake
Burley Griffin.
These focus groups comprised small, facilitated discussions with people invited to
represent two definable groups:
• The ‘Creators and carers’ focus group (Focus Group 1) included people with direct
associations with realising the detailed design and construction of Lake Burley Griffin
and/or its ongoing day-to-day care and management. Twelve people attended.
• The ‘Organisations representing Lake users’ focus group (Focus Group 2) was drawn from
an existing Lake Users’ Group that meets regularly through the auspices of the NCA.
This focus group represented those with potentially long-standing, ongoing and direct
associations with the lake through use. Seven people attended.
Individual interviews were held with two participants in Focus Group 1 to capture
additional information about the development history of the lake.
In the focus groups, participants were asked to describe their connections to Lake Burley
Griffin, whether those connections were important to them, and why. They were also
asked how they felt about the Lake, its design within the context of Canberra, what aspects
of the Lake, if any, were important to them, and to map those areas of the Lake they used
and valued most and to describe why.
As part of the process of identifying associated communities, a number of the ‘creators and
carers’ also contributed valuable knowledge about the creation of the lake via telephone
conversations and letter correspondence, as well as suggesting additional relevant people to
include in the focus groups (snowball recruitment).
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SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY AESTHETIC VALUES TECHNICAL REPORT
Discussion of results
Results from both focus groups suggest:
• a strong appreciation of the lake as a whole.
• a strong appreciation for the intangible aesthetic qualities of the lake (visual, aural,
ephemeral) and as interrelated to their everyday experience of the lake, as well as
through use for recreational and social purposes.
• demonstrated attachment to particular places or areas, sometimes influenced by
frequency or type of use, but that any attachment to individual places were not greater
or less than values expressed for the lake as a whole.
Results particular to Focus Group 1: Creators and carers suggest:
• the importance of understanding Lake Burley Griffin as a larger integrated system, and
as a dynamic landscape, designed to evolve, and which continues to evolve.
• their sense of pride in witnessing the success of the lake’s design four decades after its
inauguration, as it successfully withstands the tests of time, use, erosion (with more
emphasis placed on the process of bringing the lake into being than on the outcome).
• acknowledgement and appreciation of the NCDC’s role in the realisation of the Lake,
and mutual acknowledgement of the importance of fellow creators.
For participants in both focus groups, their attachment to the lake came from long
association and continuing use and appreciation.
3.4 Review of artistic and creative sources
Method
The extent of artistic endeavour associated with a place has been used in heritage
assessment methods as one way of measuring aesthetic value. This method was developed
through the Regional Forest Agreement comprehensive assessments of National Estate
values. A review of artistic and creative sources was conducted as part of the present project.
It looked at a range of materials including visual arts, photography, film, poetry, fiction,
public art around Lake Burley Griffin, and 1960s tourism souvenirs. It examined the
holdings of major Canberra cultural institutions including the National Capital Authority
Library, Canberra Museum and Gallery, National Archives, National Library of Australia
(book and image collections, National Gallery of Australia, and the ACT Heritage Library
and included interviews with Canberra-based individuals with acknowledged expertise on
art and culture.
The review sought evidence as to whether Lake Burley Griffin had been the subject of
artistic endeavours over time, across different media and by artists of national and
international standing. The type and number of artistic sources found were analysed in
terms of the relative importance of the place to the local Canberra community as an
aesthetic resource of potential heritage value.
Discussion of results
Two works by nationally recognised painters, Lawrence Daws and Kenneth Jack, depicted
the lake essentially in response to commissions. Outside these commissioned works, the
lake features in only two paintings by major artists, Jack’s Sketch for Painting of Lake
Burley Griffin from Black Mountain No. and Stan de Teliga’s Under Way, Lake Burley
Griffin. The lake is also the subject of several of Harold Freedman’s Canberra Lithographs,
notably ‘Canberra Looking South-East’. It is unlikely that any of these works is widely
known.
Only two major photographers have produced significant numbers of reasonably well
known images of Lake Burley Griffin. They are Heide Smith and Hedda Morrison.
12
LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN AND ADJACENT LANDS CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
Judith Wright is the only nationally significant poet to have written a poem inspired by
Lake Burley Griffin, and she does not identify the lake in the poem. Among nationally
significant prose writers Marion Halligan alone in having set a novel, The Point, essentially
on Lake Burley Griffin, but she does not devote many words to the lake itself.
Numerous photographic images of Lake Burley Griffin exist, and many of them are
publicly accessible. The National Archive database holds 770 images, while the
www.pictureaustralia.org database holds 750 images, 433 of which comprise the Richard
Clough collection. Professor Richard Clough (b1921) was until his retirement in 1986
one of Australia’s leading landscape architects.
A number of artworks are sited on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin, and the lake has been
used as a setting for a few artistic events. By 1987 ten artworks – mainly sculptures and
murals – were situated on or around the lake. The lake has also been the stage for at least
two notable art pieces (Richard Tipping’s Alphabet Soup and Mike Parr’s Dream (the
Lights of Empedocles).
Lake Burley Griffin has long been a popular source of inspiration for local amateur
watercolourists, and although interviews with prominent members of the Artists Society of
Canberra failed to identify any specific exhibitions or works, at least two photographic
images exist of amateur painters standing in front of their easels by the lakeside, one taken
by John Barker taken in 1983 and the other by Loui Seselja taken in 1996 or 1997.
Local professional artists, in contrast to their amateur colleagues, seem to have shunned
Lake Burley Griffin as a subject, many finding it ‘sterile’ compared with the nearby lake
George, which has attracted numerous representations and even dedicated exhibitions. It
may be observed, however, that the local emerging professional artist, Kerry McKinnis, is
currently embarking upon a series of works designed to compare the values of the two
lakes, the recent and the ancient.
Summary
The results of the review of visual art, photography, poetry, fiction, art around Lake Burley
Griffin, and 1960s tourism souvenirs of LBG, prepared by David Young (refer Appendix
A2), suggest the following:
• Lake Burley Griffin has long been a popular source of inspiration of for local amateur
artists and writers with local reputations.
• few nationally notable artists or writers in any media have produced works inspired by
Lake Burley Griffin.
• no significant works of art or literature of national or international recognition
depicting Lake Burley Griffin were identified.
3.6 Review and analysis of tourism materials
Method
Tourism materials were sampled to see how Lake Burley Griffin is represented in tourism
materials and, if not, what aspects of Canberra are represented as tourism destinations or as
tourist souvenirs.
Tourism images provide an ‘expert’ opinion of places that will have a strong aesthetic
appeal to the wider community and that will attract people to visit that locality. They may
also be designed to have a particular cultural resonance with selected audiences. Images
seen before visiting are likely to shape visitors’ expectations of the place. On the other
hand, postcards are images designed to capture the something of the experience of visiting
a particular place, and are often collected as a souvenir image of the place.
13
SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY AESTHETIC VALUES TECHNICAL REPORT
Postcards
A sample of 27 postcards was collected from:
• Canberra and Region Visitors Centre, 330 Northbourne Avenue, Dickson (purchased
on request, packet of five cards);
• Canberra Airport, Newslink (purchased);
• Old Parliament House Shop (purchased. Sample included a souvenir envelope and a
13-image foldout multi-image postcard).
Other tourism / education media
A sample of other tourism material was collected from:
• Canberra and Region Visitors Centre, 330 Northbourne Avenue, Dickson (Canberra:
2006 Capital Region Holiday Planner, Canberra: 1 March to 31 August 2006 Capital
Region Holiday Planner, Australian Capital Tourism Events guide (Canberra
Marathon); collected from site and information package sent to prospective Canberra
and region visitors on request);
• Old Parliament House Shop; The Canberra Puzzle Book: Our History & Heritage,
Denise Sutherland (purchased from Shop within Old Parliament House);
• Black Mountain Viewing Tower (pamphlets collected from Tourism literature rack).
Online tourism
Text and images at the following websites were also assessed:
• National Capital Authority (online). URL:
URL:http://www.nationalcapital.gov.au/experience/LBG_and_Surrounding_parklands/
[Date accessed: 29 May 2006]
• Visit Canberra, Canberra and Region Visitors Centre (online) URL:
http://canberratourism.com.au/ and www.visitcanberra.com.au (Note: two URLs for
the same site) [Date accessed: 29 May 2006]
• Lonely Planet (online). URL:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/pacific/australia/canberra/ [Date
accessed: 29 May 2006]
The analysis does not claim to be a comprehensive assessment of all tourism material but
rather a brief look at selected representations of Lake Burley Griffin (images and text)
contained in general tourism materials and online tourism sites, including the imagery of
post cards, illustrated tourist maps and other tourism material.
