Canberra is the national capital of Australia. It is located between Melbourne and Sydney which have a population of about 4 million people in each city. That is 8 million people in a nation of about 14 million. So most of the population of Australia is in these two cities and in the surrounding communities. Once we leave this area we’ll see very few large towns and as we head west, we’ll see fewer people. Canberra itself is not a huge city. The population of Canberra is just over 400,000. That makes it small enough to be accessible. We enjoyed riding the buses, a ride from our park to the downtown terminal area was less than 30 minutes. The downtown terminal is a series of bus stops within several blocks of each other in the central downtown area. From there we transferred to another bus which took us to the parliament building.

Australia replaced their original parliament building in the 1980’s and the new parliament building is a beautiful piece of work. The building sits atop a high hill. Much of the building lies beneath the ground and behind a façade that faces out toward the city with the old parliament building clearly visible several kilometers away. The building itself has modern utilities including solar panels and energy saving design. Parking lots are located beneath the building and as is necessary these days, everything is designed for tight security.

We checked in through the security area and then were admitted to the public portion of the parliament building. We had a backpack with our rain gear and we checked it at the information desk. They have tours and we browsed our way around the building waiting for the next tour. On display in one area is one of only two copies of the Magna Carta that exist outside England.

Our guide met us promptly at the appointed time and greeted the group, asking each person or couple where they were from and then replying in their language or with comments about their home area. He detailed the history and nature of the building and the history of democracy in Australia.

The highlight of the day came following the tour when we were directed where to go to sit in on a session of parliament. We passed through another security screening and were seated in the gallery just before “question time.” This is a weekly procedural event something like a press conference with the Prime Minister and members of the House engaged in questioning each other regarding the issues of the day. It began with on a somber note as the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, addressed family members of the Australians who were passengers on Malaysian Flight 370 which had just been confirmed lost by tracking and the discovery of debris far off the southwest coast of Australia. The families were present in the gallery as Mr. Abbott addressed them and expressed his condolences. The opposition party leader agreed with Mr. Abbott and then added his remarks as did the Speaker of the House.

This was the last agreement we saw during our stay. The format has the opposition asking questions of the party in power, primarily the Prime Minister. When the reply comes, there are outbursts from the opposition party mocking and jeering the Prime Minister. The Speaker of the House dismissed one of the opposition party members who she felt was being particularly persistent in her remarks. It didn’t seem to take much steam out of the opposition. This it turns out is pretty much a show of puffery for the public and the press. It does serve to air out differences but there is no substantive progress on any particular issue being made. The news media are happy, they have a number of topics to pursue in the coming week. We saw coverage on the session on the news broadcast that week and are still hearing news about some of the comments made during that session.

Leaving the parliament building we took a bus back toward the city. We stopped off in another area to check out the science and technology museum. There was too little time to pay admission and buzz through it so we continued on our way. There are an amazing array of buildings located in the area and much time could be spent visiting the various art, science and history museums and other government buildings.

Returning to our campground, we arrived just as the rain started to pick up. Overnight it rained heavily and by morning the grounds were thoroughly soaked. We were parked on grass in an area that could have been a real problem. I wasn’t at all sure we would be able to get out. Our plans had been to drive into Canberra and visit the Zoo and or the Science and Technology Center but with the rain, we gave up on those plans. I examined the soggy ground and determined our best strategy for leaving our parking spot. Fortunately, the ground was firm enough we had no trouble getting out. We didn’t even leave any ruts. That done, we set our course for Sydney, just over 200 kilometers away.