A rural environment

When the Yass-Canberra district was chosen by the Federal Government as the site for the Australian capital, it was sheep country.

The grasslands below the Brindabella Mountain range had been taken for large pastoral leases in the 1820s but by the turn of the century many small holdings were part of the landscape.

In 1911, soon after the decision was made to locate the new capital there, legislation was passed to enable the resumption of these farmlands. The Power House was built on one of Robert Campbell’s Duntroon paddocks. Not far from the Power House, beside the creek that runs through what is now Telopea Park, was the Rottenberry family’s farmhouse.

Sand and gravel works for the city were situated on Rottenberry Hill which rises beyond the creek and is now the location of a residential development overlooking Lake Burley Griffin.

Rural skills and resources contributed to the early construction of Canberra, particularly through the supply of horse teams for clearing and levelling the land. The rural work of harvesting, milking and shearing continued next door to the Power House and the suburb that grew around it, playing a memorable part in the beginnings of urban life in Canberra.