Discussion of results
In summary, the data collected comprised:
• Images that include Lake Burley Griffin and Adjacent lands: looking at images of Lake
Burley Griffin in current postcards and tourist information.
• Images of Canberra presented to tourists, covering selected tourist maps, guidebooks,
English language international tourism websites, and local websites.
Across all tourism media reviewed (including postcards), of 445 images, 152 contain Lake
Burley Griffin.
14
LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN AND ADJACENT LANDS CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
Postcards
The postcards depict the following (grouped into four types):
•
Axial views of the Parliament House Vista originating at Mount Ainslie, across the lake
and terminating at Red Hill which forms the backdrop to the Parliament House Vista.
•
Axial views originating at Parliament House on Capital Hill and terminating at the
Australian War Memorial, and visa versa (predominantly originating from AWM and
looking towards Capital Hill).
•
Oblique aerial views that include Lake Burley Griffin and/or cross the Parliament
House Vista.
•
Buildings and monuments in the landscape: individual buildings within the Parliament
House Vista in their landscape (lawn or forecourt) and showing their lake foreshore
setting (current and historic).
• Very few of the postcard images include people or have recreational and leisure
activities as their primary focus. Of those few that do, a lone cyclist at sunset beside
Lake Burley Griffin, and hot-air ballooning are shown in relation to Lake Burley
Griffin (above the lake, reflected on its surface), or the broader Canberra landscape as a
picturesque scene.
Other tourism / education media
The most common images used in tourism materials, including free brochures and
pamphlets, are:
•
People on or around LBG corresponding to the advertising slogan ‘See yourself in the
nation’s capital’ (9 examples);
•
Views of Lake Burley Griffin (122 examples);
•
Views emphasising that Parliament House Vista (axial views) that therefore also
include the formal part Lake Burley Griffin (the Central Basin) (15 examples); and
•
Lake Burley Griffin as setting for events, activities or elements along its foreshores (61
examples).
The next most common types of images illustrate what to do in Canberra or on Lake
Burley Griffin: the outdoors/Canberra parks and gardens (12), dining out (76),
performance art (8), artworks/collections (36), people and places elsewhere (85), shopping
(11).
Only a small number (six in total) of historical images were identified.
The Visitor / Tourist / Australian View
As a tourist experience, Canberra as a whole is offered as a visitor/people friendly place, a
place for discovery with a broad range of national museums, cultural activities offered for
interacting with the places on the foreshore of LBG, and as a lively and active place with
lots of things to do and see, with outdoor (passive and active) and indoor (museums and
galleries, dining out) activities, being the primary activities.
Three out of Canberra’s ‘Five top picnic spots’ are located on the foreshores and islands of
i
LBG. Four out of five of the ‘stylish restaurants and cafes’ recommended are on the
foreshores of LBG or promoted as providing views of LBG.
TP
PT
Within this framework, Lake Burley Griffin is portrayed as a place to enjoy peaceful
and/or invigorating active and passive recreation activities, a picturesque setting for events
(Balloon Fiesta and Floriade).
15
SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY AESTHETIC VALUES TECHNICAL REPORT
The Australian Capital Tourism’s literature on Canberra uses the following words to
promote Canberra:
…see your nation reflected in its capital. See yourself in Canberra.
ii
TP
PT
Websites
Of the English language guides that might be accessed by overseas tourists, The Lonely
Planet web page describes Canberra as:
A smooth lake, a glamorous gallery and a whole lotta politics
…a picturesque spot with beautiful galleries and museums, as well as excellent restaurants, bars
iii
and cafes
TP
PT
Only one of the five images in Lonely Planet’s ‘Image Gallery’ includes Lake Burley
Griffin. LBG is not the primary feature in this image, but rather included as part of the
axial view down Anzac Parade towards old and new Parliament Houses.
Local web sites
The National Capital Authority’s website recognises Lake Burley Griffin as:
…the centre of the setting of the National Capital.
It continues to define LGB as:
…as a central landscape feature that contributes to the character and setting of the National
Capital…a matter of national significance in the planning and development of Canberra. A
significant number of national institutions and national public places, including Commonwealth
iv
Place, are located on or near its shores.
TP
PT
Summary
Results of our analysis suggest:
• in general, Lake Burley Griffin appears as a backdrop or setting for events or buildings
and landscapes, and within the context of Canberra (seen from the air), rather than an
element featured in its own right.
• as a tourist experience, visitor expectations are established through images that portray
Canberra (and Lake Burley Griffin) as a place to enjoy both peaceful and invigorating
active and passive recreation activities (for individuals, families, groups), and as
providing a picturesque setting for large scale public events.
• images, such as postcards, available to visitors to represent their experience of the place
predominantly promoted the more symbolic features and formal aspects of Canberra –
the formality of the Vista and Central Basin (including foreshore areas), Lake Burley
Griffin seen from the air within Griffin’s distinctive and clearly legible plan of the city
of Canberra.
The reflective properties of the lake are used as a metaphor for Canberra’s relationship to
the nation as its capital. The more formal character of the Central Basin and surrounding
foreshore areas (including the Parliament House Vista) is used to symbolise Canberra in so
far as this area forms the predominant image in the promotion of Canberra to visitors to
the nation’s capital. In the tourism material, therefore, in particular postcards, it is the
symbolic and formal of Central Basin and its foreshores with Lake Burley Griffin form
Canberra’s tourism landmark.
Review of community activities and events
Lake Burley Griffin and its foreshores form Canberra’s “most popular resource for
informal summer recreation” (Lake Burley Griffin Management Plan, NCPA 1995:16),
attracting up to 14,000 visitors per day in peak periods (about half of the total users of the
lakeside and river areas in the ACT). Use is associated with swimming and related water
16
LAKE BURLEY GRIFFIN AND ADJACENT LANDS CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN
based activities or with fishing, although a large component is essentially land based with
the Lake providing a setting for picnicking, walking and play activities in the parks (Lake
Burley Griffin Management Plan, NCPA 1995).
The Lake Burley Griffin Policy Plan (NCDC 1988) describes the growth in use of the lake
as outstripping the growth in the population during the period from 1975 to the late
1980s.
Lake Burley Griffin is also an important place for large-scale community events. The lake
is often used as a significant part of the setting for the event. A recent example is the
celebrations of the sixtieth anniversary of Victory in the Pacific (14 August 2005) where
the lake was used as a part of the activities, and its reflective qualities were used to create
visual displays. Other large community events that usually use the lake setting include
celebrations associated with Australia Day and Canberra Day. Activities such as the annual
Walk Against Want which circuits the lake; large boating regattas held on the lake; annual
Floriade held in Commonwealth Park on the edge of the lake (an event of international
significance); the annual fireworks festival - Skyfire – sponsored annually by Canberra's
FM station 104.7 and held for the last 18 years around and over the lake.
17
SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY AESTHETIC VALUES TECHNICAL REPORT
Attachments
A1 Web-based questionnaire results
A2 Review of artistic and creative sources, prepared by David Young
i
TP
Canberra: 2006 Capital Region Holiday Planner, Visit Canberra, Australian Capital Tourism, p 38.
PT
ii
TP
Canberra: 2006 Capital Region Holiday Planner, Visit Canberra, Australian Capital Tourism, p 4.
PT
iii
TP
PT
iv
TP
18
PT
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/pacific/australia/canberra/
TU
http://www.nationalcapital.gov.au/experience/LBG_and_Surrounding_parklands/
UT
ATTACHMENT 1 – WEB BASED QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
ATTACHMENT 1: WEB-BASED QUESTIONNAIRE
RESULTS
Analysis
Background
The questionnaire was online for the advertised period of four weeks (15 May—9 June 2006).
A total of 515 responses were received; 502 from Canberra residents (past and present), 12
from people resident elsewhere in Australia, and one resident of Canada.
All of the data was provided by the National Capital Authority to Context in the form of a
Microsoft Access database.
Data analysis
The questionnaire collected both quantitative and qualitative data. The data has been analysed
and the results presented in this appendix.
A discussion of the results and analysis is included in Section 7.0, Community attachment and
values, of Volume One of the Lake Burley Griffin—Conservation Management Plan—
Working Draft Report, August 2006.
Q1 Which of the following best describes you?
Description
Number of responses
Canberra resident
Previous Canberra resident
Visited Canberra and the Lake
Visited Canberra only
Never visited
Total
481
21
11
1
1
515
Where are the respondents from?
Provision of this information by respondents was optional.
