Lake Burley Griffin - Later History and Development

Later History and Development

Griffin's design made the lake a focal point of the city. In the four decades since the initial construction of the lake, various buildings of national importance were added. According to the policy plan of the government, "The lake is not only one of the centrepieces of Canberra's plan in its own right, but forms the immediate foreground of the National Parliamentary Area."

The creation of the lake also gave a water frontage to many prominent institutions that were previously landlocked. The Royal Canberra Hospital was located on the Acton Peninsula between the West Lake and the West Basin on the north shore until its demolition. Government House, the historic Blundell's Cottage—which was built over 50 years before construction of Canberra began—and the newly built Australian National University, on the southern and northern shores of the West Lake, both gained a waterfront.

In 1970, two tourist attractions were added to the middle of Central Basin. The Captain James Cook Memorial was built by the government to commemorate the Bicentenary of (then Lieutenant) James Cook's first sighting of the east coast of Australia. It includes a water jet fountain located in the central basin (based on the Jet d'eau in Geneva) and a skeleton globe sculpture at Regatta Point showing the paths of Cook's expeditions. On 25 April 1970, Queen Elizabeth II officially inaugurated the memorial. As part of the same ceremony, Queen Elizabeth also opened the National Carillon on Aspen Island, a set of 53 bronze bells donated by the British Government to commemorate the city's 50th anniversary.

The completion of the central basin placed a waterway between Parliament House and the War Memorial and a landscaped boulevard was built along the land axis. Later, various buildings of national importance were built along the land axis in the late-1960s through to the early 1980s. The National Library was opened on the western side of the axis in April 1968. Building of the High Court and National Gallery occurred in the late-1970s and the buildings were opened in May 1980 and October 1982 respectively. The latter two buildings lie on the eastern side of the axis and are connected by an aerial bridge. In 1988, the new Parliament House was built on Capital Hill, thereby completing the most important structure in the Parliamentary Triangle.

The current home of the National Museum was built on the former site of the Royal Canberra Hospital in 2001. This occurred after the public were encouraged to watch the controlled demolition of the hospital in 1997, but a girl was killed by flying debris, leading to criticism of the ACT Government.

At the start of the 21st century, the layout of the lake was significantly altered for the first time since its construction, through the Kingston Foreshores Redevelopment on southern shore of the East Basin, which was planned in 1997. A bidding process was enacted, multi-million dollar luxury apartment complexes were built in the suburb of Kingston, driving property values to record-breaking levels. After a dispute over the environmental impact of the development, building works commenced on the previously industrial lakeside area of the suburb. In 2007, work started to reclaim land from the lakebed to form a harbour, which is expected to turn the area into an entertainment hub.

The Kingston Powerhouse, which used to provide the city's power supply, was converted into the Canberra Glassworks in 2007, 50 years after the electricity generators stopped. A 22-metre (72 ft) high tower of glass and light named Touching Lightly, will be built at Kingston after being approved by the government in April 2009. An environmentally friendly structure, it is expected to be completed in mid-2009.

In 2007, the government unveiled a proposal to redevelop the area surrounding the historic Albert Hall into a tourist and dining precinct. This included the building of an eight-storey building and the rezoning of some waterfront land currently designated as cultural to commercial. It was met with widespread hostility from heritage activists and the general community, which submitted more than 3,300 signatories in a petition against the scheme. One of the criticisms was that the project was tilted too heavily towards business, and neglected the arts and community events. The proposal was scrapped in 2009.

It has been proposed that a footbridge, to be named Immigration Bridge, be built between the National Museum of Australia and Lennox Gardens on the south shore, in recognition of the contributions that immigrants have made to Australia. The proposal has mostly received negative feedback. An inquiry recommended that the bridge be redesigned or moved to accommodate the needs of other lake users.