A Missed Opportunity? The Failed Expansion of the ACT in the 1960s and 1970s

The Canberra urban area has expanded considerably since its declaration as Australia’s capital city in 1913. From a collection of sheep paddocks, it has transformed into a city of more than 350,000 people – or more than 400,000 with the populations of Queanbeyan, Bungendore and Yass added. However, rapid growth in the ACT after World War II led to estimates that the Canberra urban area could have been home to as many as 800,000 people by the year 2000, of which it was considered only 550,000 could reasonably fit within the existing ACT border (NCDC, 1975a). Commonwealth authorities came to the conclusion that expanding the ACT border was the best way to accommodate an expanding Canberra urban area, by allowing it room to grow and be planned under the one administrative system.