Cold, Cold, Canberra

I looked out the hotel window first thing this morning to see dark grey skies and that was just how the day turned out – windy and bitterly cold. The temperature only rose to 7C and the sharp wind reduced the ‘feel like’ temperature to freezing and below.

For those who know Canberra, You will be surprised at the extent of development along Northbourne Avenue, the main access road from Yass and Goulburn. What once used to be old blocks of flats are now newly developed multi-storey apartments and hotels. A ‘newish’ light rail tramway now runs down the centre of the road and if you haven’t been here for a few years, you will be surprised at the changes.

It was too cold and wet to do much walking so we began the day by driving across to the city of Queanbeyan which is just across the border into NSW. Our aim was to visit the area where Jill’s grandparents lived and where Jill often visited as a young girl. The old house no longer exists, with the site having been purchased by the adjoining primary school. She could identify the site because of the large old Plane Tree that dropped its leaves in Autumn and annoyed her grandmother considerably.

Jill could remember the names of some of the nearby residents, although they would have all passed on by now.  She recounted the story of her grandmother walking around the corner to visit her best friend Mrs Green. As were the conservative manners of the day, for all the years that they were friends, these two women always addressed each other as Mrs Ruffels and Mrs Green. We don’t think that either of them even knew each other’s first names.

Trying to think of things to do in this miserable weather, a quick stop at the Red Hill Lookout that overlooks the city was all I could manage before retreating back to the car for warmth.

We had arranged to meet my good friends, John and Janine at the National Library for lunch. John was my commanding officer in Vietnam when we were both young and more adventurous. We enjoyed a good few hours of conversation before heading our seperate ways.

JIll and I spent the rest of the afternoon at the Australian War Memorial. It really consists of two parts – a memorial and a museum. The memorial section will never be changed and it maintains its classic solemnity.

The part comprising the museum is undergoing a  $60 million plus renovation. I have to say that the new sections that are open are very impressive. The new entrance hall, for example, is large, open and stunning.

The First and Second World War Sections have been refreshed and look less stuffy. While they only include a small percentage of the museums total number of items, there are new displays of additional items compared to the past. The favourite dioramas of WW1 battles, such as this one of the Battle of the Somme are still present.

The exhibits for the Vietnam and Korean Wars along with the stories from the Malaysian Emergency have been combined into a larger ‘Cold War’ section of the museum. The stories of all of these conflicts are now represented with greater weight.

I watched the sound and light show of helicopters inserting troops into an operational zone and the ‘Wop Wop Wop’ sound of the Iroquois Helicopter still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

There are still some sections yet to be constructed such as the Aircraft Hall, yet to be completed but if they look as good as those parts that are already open, this museum will easily maintain its position as the third most visited tourist attraction in Australia.