Post code
ACT
2600
2601
2602
2603
Number
16
5
35
11
Post code
ACT
2618
2619
2620
2621
2604
2605
2606
2607
2609
2611
18
27
4
4
1
32
2622
2630
2900
2902
2903
2904
2612
2614
2615
2617
10
24
12
12
2905
2912
2913
Number Post code
NSW
1
2580
2
2582
7
2050
1
Elsewhere in
Australia
1
3051
1
4069
2
6003
9
Overseas
6
N7S 4S7
5
No response
(or invalid)
3
Total
1
7
Number
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
249
515
1
HEADER ATTACHMENT 1 – WEB BASED QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Q2 Primary association with Lake Burley Griffin?
Primary reason given
Number of responses
Uses the lake
Does not use the lake
Has not seen
No response
500
8
1
6
3
2
Other
13
1
1
Work
11
Sightseeing
9
1
2
I Live
Nearby
397
17
4
Socialise
There With
Family or
Friends
Attend
Events
Canberra Resident
Previous Canberra Resident
Visited Canberra and the Lake
Visited Canberra Only
Never Visited
No response
Leisure or
Recreation
Q3 Primary reason you visit Lake Burley Griffin and adjacent lands?
32
2
2
9
1
1
Q4 What are the main things you do at Lake Burley Griffin when you’re there?
Respondents could select more than one response. The total number of responses therefore is
greater than the number of respondents.
Primary Reason Given
Number of responses
Water-based activities
Sailing
Rowing
Windsurfing
Swimming
Fishing
Subtotal
Land-based activities
156
151
36
92
48
483
Cycling
Running / jogging
Walking
Walking my dog
Picnics / barbeques
Subtotal
240
102
316
86
286
1030
Attending events
2
Attending water-based events
Attended land-based (foreshore) events
Sub-total
Other
147
206
353
50
Total
1916
ATTACHMENT 1 – WEB BASED QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Q5 How often do you/did you visit Lake Burley Griffin and adjacent lands?
Frequency of association
Number of responses
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Rarely
Only for Special Events
No response
Totals
181
261
47
7
8
11
515
Analysis of frequency by nature of association
Leisure or
Recreation
Attend
Events
Socialise there
with family or
friends
I live
nearby
Work
Sightseeing
Other
134
241
39
3
1
2
420
2
3
1
1
5
3
2
4
8
4
2
29
5
1
1
1
4
5
2
12
11
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Rarely
Only for Special Events
No response
Totals
3
1
15
1
36
5
7
16
Q6 For how long have you been visiting Lake Burley Griffin and adjacent lands?
Length of association
Number of responses
0-10 years
11-24 years
25 years and over
171
164
169
Q7 Which areas of LBG do you/did you visit MOST?
Respondents could select more than one response. The total number of responses therefore is
greater than the number of respondents.
Place
Number of responses
All areas
West Basin
Central Basin
Yarramundi Reach
East Basin
Tarcoola Reach
West Lake
Commonwealth Avenue Bridge
Kings Avenue Bridge
Scrivener Dam
The surrounding buildings & landscapes
Springbank Island
Stirling Park
Spinnaker Island
Other
Total
84
291
236
198
142
142
132
154
133
113
116
87
71
67
20
1854
3
HEADER ATTACHMENT 1 – WEB BASED QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Q8 Are you a member of one or more of the following organisations?
Respondents could select more than one response. The total number of responses therefore is
greater than the number of respondents.
Recreation or sporting clubs that use LBG
Organisation
Number of responses
Lake Users Group
Boating group
Walking, cycling, running group
21
315
54
Local heritage or environmental group
Organisation
Number of responses
Conservation group
Field naturalists
Friends group
Local historical society
38
25
19
6
People who work on or close by to Lake Burley Griffin
Organisation
Number of responses
Federal Policy (ACT Water Police)
Staff working on the foreshore/foreshore
areas
3
111
Professional or heritage organisations
Organisation
Number of responses
Australian Inst. of Landscape Architects
Royal Australian Inst. of Architects
Australia ICOMOS
DOCOmomo Australia
Engineers Australia/Engineering Heritage
Australia
National Trust of Australia (ACT)
Walter Burley Griffin Society
Australian Garden History Society
Other
3
4
5
1
9
8
1
3
25
Q9 If you have not visited Canberra, what is the source of your knowledge or
impressions of Lake Burley Griffin?
4
Source
Number of responses
Media
Historical research
School
Photographs in books and magazines
Tourism campaigns
Internet
Word of mouth
Advertisements
Other
2
0
0
1
1
1
2
1
1
ATTACHMENT 1 – WEB BASED QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Q10 Thinking about Lake Burley Griffin as a whole, how strongly do you agree or
disagree with the following statements?
Lake Burley Griffin is important as the setting for the government buildings and national
institutions on its foreshore
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family or Friends
Work
No response
Analysis by
frequency of
association
Strongly
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
8
9
214
6
2
6
3
5
154
1
3
3
1
1
38
2
22
5
9
1
5
1
Strongly
Agree
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
103
132
27
3
4
3
Analysis by length of
association
Strongly
Agree
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
No response
Agree
85
87
97
3
Agree
12
2
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
53
102
14
3
3
4
Agree
Strongly Disagree
1
1
Disagree
23
22
1
2
Strongly Disagree
2
6
4
1
1
1
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
53
57
64
5
1
Disagree
25
15
7
2
Strongly Disagree
7
5
1
1
2
Lake Burley Griffin is a key part of Canberra’s design
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise there with
family or friends
Work
No response
Analysis by
frequency of
association
Strongly
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
11
13
364
8
4
10
1
2
55
1
1
1
28
6
8
1
Strongly
Agree
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
158
228
41
7
4
6
Analysis by length of
association
Strongly
Agree
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and over
No response
Agree
137
149
149
9
Agree
34
15
19
2
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
24
34
6
1
3
2
Agree
Disagree
1
Neither Agree or
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
1
5
HEADER ATTACHMENT 1 – WEB BASED QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Lake Burley Griffin is a beautiful and serene landscape
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family
or Friends
Work
No response
Analysis by
frequency of
association
Strongly
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
9
13
306
4
5
7
3
2
101
5
19
4
14
3
Strongly
Agree
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
128
194
30
6
4
5
Analysis by length of
association
Strongly
Agree
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
No response
Agree
105
122
132
8
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
6
5
2
1
4
Agree
48
62
14
2
3
3
Agree
59
35
35
3
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
2
6
Strongly Disagree
3
3
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
2
4
2
Strongly Disagree
3
3
1
Lake Burley Griffin is a major presence in Canberra wherever you look.
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family or Friends
Work
No response
Analysis by
frequency of
association
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
Analysis by length of
association
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
No response
6
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
5
7
171
5
3
4
5
8
179
2
1
6
1
1
40
1
1
1
28
1
13
4
13
2
7
1
3
Strongly
Agree
87
103
15
2
2
3
Strongly
Agree
58
74
74
6
Agree
71
116
19
4
3
3
Agree
76
65
72
3
Neither Agree or Disagree
12
28
8
1
1
2
Neither Agree or Disagree
22
16
12
2
2
1
Disagree
11
15
5
1
1
Strongly Disagree
1
1
1
Disagree
14
9
10
Strongly Disagree
1
1
1
ATTACHMENT 1 – WEB BASED QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Lake Burley Griffin is a refreshing place to be.
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family or Friends
Work
No response
Strongly
Agree
8
12
285
4
4
5
Analysis by frequency
of association
Strongly
Agree
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
Analysis by length of
association
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
No response
24
4
138
173
24
5
2
4
Strongly
Agree
100
114
125
7
Agree
Neither Agree or
Disagree
Disagree
3
3
118
3
1
6
13
1
2
10
3
1
0
1
Agree
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
37
81
19
3
3
4
Agree
Strongly
Disagree
1
1
Disagree
5
6
3
Strongly Disagree
1
1
1
1
2
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
60
43
40
4
Disagree
8
5
3
Strongly Disagree
1
2
1
1
Lake Burley Griffin is important as a place for recreation and leisure.
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family or Friends
Work
No response
Analysis by frequency
of association
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
Analysis by length of
association
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
No response
Strongly
Agree
Agree
9
10
370
7
4
6
2
4
47
2
1
4
26
5
10
3
Strongly
Agree
160
229
34
5
3
6
Strongly
Agree
145
140
144
8
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
22
23
25
3
Strongly
Disagree
1
1
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
19
33
12
3
3
3
Agree
Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
1
1
1
Neither Agree or
Disagree
Disagree
1
Strongly
Disagree
1
1
7
HEADER ATTACHMENT 1 – WEB BASED QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Lake Burley Griffin is important as a place of retreat, reflection and contemplation.
