Garema Place is a paved outdoor area in Civic, Canberra, Australia, with a number of shops, restaurants and cafes with outdoor dining. As a central point within the CBD, many community events including protests and festivals are held at the location.
Garema Place was Gazetted as a city street in October 1952,[1] when the disused Civic Centre railway station was removed from the site. The station had opened in 1921 as Canberra's second goods rail terminal when the Commonwealth railway line was extended from Kingston,[2] but closed in 1922 when the rail bridge over the Molonglo River was washed away in a flood.[3] The rail corridor ran along what is now City Walk and was preserved until 1950. At that time the National Capital Planning and Development Committee abandoned plans for a Canberra City railway, noting there were disadvantages in having a railway in the centre of a city.[4]
By the mid 1960's Garema Place had been converted to a pedestrian plaza.[5] Today, Garema Place and nearby City Walk are the location of Canberra's Multicultural Festival held each February[6] and the Celebrate Canberra Festival in March.
In 1963, then-Prime MinisterRobert Menzies opened the nearby Monaro Mall (now Canberra Centre), which became the first in Australia to be fully-enclosed and air-conditioned with three floors. Due to the expansive nature of the centre and its association with the Garema Place and nearby City Walk, the Centre has since grown to also cover the land, as if it were a district of its own.
Garema Place is known for its sculptures and artworks by local artists, predominantly "The Cushion and the Wedge",[7] a silver statue of a pillow located in the main area near the chess board. This pillow is colloquially known as the 'Goon Bag', for its resemblance to the Australian icon.
The most recent addition is the "Big Swoop", which commemorates the Australian magpie and its place in Australian culture. One of the more common birds of Australia, including urban Canberra, it is celebrated for its mellifluous carolling and its remarkable memory. During the breeding season the protective male can swoop on a human, occasionally making contact. At other times they are wont to swoop on a dropped chip or other morsel. The statue, designed by local artist Yanni Pounartzis and constructed by sculptor Gustavo Balboa and scenic artist Ari Maack, was installed in March 2022 but was not sufficiently robust to withstand a vandal attack, and had to be removed. It was rebuilt by fibreglass specialist Stuart Roswell to be indistinguishable from the original, but of much sterner stuff, and returned to its original place in December 2022.[8]
^"Australian Capital Territory". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (69): 3995. 9 October 1952.
^"Canberra Railway". The Queanbeyan Age and Queanbeyan Observer. 2 September 1921. p. 2. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
^Second bridge over the Molonglo River at Commonwealth Avenue, Canberra, probably 1924, 1924, retrieved 15 July 2019
^"Canberra City Railway Scheme Abandoned". The Canberra Times. 14 February 1952. p. 2. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
^Blog; Treasury, ACT Government; PositionTitle=Director; SectionName=Corporate Management; Corporate=Chief Minister and (14 September 2023). "Garema Place is evolving with our City Centre". Blog. Retrieved 19 April 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Services, ACT Government;; PositionTitle=Manager; SectionName=Media and Communications; Corporate=Community (19 June 2019). "About Us". www.multiculturalfestival.com.au. Retrieved 15 July 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"The Cushion and the Wedge". Access Canberra. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
^"Popular magpie sculpture officially swoops back into the city". RiotACT. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
garema, place, paved, outdoor, area, civic, canberra, australia, with, number, shops, restaurants, cafes, with, outdoor, dining, central, point, within, many, community, events, including, protests, festivals, held, location, town, squarearea116m, owneract, go. Garema Place is a paved outdoor area in Civic Canberra Australia with a number of shops restaurants and cafes with outdoor dining As a central point within the CBD many community events including protests and festivals are held at the location Garema PlaceTown SquareArea116m OwnerACT GovernmentLocationGarema Pl Canberra ACT 2601Coordinates 35 16 42 S 149 07 55 E 35 278338 S 149 132002 E 35 278338 149 132002 Big Swoop and magpie Garema Place was Gazetted as a city street in October 1952 1 when the disused Civic Centre railway station was removed from the site The station had opened in 1921 as Canberra s second goods rail terminal when the Commonwealth railway line was extended from Kingston 2 but closed in 1922 when the rail bridge over the Molonglo River was washed away in a flood 3 The rail corridor ran along what is now City Walk and was preserved until 1950 At that time the National Capital Planning and Development Committee abandoned plans for a Canberra City railway noting there were disadvantages in having a railway in the centre of a city 4 By the mid 1960 s Garema Place had been converted to a pedestrian plaza 5 Today Garema Place and nearby City Walk are the location of Canberra s Multicultural Festival held each February 6 and the Celebrate Canberra Festival in March In 1963 then Prime Minister Robert Menzies opened the nearby Monaro Mall now Canberra Centre which became the first in Australia to be fully enclosed and air conditioned with three floors Due to the expansive nature of the centre and its association with the Garema Place and nearby City Walk the Centre has since grown to also cover the land as if it were a district of its own Garema Place is known for its sculptures and artworks by local artists predominantly The Cushion and the Wedge 7 a silver statue of a pillow located in the main area near the chess board This pillow is colloquially known as the Goon Bag for its resemblance to the Australian icon The most recent addition is the Big Swoop which commemorates the Australian magpie and its place in Australian culture One of the more common birds of Australia including urban Canberra it is celebrated for its mellifluous carolling and its remarkable memory During the breeding season the protective male can swoop on a human occasionally making contact At other times they are wont to swoop on a dropped chip or other morsel The statue designed by local artist Yanni Pounartzis and constructed by sculptor Gustavo Balboa and scenic artist Ari Maack was installed in March 2022 but was not sufficiently robust to withstand a vandal attack and had to be removed It was rebuilt by fibreglass specialist Stuart Roswell to be indistinguishable from the original but of much sterner stuff and returned to its original place in December 2022 8 Contents 1 See also 2 Gallery 3 References 4 External linksSee also edit nbsp Australian Roads portalGallery edit nbsp A D Hope nbsp David Campbell nbsp Judith Wright nbsp Icarus Series three figures nbsp Father and Son John Dowie nbsp Father and Son plaqueReferences edit Australian Capital Territory Commonwealth of Australia Gazette 69 3995 9 October 1952 Canberra Railway The Queanbeyan Age and Queanbeyan Observer 2 September 1921 p 2 Retrieved 15 April 2024 Second bridge over the Molonglo River at Commonwealth Avenue Canberra probably 1924 1924 retrieved 15 July 2019 Canberra City Railway Scheme Abandoned The Canberra Times 14 February 1952 p 2 Retrieved 19 April 2024 Blog Treasury ACT Government PositionTitle Director SectionName Corporate Management Corporate Chief Minister and 14 September 2023 Garema Place is evolving with our City Centre Blog Retrieved 19 April 2024 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link Services ACT Government PositionTitle Manager SectionName Media and Communications Corporate Community 19 June 2019 About Us www multiculturalfestival com au Retrieved 15 July 2019 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint multiple names authors list link The Cushion and the Wedge Access Canberra Retrieved 1 October 2023 Popular magpie sculpture officially swoops back into the city RiotACT Retrieved 1 October 2023 External links editCitysearch Garema place List of public art works in ACT KML file edit help Template Attached KML Garema PlaceKML is from Wikidata Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Garema Place amp oldid 1219799765, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
