On This Day
1913 – The future capital of Australia is officially named Canberra.[9]
Canberra (/ˈkænbərə/ (audio speaker iconlisten) KAN-bə-rə)[10] is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia’s largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. Unusual among Australian cities, it is an entirely planned city. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory[11] at the northern tip of the Australian Alps, the country’s highest mountain range. As of June 2020, Canberra’s estimated population was 431,380.[12]
The area chosen for the capital had been inhabited by Indigenous Australians for up to 21,000 years,[13] with the principal group being the Ngunnawal people. European settlement commenced in the first half of the 19th century, as evidenced by surviving landmarks such as St John’s Anglican Church and Blundells Cottage. On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies of Australia was achieved. Following a long dispute over whether Sydney or Melbourne should be the national capital,[14] a compromise was reached: the new capital would be built in New South Wales, so long as it was at least 100 miles (160 km) from Sydney. The capital city was founded and formally named as Canberra in 1913. A blueprint by American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected after an international design contest, and construction commenced in 1913.[15] The Griffins’ plan featured geometric motifs and was centred on axes aligned with significant topographical landmarks such as Black Mountain, Mount Ainslie, Capital Hill and City Hill. Canberra’s mountainous location makes it the only mainland Australian city where snow-capped mountains can be seen in winter; although snow in the city itself is rare.
As the seat of the Government of Australia, Canberra is home to many important institutions of the federal government, national monuments and museums. This includes Parliament House, Government House, the High Court and the headquarters of numerous government agencies. It is the location of many social and cultural institutions of national significance such as the Australian War Memorial, the Australian National University, the Royal Australian Mint, the Australian Institute of Sport, the National Gallery, the National Museum and the National Library. The city is home to many important institutions of the Australian Defence Force including the Royal Military College Duntroon and the Australian Defence Force Academy. It hosts all foreign embassies in Australia as well as regional headquarters of many international organisations, not-for-profit groups, lobbying groups and professional associations.
Canberra has been ranked among the world’s best cities to live and visit.[16][17][18][19][20] Although the Commonwealth Government remains the largest single employer in Canberra, it is no longer the majority employer. Other major industries have developed in the city, including in health care, professional services, education and training, retail, accommodation and food, and construction.[21] Compared to the national averages, the unemployment rate is lower and the average income higher; tertiary education levels are higher, while the population is younger. At the 2016 Census, 32% of Canberra’s inhabitants were reported as having been born overseas.[22]
Canberra’s design is influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation. Its design can be viewed from its highest point at the Telstra Tower and the summit of Mount Ainslie. Other notable features include the National Arboretum, born out of the 2003 Canberra bushfires, and Lake Burley Griffin, named for the city’s architects. Highlights in the annual calendar of cultural events include Floriade, the largest flower festival in the Southern Hemisphere,[23][24] the Enlighten Festival, Skyfire, the National Multicultural Festival and Summernats. Canberra’s main sporting venues are Canberra Stadium and Manuka Oval. The city is served with domestic and international flights at Canberra Airport, while interstate train and coach services depart from Canberra Railway Station and the Jolimont Centre respectively. City Interchange is the main hub of Canberra’s bus and light rail transport network.
Born On This Day
1858 – Adolph Ochs, American publisher (d. 1935)[66]
Adolph Simon Ochs (March 12, 1858 – April 8, 1935) was an American newspaper publisher and former owner of The New York Times and The Chattanooga Times (now the Chattanooga Times Free Press).
Early life and career
Ochs was born to a Jewish family in Cincinnati, Ohio, on March 12, 1858. His parents, Julius Ochs and Bertha Levy, were both German immigrants. His father had left Bavaria for the United States in 1846.[1] Julius was a highly educated man and fluent in six languages that he taught at schools throughout the South, though he supported the Union during the Civil War.[2] Ochs’ mother Bertha, who had come to the United States in 1848 as a refugee from the revolution in Rhenish Bavaria, and had lived in the South before her 1853 marriage with Julius, sympathized with the South, though their differing sympathies did not separate their household.[3]
After the war, the family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee.[3] In Knoxville, Adolph studied in the public schools and during his spare time delivered newspapers.[1] At 11, he went to work at the Knoxville Chronicle as office boy to William Rule, the editor, who became a mentor.[3] In 1871 he was a grocer’s clerk at Providence, Rhode Island, attending a night school meanwhile. He then returned to Knoxville, where he was a druggist’s apprentice for some time.[4] In 1872, he returned to the Chronicle as a “printer’s devil”, who looked after various details in the composing room of the paper.[3]
His siblings also worked at the newspaper to supplement the income of their father, a lay religious leader for Knoxville’s small Jewish community. The Chronicle was the only Republican, pro-Reconstruction, newspaper in the city, but Ochs counted Father Ryan, the Poet-Priest of the Confederacy, among his customers.[5]
FYI
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Ideas
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Just the Recipe: Paste the URL to any recipe, click submit, and it’ll return literally JUST the recipe- no ads, no life story of the writer, no nothing EXCEPT the recipe.
DamnDelicious
RecipeTinEats
- Introducing Jaffle! June 10, 2026Meet Jaffle! Future Chief Taste Tester. Son of a Dozer friend. A little bundle of golden, fluffy joy! 48 hours of instant happiness I didn’t expect to get a new puppy so soon after saying goodbye to Dozer. To be honest, I wasn’t sure when I’d be ready. And I had it in my head... […]Nagi
- Vegetable Tian June 5, 2026Meet Vegetable Tian – a colourful Provençal vegetable bake that I absolutely love! It’s full of beautiful colours, Mediterranean vibes, and looks as good as it tastes. Serve it as a side dish or enjoy it as a vegetarian main. Let’s go! Vegetable Tian I’ve been a ratatouille guy for as long as I can... […]Chef JB (RecipeTin)
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 11 June 11, 2026Picture of the day Panorama of Hong Kong's harbour and skyline, as seen from Victoria Peak on a rainy night of June 11, 2019.
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Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
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