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family or Friends
Work
No response
Analysis by frequency
of association
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
Analysis by length of
association
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
No response
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
8
12
254
6
3
6
2
1
120
3
1
2
2
2
34
6
2
1
17
3
15
4
3
1
0
Strongly
Agree
118
153
29
4
2
3
Strongly
Agree
91
98
116
4
Agree
50
75
12
3
3
5
Agree
52
47
43
6
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
7
29
4
1
2
1
1
Strongly
Disagree
3
4
1
1
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
20
15
8
Strongly
Disagree
4
3
1
1
1
Lake Burley Griffin is important for bringing nature close to the heart of the city.
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family or Friends
Work
No response
Analysis by frequency
of association
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
Analysis by length of
association
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
No response
8
Strongly
Agree
Agree
9
12
258
7
3
7
2
2
117
1
2
2
19
5
13
3
Strongly
Agree
128
155
27
5
2
3
Strongly
Agree
92
102
120
6
Agree
34
84
13
2
4
5
Agree
58
40
40
4
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
1
1
31
9
1
1
3
0
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
14
17
3
1
2
Strongly
Disagree
4
5
2
1
1
1
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
15
13
7
1
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
6
5
1
2
ATTACHMENT 1 – WEB BASED QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Lake Burley Griffin is special for its dynamic seasonal qualities and changing moods.
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family or Friends
Work
No response
Analysis by frequency
of association
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
Analysis by length of
association
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
4
11
202
6
3
4
7
3
150
2
2
4
16
2
12
3
Strongly
Agree
Agree
106
119
17
2
1
3
Strongly
Agree
1
56
11
2
1
5
2
3
Neither Agree or Disagree
54
99
19
4
4
3
Agree
73
81
88
Disagree
Neither Agree or
Disagree
58
62
61
Strongly
Disagree
4
9
2
1
1
Disagree
33
16
15
1
1
Disagree
16
36
9
1
2
2
Strongly
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
7
4
3
1
Lake Burley Griffin is just a playground for the city.
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family or Friends
Work
No response
Analysis by frequency of
association
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
Analysis by length of
association
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
No response
Strongly
Agree
1
1
18
2
1
Strongly
Agree
9
12
1
1
Strongly
Agree
6
8
8
1
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
3
1
38
2
4
91
1
2
0
Agree
15
23
4
1
1
1
Agree
22
10
11
2
Strongly
Disagree
1
2
4
8
203
7
2
6
2
1
68
2
1
3
6
14
12
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
3
Disagree
36
64
5
1
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
36
42
28
1
3
Strongly
Disagree
84
119
31
4
4
5
Disagree
75
80
85
7
38
43
7
2
1
1
Strongly
Disagree
31
24
36
1
9
HEADER ATTACHMENT 1 – WEB BASED QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Lake Burley Griffin is a dramatic landscape.
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family or Friends
Work
No response
Analysis by frequency of
association
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
Analysis by length of
association
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
No response
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
3
7
125
2
3
3
5
6
171
4
1
5
3
2
96
1
1
3
25
1
2
12
1
10
1
11
4
2
1
1
1
Strongly
Agree
71
70
12
1
2
Strongly
Agree
36
48
67
5
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
61
115
20
4
2
1
Agree
Disagree
35
63
12
4
3
4
Neither Agree or Disagree
70
68
65
1
Strongly
Disagree
12
13
3
1
1
Disagree
43
42
32
4
2
1
1
Strongly
Disagree
20
5
3
2
1
1
1
1
Lake Burley Griffin is a special place for me and my family.
Analysis by frequency of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family or Friends
Work
No response
Analysis by frequency of
association
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
Analysis by frequency of
association
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
No response
10
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
6
12
229
5
2
7
3
2
145
2
1
3
2
1
37
1
1
1
15
2
14
2
6
2
Strongly
Agree
112
143
18
2
1
2
Strongly
Agree
70
91
112
5
Agree
43
97
25
4
1
2
Agree
66
58
46
2
Neither Agree or Disagree
21
19
4
2
2
3
Neither Agree or Disagree
30
12
6
3
Strongly
Disagree
1
7
1
1
1
1
1
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
3
4
2
2
1
Disagree
4
2
3
1
1
Strongly
Disagree
1
1
1
ATTACHMENT 1 – WEB BASED QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Lake Burley Griffin forms the backdrop to my everyday life.
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family or Friends
Work
No response
Analysis by frequency of
association
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
Analysis by length of
association
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
No response
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
2
8
119
3
1
2
2
6
165
2
1
2
8
1
97
3
18
1
12
4
Strongly
Agree
104
43
4
Agree
48
52
49
5
3
1
2
1
4
2
1
2
1
1
2
Disagree
15
77
16
6
3
Strongly
Agree
29
Neither Agree or Disagree
54
118
19
1
1
2
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
65
57
70
1
Strongly
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
3
20
5
1
4
2
Disagree
40
43
32
1
2
2
1
2
Strongly
Disagree
14
7
12
2
3
1
1
2
Lake Burley Griffin is important as a symbol of Canberra.
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family
or Friends
Work
No response
Analysis by frequency of
association
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
Analysis by length of
association
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
No response
Strongly
Agree
Agree
8
11
253
6
5
6
4
4
146
3
26
5
6
1
Strongly
Agree
120
163
24
5
4
4
Strongly
Agree
94
109
111
6
Neither Agree or
Disagree
Disagree
12
4
3
2
1
Strongly
Disagree
5
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
55
86
19
3
3
3
Agree
65
47
53
4
Disagree
5
8
2
Strongly
Disagree
1
2
2
2
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
6
6
3
2
Strongly
Disagree
3
1
1
11
HEADER ATTACHMENT 1 – WEB BASED QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Lake Burley Griffin is a strongly evocative landscape.
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family or Friends
Work
No response
Analysis by frequency of
association
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
Analysis by length of
association
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
No response
Strongly
Agree
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
6
8
122
5
2
3
2
5
174
2
3
5
4
2
101
2
13
3
11
2
9
6
Strongly
Agree
70
76
11
2
2
Strongly
Agree
44
50
64
3
Agree
62
114
18
3
4
2
Agree
66
67
68
2
Strongly
Disagree
16
4
2
Neither Agree or Disagree
3
1
Disagree
40
61
13
3
3
3
Neither Agree or Disagree
8
9
2
1
2
1
1
Disagree
49
39
31
4
1
Strongly
Disagree
1
Strongly
Disagree
11
5
3
1
1
2
1
1
Lake Burley Griffin, in certain parts, still recalls the river that was here before the lake.
Analysis by nature of
association
Attend Events
I Live Nearby
Leisure or Recreation
Other
Sightseeing
Socialise There With
Family or Friends
Work
No response
Analysis by frequency of
association
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
Only for Special Events
Rarely
No response
Analysis by length of
association
0-10 Years
11-24 Years
25 Years and Over
No response
12
Strongly
Agree
Agree
1
2
47
3
1
5
Strongly
Agree
24
30
5
Strongly
Agree
16
14
28
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
7
5
176
5
2
4
3
6
131
15
3
Agree
70
116
20
6
1
4
Agree
54
69
89
5
Strongly
Disagree
1
1
52
1
1
13
2
3
2
1
9
2
6
1
1
1
Neither Agree or Disagree
59
85
6
1
3
2
Neither Agree or Disagree
60
61
33
2
Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
22
26
11
1
3
1
Disagree
32
15
16
1
6
6
4
1
Strongly
Disagree
9
4
3
1
ATTACHMENT 1 – WEB BASED QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS
Q11 In your opinion, why is Lake Burley Griffin as a whole important to you?
This question allowed an open-ended response. The results are therefore not presented in table
format.
Q12 Is there ONE PART of Lake Burley Griffin that is more important to you than
others?
Respondents were limited to one response only.
Place
Number of responses
Analysis by areas
most used (Q7)
All areas
West Basin
Yarramundi Reach
Central Basin
West Lake
East Basin
Tarcoola Reach
The surrounding buildings & landscapes
Stirling Park
Scrivener Dam
Kings Avenue Bridge
Springbank Island
Spinnaker Island
Other
Commonwealth Avenue Bridge
No response
Total
236
74
46
43
24
23
9
7
6
4
2
2
1
4
0
50
515
84
291
198
236
132
142
142
116
71
113
133
87
67
20
154
1854
NB: respondents could select more than one answer for Q7
Q13 What are the particular aspects or qualities of this part of Lake Burley Griffin that
make it important for you?
This question allowed an open-ended response. The results are therefore not presented in table
format.
