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Building a nation, the Dalgety story, an account of a capital city that could have
been
By Chris Barry
Dalgety, situated in the Monaro region of New South Wales, was a proposed site for
the federal capital of Australia in the period of 1903 to 1908 and was a popular
candidate to be the site chosen. Formerly known as Buckleys Crossing, the site is
quietly nestled on the water metropolis of the Snowy river and was the front-runner to
be Australias bush capital.i At the time, there was a political battle raging between
the Victorian and New South Wales parliaments as to the whereabouts and location of
the future capital city.
Ultimately Canberra was selected and became Australias largest planned city.
Dalgety on the other hand, as a small rural hamlet with a population of less than 100,
has wandered like similar communities into rural obscurity. Today Dalgety, has one
operating pub; one primary school with roughly 13 students and has been
predominantly lost in history. Eventually, Canberra got the nod as the capital city, and
like many country towns, Dalgety has faded off the historical record but how easily
the roles could have been reversed with this town on the Snowy being our federal
unifier.
Federation
As historic a moment as Federation was, the problem turned to where the governance
of a federal country would be situated, under a capital city. This was a significant issue
particularly given the fact that the two biggest colonies, Victoria and New South Wales
were engaged in a rivalry over governance. Given the political angst between
parliaments, both states were appeased by the enactment of section 125 of the
Commonwealth Constitution which stipulated that a new capital should be in NSW, no
less than 100 miles from Sydney, but in the meantime parliament shall sit at
Melbourne until it meet at the seat of Government.ii Therefore it was decided that a
political planned capital should be erected in Australia by following a similar method
as planned cities such as Washington and Ontario.iii
Buckleys Crossing Progress Committee
With the advent of looking for a capital, sites were nominated to Federal parliament.
In Dalgetys case, members of the Buckleys Crossing Progression Committee put
forward their community to become the site chosen. iv In considering sites, at the
request of the Minister for state and home affairs, Sir John Forrest, the site was
enquired into its suitability as a site for a Federal Capital. Dalgety also had prominent
support from Minister for Federal Parliament Austin Chapman, who pushed the site to
be
How
close Dalgety came to being
selected
To put it into context of how close
Dalgety came to being the preferred
site chosen, it was written into the
Commonwealth legislation by the Seat
of Government Act, as the site that
would be the Federal capital.xi This was
due to the fact that the site received an
overwhelming majority of the votes of
the representatives of the States with the exception of New South Wales.xii Prominent
Federal Ministers were also very happy with Dalgety as the site chosen as proved by
strong support indicated by Sir John Forrest who was the Federal Minister for Home
Affairs at the time. In his eyes it fulfilled all his requirements and surpassed the
others as regards water supply, water frontages
and surrounding scenery. It was by far the most
picturesque and would attract visitors and
tourists the summer by reason of its climate and
the attractions of the snowy mountains.xiii
However New South Wales wouldnt relinquish
that territory and cede Dalgety to be the Federal
capital. As it played out, Charles Wade was
appointed as premier in 1907 and wanted the
matter over the site selection settled quickly in the hope of improving relations
between the Commonwealth and the State, by this stage Yass-Canberra was gaining
supporters and impressed both Federal and State politicians who visited the area.xiv
Relevance to today
As is the case with much of history, the winners are remembered and those who were
runners up often fall into obscurity and are lost by history. The Dalgety tale reaches
out to much of the make up of rural towns particularly those that were primarily used
as stop offs on stock routes and trade. Today as transport and industry allows greater
distances to be travelled and has removed key businesses, this has negative effects
over population in similar towns. The rise of industrial capitalism, with manufacturing
replacing agriculture as the main generator of wealth has seen an increase of
population living in towns and cities, this is a term known as urbanization.xxii Increased
farm sizes and agricultural improvements have resulted in smaller populations living
in farming areas and consequently affected the size of towns in which it services. This
is clearly identifiable in Dalgetys situation as the town formerly had two pubs, with
the Horse and Jockey Inn site being still preserved of a by gone colonial era.xxiii
Even with this possibility of what could have been, Dalgety still has a prominent
makeup of how Federalism occurred and how the States managed to finally come to a
resolution over the important decision of their national capital. It is undeniable that
country towns such as Dalgety have a presence on our makeup as a country by
showing the decisions parliaments and individuals make and their implications over
wider population. Likewise the process of creating a planned city reflects how modern
cities are now thought of in terms of planning and development globally, with
Canberra being a resonation of global influences and ideas.xxiv
Although Dalgety isnt our national capital, Dalgetys dismissal gives us an insight into
the colonial rivalry during the early 20th century and how far we have come as a
nation to collaborate on matters Federally.
