Advance Australia Yeah

A long weekend courtesy of Australia Day, and, being the national capital, Canberra was putting on plenty of events and celebrations of the Pommies landing in Sydney Cove in 1788. On Australia Day’s Eve, there was a free concert on the lawns of Parliament House, broadcast live on Channel Ten. Mostly it was pap from Australian Idol (which also happened to be on Channel Ten…)

Friday was Straya Day proper, and I proceeded to sunbathe, watch the cricket (for what it was worth!), have a BBQ and then, once darkness had fallen, joined the people of Canberra who had come out of hiding for a fireworks display on the lake. Just a short stroll from home, the walk to the lake took me past Old Parliament House, which was looking sedate.


As well as the fireworks, there was also a “dump and burn” from a fighter jet, which lit the sky like a rocket and was as loud as a hundred galahs multiplied by a thousand cockatoos listening to Rolf Harris plays Metallica at full blast.













The next day took in a few more Aussie icons,
courtesy mostly of the National Museum of Australia, which I visited for the first time. It is around on the north western part of the lake, so I cycled in what turned out to be a strong headwind, taking in more decorations and signs of Australian-ness on the way.