Q14 Do you have a favourite view of Lake Burley Griffin?
205 respondents answered ‘No’ to this question, while 24 did not respond. For the remaining
respondents who answered ‘Yes’ (286), this question allowed an open-ended response. These
results are therefore not presented in table format.
Q15 How important do you think Lake Burley Griffin is in Canberra’s overall design?
This question allowed an open-ended response. The results are therefore not presented in table
format.
Q16 How should Lake Burley Griffin be managed to best protect what you value about
the place?
This question allowed an open-ended response. The results are therefore not presented in table
format.
13
ATTACHMENT A2 – REVIEW OF ARTISTIC AND
CREATIVE SOURCES
Lake Burley Griffin
Report on community aesthetic and social values in
relation to nomination for listing on the
National Heritage Register
Key artistic and creative sources sub-report
By
David Young
Draft report for Context Pty Ltd
April, 2006
Table of contents
1. Overview of the project .................................................................... 1
2. Methodology ........................................................................................1
3. Limitations of methodology ...............................................................3
4. Results ................................................................................................. 4
5. Analysis ..............................................................................................11
6. Conclusion .........................................................................................11
i
Abbreviations
NCA ........................................................National Capital Authority
NCDC ......................... National Capital Development Commission
NGA....................................................National Gallery of Australia
NLA ....................................................National Library of Australia
UQP................................................. University of Queensland Press
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the following people for sharing with me their expertise and assisting
me in the preparation of this report: Shane Breyard, Antoinette Buchanan, Emma
Epstein, Nigel Featherstone, Dr Dianne Firth, Juliet Flook, Les Flynn, Ann Hand,
Stuart MacKenzie, Vicki Marsh, Dale Middleby, Andrew Smart and Colin Watson
ii
1. Overview of the project
1.1 Purpose and method
The Department of Environment and Heritage is seeking to assess a
nomination of Lake Burley Griffin to the National Heritage Register. The
process includes gathering evidence for community aesthetic and social values
of the lake.
1.2 Key artistic and creative sources sub-report
This sub-report describes the methodology and the results achieved in a
review of the visual art, literature and photography that have been inspired by
Lake Burley Griffin since the flooding of the Molonglo River commenced in
September 1963. The work for this report was conducted on the assumption
that the works of artists, writers and photographers provide information about
places that have been, and continue to be, popular for their aesthetic qualities.
2. Methodology
2.1. On-line search
The website www.pictureaustralia.org is essentially a database that contains a
comprehensive range of images from all Australian state libraries and major national
institutions, including the National Library of Australia, the National Archives, the
National Gallery of Australia and the ACT Heritage Library. This database was
searched using the key word input ‘Lake Burley Griffin’. This search produced 750
images, all from Canberra institutions. All were reviewed.
The Canberra and District Historical Society’s website www.canberrahistory.org.au
was also searched.
2.2 Research at Canberra institutions
On 20 and 21 April 2006, the following Canberra-based institutions were visited and
their collections searched:
• National Capital Authority Library
• Canberra Museum and Gallery
• National Archives
• National Library of Australia (book and image collections)
• National Gallery of Australia
• ACT Heritage Library.
2.3. Secondary and primary source literature review
The following secondary sources were examined:
• Gray, John, 1994; ‘Commonwealth Park, Canberra, a Review of its
History 1913-1993’; ACT Heritage Council, unpublished report
• NCDC, 1965; The Future Canberra; Angus & Robertson, Melbourne
• NCDC, 1970; Tomorrow’s Canberra; ANU Press, Canberra
• NCDC, 1986; Works of Art in Canberra; Canberra.
• NCA, 2004; The Griffin Legacy; Canberra
• National Archives CRS A710 and CRS A767, 1912; ‘Federal Capital
Design Competition Entries’, unpublished report
1
•
•
•
Reid, Paul, 2002, Canberra Following Griffin: A Design History of
Australia’s National Capital, National Archives of Australia,
Canberra.
McCulloch, Alan, 1984; Encyclopaedia of Australian Art; Hutchinson,
Hawthorn, Vic.
Pierce, Paidric, 1987; The Oxford Literary Guide to Australia;
OUP, Melbourne.
The following primary sources were reviewed:
• Barbalet, M et al, 1988; Canberra Tales; Penguin, Ringwood, Vic.
• Bourke, Lawrence, 2003; A Cold Touch; Ginninderra Press, ACT
• Dowse, Sara, 1983; West Block; Penguin, Ringwood, Vic.
• Foster, David, 1983; Plumbum; Penguin, Ringwood, Vic
• Girdwood, Marg, nd; Exhibition; Books & Writers Network
• Haligan, Marion, 2003; The Point; Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW
• Hanley, Penelope, 1993; Full House; Simon & Schuston
• Lambert, Diedre, 2001; The Edge of Time; Ginninderra Press, ACT
• MacKenzie, Phillip (Ed.), 1990; The Poetry of Canberra; Polonius,
ACT
• Mackie, Robert, 1977; The Paper Castle; Collins, Sydney
• Mouat, Sergio, 2004; Canberra: where the Wattle Blooms: a
Collection of Poems and Photographs by Sergio Mouat; Canberra
• O’Dea, Marjory, 1964; Six Days Between a Second; River House
• Page, Geoff, 1989; Winter Vision; UQP, Brisbane
• Reid, Gordon, 2000; Hell on Earth and Other Stories; Ginninderra
Press, ACT
• Salmon, Michael, 2004; The Monster that Ate Canberra; NCA,
Canberra.
• Smith, Heide, 1992; Heide Smith’s Canberra; Fyshwyck, ACT
• Smith, Heide, 1999; Canberra, a Personal Perspective; Narooma,
NSW
• Throssell, Ric, 1991; A Reliable Source; Minerva, Melbourne
• Thwaites, Michael, 2004; Unfinished Journeys: Collected Poems,
1932-2004; Ginninderra Press, ACT
• Woods, Alana, 2001; Automaton; WoodsfortheTrees Press, Canberra
Additionally, some forty books set in Canberra or written by Canberrans were
scanned at the ACT Heritage Library. These included almost the complete output of
the Canberra-based publisher, Ginninderra Press, as well as virtually the complete
works of the following poets:
• A D Hope
• David Campbell
• Rosemary Dobson
• Michael Dransfield
• Sergio Mouat
• Geoff Page
• John Russell Rowland
• Michael Thwaites
2
2.4 Film review
The following films were viewed at the National Capital Authority library:
• Lake Burley Griffin Perspective, dir: Geoffrey Cribb, 1964, b & w, 22
mins.
• The Future of Canberra, dir: Neil Hawe, 1965, b & w, 16 mins.
2.5. Interviews with Canberra-based experts
The following Canberra-based individuals with acknowledged expertise on art in
relation to Lake Burley Griffin were interviewed:
• Antoinette Buchanan, Manager ACT Heritage Library
• Ann Hand, Vice-President, Artists Society of Canberra
• Colin Watson, past President, Artists Society of Canberra
• Shane Breyard, Public Officer, Arts ACT
• Nigel Featherstone, Arts ACT
• Emma Epstein, Art Curator, Canberra Museum and Gallery
• Dale Middleby, Social History Curator, Canberra Museum and
Gallery
• Les Flynn, acting librarian, National Capital Authority
• Stuart MacKenzie, Principal Urban Designer, National Capital
Authority
• Vicki Marsh, Reference Librarian, National Gallery of Australia
• Juliet Flook, Collections Study, National Gallery of Australia
• Dr Dianne Firth, University of Canberra.
3. Limitations of methodology
The limited time spent in Canberra in conducting research for this report did not
permit a visit to ScreenSound Australia. Several of the following films held there will
almost certainly contain images of Lake Burley Griffin. However, it is likely that in
each case the film makers will have had limited aesthetic aspirations, and that in 2006
their works will not be widely known. The relevant films include the following:
• Canberra, Australian Film Unit, 1968, colour, 17 mins.
(‘Impressions of the serenity and charm of Australia’s national capital
and the life of its inhabitants. Shows government buildings and other
architectural features but emphasises the calm pace of life, delightful
climate and beautiful scenery.’)
• A National Capital Emerges – Canberra, Australian Commonwealth
Film Unit, 1963, b & w, 23 mins.
(‘A survey of the growth of Canberra from 1913 to 1963.’)
• The Queen Returns, Australian Commonwealth Film Unit, 1963,
colour, 30 mins.
(‘The visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and His Royal Highness
Prince Philip to Australia. Much of the film is devoted to Canberra
and its history as the Queen’s visit coincided with Canberra’s Jubilee
Celebrations.’)