Secondary
Sources:
Frank
Forrest, A founding father of the Commonwealth
Australia University of Western Australia Press 2000
Crowley,
Sir John
of
Pegrum, Roger The Bush Capital, How Australia chose Canberra as the Capital City
1983 SLV
Gale, John The Federal Capital, Dalgety or Canberra : Which? Hackett Publishers 1907
SLV
Gillespie, Lyall Canberra 1820 1913 AGPS Press publication
Gordon, David Planning Twentieth Century Capital Cities London Routledge 2006
Fitzgerald, Alan Canberra in two centuries, a pictorial history Clareville Press 1987
Foster, Clive Australian Cities Oxford University Press 1995
Rawson, D Politics in the Eden-Monaro Donald William 1958
Taylor, Griffith The Evolution of a capital, a physiographic study of the foundation of
Canberra, Australia The Geographic Journal Vol 43 No 4 1914 page 386
Primary Sources
Commonwealth Constitution 1901 Section 125
The Age Newspaper per Trove; 10th October 1908 page 12; The Federal Capital
Question 13th July 1904 page 6; 15th October 1904 Why Dalgety is preferable
The Argus 7th July 1904
The Bulletin 6th February 1908
Legislative Assembly New South Wales Ordered Report on Proposed Federal Capital
Site at Dalgety 15th November 1904
Lionel Lindsay painting on Dalgety 1st April 1908 courtesy of the National Library of
Australia
National Advocate Bathurst Newspaper, Canberra the Conqueror, the downfall of
Dalgety Friday 9th October
Report on a proposed Site for the federal capital at Dalgety; 27th October 1904 NRS
333 5/7744.2
Seat of Government Act 1904 Commonwealth ;Courtesy of Federal Register of
Legislation
Queanbeyan observer, 26th August 1906
Images:
1) Buckleys Crossing Bridge built in 1888, was the original way over the Snowy
River. Image per http://www.snowyriverholidaypark.com.au
2) Victorian State Coat of Arms
3) New South Wales State Coat of Arms
4) Letter Written by Buckleys Crossing Progress Committee 1899, offering their
community as a site to be listed NRS 1460 2/833.2
5) Royal Commission Report on a proposed site for the Federal Capital at Dalgety page
2
6) Seat of Government Act 1904, which was later repealed by the 1908 amendment;
Courtesy of Federal Register of Legislation
7) Charles Scrivener; National Library of Australia
8) Google Maps, view of where Dalgety is relative to Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra and
the proposed trade route through Gippsland.
9) Page 2 of Royal Commission Report on a proposed site for the Federal Capital NRS
333 5/7744.2
10) The Age 10th October 1908 page 13 per Trove
11) Lindsay, Lionel drawing on Federal Capital Dalgety, 1st April 1908 National Library
of Australia,
12) Buckleys Crossing Hotel; photo courtesy of Suzanne Upton, State Records
Authority of New South Wales
ENDNOTES
i Pegrum, Roger The Bush Capital, How Australia chose Canberra as the Capital City 1983
ii Commonwealth Constitution 1901 Section 125
iii Gordon, David Planning Twentieth Century Capital Cities London Routledge 2006 Chapter 1
iv Letter to Land Appraisal Court Sydney, 28 December 1899; NRS 1460 2/833.2
v Fitzgerald, Alan Canberra in two centuries, a pictorial history Clareville Press 1987 page 21
Federation
vi Queanbeyan observer, 26th August 1906
vii Royal Commission Report on a Proposed site for a Federal Capital at Dalgety page 1 NRS
333 5/7744.2
viii The Argus 7th July 1904
ix The Bulletin 6th February 1908 this trickle of water;
x The Age Scrivener 15th October 1904 Why Dalgety is preferable page 12
xi Seat of Government Act (Cth) 1904
xii Pegrum, Roger The Bush Capital, How Australia chose Canberra as the Capital City Hale
and Irenmoger 1983 The New capital of Australia, Description of Dalgety
xiii Crowley, F K Sir John Forrest Francis Keble 1924 Page 344
xiv Pegrum, Roger The Bush Capital Hale and Irenmoger, Sydney 1983 page 132
xv Fitzgerald Allen, Canberra and the new parliament house Lansdown Press 1983 page 21
xvi Gale, John The Federal Capital, Dalgety or Canberra: which? 24th July 1907 SLV 994.71
page 6
xvii Ibid page
xviii Royal Commission Report on a proposed site for the Federal Capital page 2 NRS 333
5/7744.2
xix Ibid page 7
xx National Advocate Bathurst Newspaper, Canberra the Conqueror, the downfall of Dalgety
Friday 9th October page 2
xxi Lionel Lindsay painting on Dalgety 1st April 1908 courtesy of the National Library of
Australia
xxii Foster, Clive Australian Cities Oxford University Press 1995 page 6
xxiii Horse and Jockey : Dalgety Conservation Area
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/heritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=2410222
xxiv Gordon, David Planning Twentieth Century Capital Cities London Routledge 2006
Chapter 11