3
•
•
The Story of Canberra, Cine-Australia Productions, 1965, 24 mins.
(‘A comprehensive survey of Canberra, its history, landmarks, life of
the people, and functions at the centre of the Australian government.’)1
The Lake, a film for Stateline by Chris Eley, broadcast 11/6/2004
(Two elderly women, who as children lived in the – now flooded –
Molonglo River valley, reflect on the significance that Lake Burley
Griffin holds for them. The segment is interspersed with excerpts from
Lake Burley Griffin Perspective, 1964.) 2
4. Results
4.1. Visual Art
In the early 20th century the Molonglo River valley, later flooded to create Lake
Burley Griffin, was painted by several notable artists. Although the images they
created have no bearing on the aesthetic values of Lake Burley Griffin, the fact that
they were moved to paint the area suggests that, in its unmodified form, the landscape
had the power to attract artists of considerable stature. For instance, Penleigh Boyd
(1880-1923) painted the oils, From the Slopes of Mount Pleasant and The Federal
Capital Site, Canberra, in 1912 and 1913 respectively. Also in 1913, A E McDonald
painted the large oil, Early Canberra, which is currently on public exhibition at the
Canberra Museum and Gallery. In the late 1920s A H Fullwood (1863-1930) painted
Canberra, View of Parliament House.3
Since the creation of Lake Burley Griffin, only three artists of national stature have
painted images of the lake. Two of these did so as a result of commissions. They are
Lawrence Daws and Kenneth Jack.
Lawrence Daws (b1927), a trained engineer and architect, first came to prominence as
a painter at a group exhibition in Melbourne in 1955. From then on he had numerous
solo exhibitions both in the major Australian cities and overseas. He has won many
international prizes and is represented in most state galleries as well as in the Tate
Gallery, London, the Art Gallery of China and in Canada.4 In the early 1960s the
NCDC commissioned Daws to produce representations of Lake Burley Griffin that
would assist in the design of its surrounding landscape. He produced an
impressionistic painting of Canberra at night as viewed across the lake from Capital
Hill5 and The Landscape of the Central Basin, Canberra, ACT, currently in the
collection of (though not on public exhibition at) the Canberra Museum and Gallery.
In the NCDC film, The Future of Canberra (1965), the latter 1m x 2.5m canvas may
be seen hanging behind the Commissioner as he addresses the camera.
Kenneth Jack ((b1924) is one of Australia’s best known and – in his subject matter –
most ubiquitous landscape painters. He is based in Queensland but has painted in all
Australian states and territories. A printmaker and lithographer as well as a painter in
several media, he has been the subject of a number of books, and ranks with
Australia’s finest landscape artists. In 1964 the NCDC commissioned Jack to
produced sketches of the national capital for its publication The Future Canberra
1
Brief descriptions of the 1960s films are taken from C A Burminster, 1972, ‘Guide to Collections’
vol. 1, NLA, pp127-128.
2
Transcript of the film held at http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/act/content/2003/st/s1131063.htm
3
Information on the Fullwood supplied by Vicki Marsh, NGA, but she does not know its whereabouts.
4
McCulloch, p208.
5
Published in NCDC, 1965, p47.
4
(1965). The following Jack drawings representing aspects of Lake Burley Griffin
appear in this work: ‘City Skyline Viewed across Lake Burley Griffin’ (p28), ‘Regatta
Point Pavilion’ (p31), ‘Impression of the National Library Building Viewed across the
Waters of the Lake’ (p42) and ‘Landscaping of Roadway near King’s Avenue Bridge’
(p109). The year after this book was published, Jack completed the oil on board
painting, Sketch for Painting of Lake Burley Griffin from Black Mountain No. 1; it is
in the NGA’s collections, although not currently on public exhibition.6
At about the same time as Daws and Jack were painting Lake Burley Griffin, another
unidentified artist was presumably commissioned to paint two views based upon
aerial photographs. These works are the same size as Daws’ Landscape of the
Central Basin…(i.e. about 1m x 2.5m) and hang alongside it in storage at the
Canberra Museum and Gallery. It is possible that Daws painted them, but they are
very much ‘jobbing works’ and one can understand why they were left unsigned.
Only two other painters of national stature have represented Lake Burley Griffin: Stan
de Teliga and Harold Freedman. De Teliga was born in Poland in 1924 and two years
later migrated to Australia with his family. His lifelong career as a landscape artist
has been combined with a notable career as an art teacher and lecturer, mainly in
NSW. Between 1958 and 1972 de Telega had twelve exhibitions, he is represented in
galleries throughout Australia and has won numerous prizes.7 In the early 1960s he
painted Under Way, Lake Burley Griffin (pva 134 x 94 cm), but the present
whereabouts of the work is unknown.8 Harold Freedman (1915-1999) worked as a
painter, teacher, illustrator, cartoonist and muralist. During the Second World War he
was an official RAAF artist.9 In the 1960s he produced the series Canberra
Lithographs; these include ‘Canberra Looking South-East’, which is essentially a
panoramic view of Lake Burley Griffin and is held in the NGA’s collection.10
A few lesser professional artists have also represented Lake Burley Griffin. Kenneth
O Johnson (b1921) sketched ‘Black Mountain Tower’ (containing an image of the
lake) and Enterprise (a paddle steamer on the lake) in 1987 and 1989 respectively.
The former appeared in the Scouts’ Association Sketch Book Calendar and the latter is
in the NLA collection.11
More recently, the NCA commissioned the architectural watercolourist John Haycroft
to illustrate its 2004 publication, The Griffin Legacy. The book contains the following
digitally enhanced watercolour images of Lake Burley Griffin by Haycroft: ‘West
Basin’ and ‘Jerrabomerra Wetlands Park’ (both page viii), ‘Lake Burley Griffin from
the Water Axis’ (p168), ‘West Basin – Extending the City to the Lake’ (inside p173)
and ‘West Basin – a Waterfront Promenade for Civic’ (inside p176).
Lake Burley Griffin has long been a popular source of inspiration for local amateur
watercolourists, and although interviews with prominent members of the Artists
Society of Canberra12 failed to identify any specific exhibitions or works, at least two
photographic images exist of amateur painters standing in front of their easels by the
6
Email from Vicki Marsh.
McCulloch, p282.
8
Email from Vicki Marsh.
9
McCulloch, p380.
10
NGA 66.105.3.
11
nla-pic-an6940725 (pictureaustralia database no. 556)
12
Notably Ann Hand and Colin Watson.
7
5
lakeside, one taken by John Barker taken in 198313 and the other by Loui Seselja
taken in 1996 or 1997.14
Local professional artists, in contrast to their amateur colleagues, seem to have
shunned Lake Burley Griffin as a subject, many finding it ‘sterile’ compared with the
nearby Lake George, which has attracted numerous representations and even
dedicated exhibitions. It may be observed, however, that the local emerging
professional artist, Kerry McKinnis, is currently embarking upon a series of works
designed to compare the values of the two lakes, the recent and the ancient.15
4.2. Photography
Numerous photographic images of Lake Burley Griffin exist, and many of them are
publicly accessible. The National Archive database holds 770 images, and while time
did not permit a search of this source it may be assumed that many of these works are
embodied in the www.pictureaustralia.org database. This holds 750 images, 433 of
which comprise the Richard Clough collection. Professor Richard Clough (b1921)
was until his retirement in 1986 one of Australia’s leading landscape architects. He
worked for the NCDC from 1956 and was in charge of the landscape design of Lake
Burley Griffin. His photographic collection contains images of Walter Burley
Griffin’s plans and other early documents dating from 1909, but it also holds
numerous unattributed colour slides, many if not all of which were taken by Prof.
Clough. This series documents the development of Lake Burley Griffin through the
damming phase, through early landscaping and tree plantings to completion of the
project. There are many aerial shots. Clough also includes shots of lake activities and
ceremonies such as the inauguration by Prime Minister Menzies in 1964. The images
are a thoroughly workmanlike record of the lake’s creation, but they are not – and
were not intended to be – ‘art photos’. Nor is Clough regarded as a nationally
significant photographer.
The other major photographic contributor to the pictureaustralia website is Loui
Seselja (b1948), the NLA’s long-time staff photographer. From the mid-1990s
Seselja worked on a series of silver gelatine photographs of Canberrans engaged in
everyday activities. There are 165 of these images on the pictureaustralia database,
many of them of people engaged in recreational activities on or around Lake Burley
Griffin. Although Seselja has a long standing as a professional photographer, he does
not have a national reputation as an artist. Nor is it likely that his images have been
widely seen.
Many of the images in the pictureaustralia database are unattributed. Another large
group come from the Canberra Times collection, held by the ACT Heritage Library.
Some of these are general shots, their location determined presumably on aesthetic
grounds, but the majority are images of newsworthy activities such as the ‘Boston Tea
Party’ demonstration of 1981, the Canberra Festival raft race and the Birdman Rally.
Some of the photojournalists who took the shots are named, and include Bill
Pederson, Richard Briggs, Greg Lee, John Beale as well as some identified only by
their family names: Porter, Smith and Schultz. It is unlikely that any of these
photographers have national reputations as artists.
13
ACT Heritage Library collection no. 3893 (pictureaustralia database no. 641).
nla.pic-an12942889-40.
15
Pers. com., Emma Epstein, 21 April 2006. An exhibition of Lake George-inspired work was held at
the Canberra Museum and Gallery in 1999.
14
6
Five internationally recognised photographers have published images of Lake Burley
Griffin – Max Dupain, Frank Hurley, Atttila Kiraby, Hedda Morrison and Heide
Smith. However, Dupain and Hurley’s images are neither numerous nor significant.
Max Dupain’s black and white photograph, National Library at Night (1980), is held
in the ACT Heritage Library and in the NGA collection.16 The only Frank Hurley
images that have been traced depict a relief map of Lake Burley Griffin and a model
of the site. They are held in the NLA collection.17
Attila Kiraly is a celebrated Hungarian photographer who in 1993 was commissioned
to provide a photograph to mark the 25th anniversary of the building of the NLA. The
coloured photograph (47.7cm x 45 cm) is held in the NLA’s Picture Collection. The
collection’s Album 978 contains several other photographs by Kiraly, including both
colour and black & white images of Lake Burley Griffin.
The internationally acclaimed photographer Hedda Morrison (1908-1991) published
several books of photographs, her last being Hedda Morrison’s Hong Kong (2005).
Morrison lived in Canberra from 1961 until her death. The NLA Picture Collection
holds 24 albums of Morrison’s photographs, including many views of Lake Burley
Griffin.
Heide Smith was born in Germany, took up photography as a child, moved to England
in 1963 and then to Australia in 1971. She took up residence in Canberra in 1978 and
set up a studio there in 1982. She has a strong national reputation as a photographer,
and has lectured fellow professionals in Europe and Asia. Her awards include
Australian Professional Portrait Photographer of the Year. She has published four
books of photographs of Canberra. The first, I Love Canberra (1983) and the second,
published in 1986, both sold out.18 Smith’s third book, Heide Smith’s Canberra
(1992), consists entirely of colour images. It includes the following shots of Lake
Burley Griffin: ‘Captain Cook Memorial Fountain’, ‘Over Parliament House’, ‘The
City from Mount Ainsley’, ‘Regatta on Lake Burley Griffin’ (two shots), ‘King’s
Park, the Carillon’, ‘Canberra Seen from Mount Pleasant’, ‘Rain Clouds over Lake
Burley Griffin’, ‘Sun Setting on Lake Burley Griffin’, ‘Moon Rising over Russell
Offices’, ‘Canberra Views from Black Mountain Tower’, ‘View from Red Hill’ and
‘Lotus Bay in Winter’.
Heide Smith’s most recent book of Canberra photographs is Canberra, a Personal
Perspective (1999). It contains only black and white photographs, including the
following images of Lake Burley Griffin: ‘View across Lake Burley Griffin to the
Carillon’, ‘International Flag Display on the Foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin’, ‘From
Parliament House to Mt Ainsley, the Axis of the Parliamentary Triangle’, ‘The
“Grand Vista” from Mount Ainsley’, ‘Old Parliament House’, ‘The National Library
and Treasury Building from under Commonwealth Avenue Bridge’, ‘Commonwealth
Avenue Bridge leading to Parliament House’, ‘Black Swans at Black Mountain
Peninsula’, ‘Early Morning Rowers on Lake Burley Griffin’, ‘Aspen Island, Lake
Burley Griffin’, ‘Yachts at Yarralumla Bay, Lake Burley Griffin’, ‘The Carillon on
Aspen Island, Lake Burley Griffin’, ‘Jetty on Acton Peninsula, Lake Burley Griffin’.
16
No. 151 and NGA 99.70 respectively.
nla.pic-an23567018.
18
http://www.heidesmith.com/about.html.
17
7
4.3 Poetry
A number of poets with strong national reputations have lived in Canberra. Some of
these do not appear to have written about Lake Burley Griffin at all. For example, no
references to the lake were found in the verse of A D Hope, Geoff Page or Rosemary
Dobson. Nevertheless, Judith Wright, one of Australia’s most noted poets, has
written a poem inspired by the lake. Although the lake itself is not named in the
poem, the fact that it is contained in the volume, The Poetry of Canberra (1990),19
does suggest that Burley Griffin was the lake that Wright had in mind. The poem is
‘Lake in spring’, a meditation that contrasts the constancy of the lake (despite the
fleeting temporary changes caused by wind) with the changes that occur in human
relationships. There is nothing in the poem to identify Lake Burley Griffin as the
body of water in question.
Michael Thwaites is also a Canberra poet with a national reputation. At least three of
his poems contain unmistakable references to Lake Burley Griffin. However, all are
brief and none could be said to have been ‘inspired’ by the lake. They occur in ‘A
place of meetings: glimpses of the national capital’, ‘A message to my grandson’ and
‘Taking leave’.20 The latter reference is in the context of a musing on the imminent
death of a 90-year-old man in ‘the hospital by the lake’, and hardly counts as a
reference to the lake itself. Such references to the former hospital (now the site of the
National Museum of Australia) occur in a few works and cannot be accepted as
evidence in assessing the heritage values of the lake.
Three poets with local reputations have written about Lake Burley Griffin. They are
Diedre Lambert, Laurence Bourke and Sergio Mouat. Lambert’s 2001 volume, The
Edge of Time, contains two poems set on the shores of Burley Griffin. In ‘January
First 2001’, the poet sits by the lake at Yarramundi observing a family of anglers and
another of picnickers. In ‘Autumn 2001 in Commonwealth Park’, she writes about
her observations of Parliament House across the lake.21 Bourke’s ‘Entering the water’
and ‘A place in Melba’ are essentially meditations, the former by and partly about
Lake Burley Griffin and the second about Canberra; the latter includes the poet’s
thoughts about the making of the lake.22
Sergio Mouat came to Australia as a refugee from his native Chile during the
dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. He settled in Canberra, where he has published
several volumes of poetry. These were all written in Spanish, and Mouat’s poetry is
generally published in bilingual volumes. The poems themselves are about the pain
of exile, politics, love etc., and are acutely personal. The only volume to contain
references to Lake Burley Griffin is Canberra: Where the Wattle Blooms (2004),
which is Mouat’s tribute to a city that he has come to love. ‘The National Library’,
‘Parliament House’ and particularly ‘Lake Burley Griffin’ are all inspired by the lake
and its surrounds.23 The poems are also supported by colour photographs taken by
Mouat. While it is probable that Mouat’s books sell reasonably well in the ACT, it is
unlikely that either his photography or his poetry enjoys a national reputation.
19
MacKenzie, Phillip (Ed.), 1990; The Poetry of Canberra; Polonius, ACT, p20.
Thwaites, Michael, 2004; Unfinished Journeys: Collected Poems, 1932-2004; Ginninderra Press,
ACT, pp 104 & 107.
21
Lambert, Diedre, 2001; The Edge of Time; Ginninderra Press, Charwood, ACT, pp 29-31.
22
Bourke, Lawrence, 2003; A Cold Touch; Ginninderra Press, Charwood, ACT, pp 41 & 67.
23
Mouat, Sergio (translated from the Spanish by Marisa Cano),2004; Canberra, Where the Wattle
Bloom: a collection of poems and photographs by Sergio Mouat; Canberra, pp 12, 36 & 14.
20
8
4.4 Fiction
Many novels and short stories have been set in Canberra. Not surprisingly, most of
them are about politics and power. The city is essentially background and, as part of
that city, Lake Burley Griffin receives a number of passing mentions. Of the writers
who have referred to Lake Burley Griffin in this way, few have been at the forefront
of Australian letters. Two exceptions are the poet and novelist, Geoff Page (b1940),
and David Foster. Page’s second novel, Winter Vision, is set in Canberra. The hero
of the book is a jazz musician who regularly plays gigs at the yacht club on Lake
Burley Griffin. In this context, the lake itself receives a number of brief mentions,
and in a sequence lasting about four pages the hero cycles round the lake.24 David
Foster’s novel Plumbum is also about musicians and is set partly in Canberra. Lake
Burley Griffin receives one mention, and is described as ‘Canberra’s principal
ornament’.25
Other novels and stories in which the lake receives passing mentions as background
are Ric Throssell’s A Reliable Source (1991), Robert Mackie’s The Paper Castle
(1977), Dorothy Johnston’s short story, ‘The New Parliament House’ (1988) and
Gordon Reid’s short story ‘Skylark’.26 The lake serves a slightly more important
purpose in Alana Woods’ Automaton (2001), the lawyer heroine at one point walking
by the lake to consider her predicament.27 Similarly, in Penelope Hanley’s Full
House (1993) the heroine rides around the lake to clear her head the morning after
completing a draft of her first novel.28 In Marg Girdwood’s Exhibition (nd), a novel
about the creation of an art exhibition at the National Library, the lake receives a
number of passing mentions: the ‘lovely’ view from the room chosen for the
exhibition takes in the lake; the Aboriginal Tent Embassy is contrasted with the
‘manicured’ shores of the lake; sailing on the lake is described in the context of a
scene at the yacht club, and at one point lunch is taken in a restaurant overlooking the
lake.29
The Canberra-based writer Marion Haligan is far better known than Girdwood. She
has written many novels, short stories and essays over an award-winning career
spanning several decades. Haligan’s 2003 novel, The Point, like Exhibition, uses
Lake Burley Griffin as immediate background. It is mainly set in a restaurant situated
on an imaginary point on the lake. References to the lake itself, however, are few and
generally cursory.30 No references to Lake Burley Griffin have been found in
Haligan’s other works. Nor is there much of a mention in Sara Dowse’s well
regarded 1983 Canberra novel, West Block, although the cover illustration by Beth
Turner does appear to be a stylised view of the National Carillon.31
The only works that have come to light in which Lake Burley Griffin is central are
two short stories and two works for children. In Dorothy Johnston’s ‘The Boatman of
24
Page, Geoff, 1989; Winter Vision; UQP, Brisbane, pp1-2, 80-83 & 153-154.
Foster, David, 1983; Plumbum; Penguin, Ringwood, Vic., p91.
26
Throssell, Ric, 1991; A Reliable Source; Minerva, Melbourne, p11; Mackie, Robert, 1977; The
Paper Castle; Collins, Sydney, p69; Johnston, Dorothy, ‘The New Parliament House’ in Barbalet et al,
1988; Canberra Tales; Penguin, Ringwood, Vic., pp107-136; Reid, Gordon, ‘Skylark’ in Reid,
Gordon, 2000; Hell on Earth and Other Stories; Ginninderra, Charwood, ACT, pp167-176.
27
Woods, Alana, 2001; Automaton; WoodsfortheTrees Press, Canberra, p69.
28
Hanley, Penelope, 1993; Full House; Simon & Schuston, pp191-192.
29
Girdwood, Marg, nd; Exhibition; Books and Writers’ Network, Canberra, pp 41-42, 56, 99-104 &
194.
30
Haligan, Marion, 2003; The Point; Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW, pp 204, 271-272 & 314-316.
31
Dowse, Sara, 1983; West Block; Penguin, Ringwood, Vic.
25
9
Lake Burley Griffin’ (1988), a father who fishes in the lake after his daily lunchtime
visits to his hospitalised daughter becomes obsessed by the mysterious (and ultimately
symbolic) boatman whom he sees each day rowing through the fog.32 In Reid
Gordon’s ‘Unfinished Business’ (2000) the story centres on a meeting by the lake,
which serves as a background for the entire tale.33
The children’s works are Marjory O’Dea’s Six Days between a Second (1969) and
Michael Salmon’s The Monster that Ate Canberra (first published in 1972 with
illustrations by the author). The former is a fantasy novel featuring a tribe of
‘basilisks’ who have come to live in Canberra and who threaten to poison the water
supply. They take up residence in Lake Burley Griffin, around which the novel is
set.34 Michael Salmon’s story is about Alexander the Bunyip who, having been
forced to leave his home in Tasmania, travels the country until he finds the ‘biggest
billabong he had ever seen’, Lake Burley Griffin, which he makes his new home. He
washes in the Captain Cook Fountain and then proceeds to eat his way through
Canberra, building by building. Eventually the Prime Minister decides to pull the
plug on the Scrivener Dam and drain the lake. The Special Squad captures
Alexander, who is sent to Sydney Zoo from which he escapes. Salmon’s story was
adapted by Canberra Children’s Theatre as a pantomime that was performed in 1973
and 1975. In 2004 the NCA republished The Monster that Ate Canberra.35 Salmon’s
sequel, Son of the Monster (c1981), is also set in Canberra, but contains no references
to Lake Burley Griffin.
4.5 Art around Lake Burley Griffin
A number of artworks are sited on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin, and the lake has
been used as a setting for a few artistic events. By 1987 ten artworks – mainly
sculptures and murals – were situated on or around the lake.36 In the late 1970s and
early 1980s the lake featured as a venue in exhibitions of performance and
participatory art under the direction of Ingo Kleinert, a Canberran sculptor. The first
exhibition, Act 1, took place from 4th to 12th November 1978. It was promoted by the
Arts Council of Australia (ACT Division), and was one of the first performance art
events to be staged in Australia. Two performances took place on Lake Burley
Griffin: Richard Tipping’s Alphabet Soup and Mike Parr’s Dream (the Lights of
Empedocles). In the former Tipping cast polystyrene letters adrift on the lake, and in
the latter Parr (a one-armed artist) rowed around on the lake (presumably in circles) in
a dinghy from the late afternoon of one day until the morning of the next. When he
returned to shore Parr recounted to those who had turned up for the event the dreams
he had had while afloat.37
4.6 Tourist souvenirs of Lake Burley Griffin
The Canberra Museum and Gallery holds several tourist souvenirs of Lake Burley
Griffin. These include the Australian newspaper’s 1965 calendar of 12 Canberra
32
Johnston, Dorothy, ‘The Boatman of Lake Burley Griffin’ in Barbalet et al, 1988; Canberra Tales;
Penguin, Ringwood, Vic., pp136-141.
33
Reid, Gordon, ‘Unfinished Business’ in Reid, Gordon, 2000; Hell on Earth and Other Stories;
Ginninderra, Charwood, ACT, pp104-118.
34
O’Dea, Marjory, 1969; Six Days between a Second; River House.
35
Salmon, Michael, 2004; The Monster that Ate Canberra; NCA, Canberra.
36
Gray, John, 1994; ‘Commonwealth Park, Canberra, a Review of its History 1913-1993’; ACT
Heritage Council, unpublished report.
37
Act I program; copy held by Canberra Museum and Gallery.
10
images, a ceramic vase produced by Studio Anna on which is hand-painted a scene of
yachts on Lake Burley Griffin and a Studio Anna hand-painted souvenir dish
depicting the lake around Yarramundi Reach.
5. Analysis
Few notable artists in any media can be said to have produced works that have been
inspired by Lake Burley Griffin.
The painters, Lawrence Daws and Kenneth Jack, depicted the lake essentially in
response to commissions. Outside these commissioned works, the lake features in
only two paintings by major artists, Jack’s Sketch for Painting of Lake Burley Griffin
from Black Mountain No. and Stan de Teliga’s Under Way, Lake Burley Griffin. The
lake is also the subject of several of Harold Freedman’s Canberra Lithographs,
notably ‘Canberra Looking South-East’. It is unlikely that any of these works is
widely known.
Only two major photographers have produced significant numbers of reasonably well
known images of Lake Burley Griffin. They are Heide Smith and Hedda Morrison.
Judith Wright is the only nationally significant poet to have written a poem inspired
by Lake Burley Griffin, and she does not identify the lake in the poem. Among
nationally significant prose writers Marion Haligan alone in having set a novel, The
Point, essentially on Lake Burley Griffin, but she does not devote many words to the
lake itself.
6. Conclusion
To assess the aesthetic significance of Lake Burley Griffin based upon its depiction
by artists and writers, some form of comparison is necessary. This is provided by
Robin Crocker & Assoc.’s 2004 report for the DEH ‘Identifying Inspirational
Landscapes Part 2’. In particular, David Young’s ‘Key Artistic and Creative Sources’
sub-report assesses the national aesthetic significance of 107 landscapes throughout
Australia in terms of their artistic depiction. Each place is awarded a score out of five
based upon the national significance of the artists depicting the area, the public’s
likely knowledge of the works themselves, the number of works, the number of media
used and the length of time over which the range of depictions were made.
On the basis of the above comparison, Lake Burley Griffin merits a score of 3.
11