35 Years of ACT Self-Government

Tthe Act you've known for all these years...

The Road to Self-Government

Politician

Rachel Stephen-Smith

Info to come.

Writer

Zoya Patel

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Politician

Jeremy Hanson

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Brewer

Tom Hertel

Info to come.

Community Organiser

Gordon Bryant

Gordon Bryant was the Minister for the Capital Territory who in 1973 announced that the ACT would have self-government within 12 months. In 1974, he established the first ACT Legislative Assembly. While democratically elected, the decisions of the Assembly were largely ignored by the Federal government. Bryant was a strong campaigner for indigenous rights and was one of the lead forces behind the Yes campaign in the 1966 referendum on restoring Aboriginal rights to the Australian Constitution.

Model and Actor

Kate Fischer

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Writer and Broadcaster

Nicole Overall

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Politician

Kate Carnell

Kate Carnell was a Liberal MLA between 1992 to 2000 and Chief Minister between 1995 to 2000.Kate ran a pharmacy in Red Hill prior to entering politics. While initially a popular Chief Minister, Kate became subject to scrutiny over her public demolition of Royal Canberra Hospital that led to the death of Katie Bender and the redevelopment of Bruce Stadium where dead grass was painted green. As a teen, Kate suffered from anorexia and spent time in hospital. This gave her a life-long passion for addressing mental health issues.

Politician

Paul Whalan

Info to come.

Brewer

Richard Watkins

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Ruminant Mammal

Sheep

It has long been remarked that Canberra is a good sheep paddock, ruined. From European colonisation to the 1960s, there were more sheep than people.

Politician

Elizabeth Kikkert

Info to come.

Politician

Kate Lundy

Kate Lundy was the Labor senator for the ACT between 1996 to 2015. Kate was the Minister for Sport under the Gillard government. Throughout her parliamentary carer, Kate has had an active interest in internet regulation.Kate is married to David Foreman, founding Director of the Competitive Carriers Coalition, a telecommunications lobby group.

Cartoonist

David Rowe

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Architect

John Sulman

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Journalist

Laurie Oakes

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Editor and Broadcaster

Ian Meikle

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Politician

Michael Moore

Michael Moore was an independent ACT MLA between 1989 - 2001. Often seen as the father of ACT's independents, Michael has long been active in the Canberra community, both behind the scenes and through public advocacy. Michael was the joint founder of the Australian Parliamentary Group on Drug Law Reform and fought to have safe-injecting rooms in the ACT. While this was blocked in the Assembly, it did lead to NSW introducing a trial in Kings Cross.

Politician

John Haslem

John Haslem was the Liberal MP for Canberra between 1975 to 1980. John voted for Gough Whitlam in 1972 and then decided to attend a Liberal Party meeting in 1974. John signed up and was preselected for Canberra shortly after. John is currently working as a real estate agent in Batreman's Bay at the youthful age of 85.

Politician

Mick Gentleman

Info to come.

Indigenous Community Worker

Jill Galagher

Info to come.

Politician

Susan Ryan

Susan Ryan was the Labor senator for the ACT between 1975 to 1998. Susan was a strong campaigner for feminist issues and was the first female Minister for Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women under the Hawke government. The position had been created under the previous Fraser government but had two men in the position, prior to Susan. Susan was also the Minister of Education in the Hawke government and, after leaving politics, became the Age Discrimination Commissioner

Musician

Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles

Info to come.

Indigenous Custodian

Aunty Agnes O'Shea

Info to come.

Flightless Bird

Tux the Penguin

In 1991, celebrated computer programmer, Linus Torvalds, traveled from his home in Finland to Australia to speak at a computer conference about his new open-source operating system, LINUX. Linus was thinking how he would market LINUX to the world when he paid a visit to the Canberra Zoo. Leaning over to look closer in the penguin enclosure, Linus was bitten by an aggressive fairy penguin. The penguin became the global mascot for LINUX.

Artist

Alison Adler

Info to come.

Politician

Ed Cocks

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Politician

Jonathan Davis

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Writer

Valerie Parv

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Politician

Brendan Smyth

Brendan Smyth was a Liberal MLA between 1996 to 2016. Brendan was briefly the Liberal MP for Canberra between 1995-96, when Ros Kelly resigned and a byelection was called. Brendan was offered the lucrative job of Commissioner for International Engagement by Andrew Barr just prior to the 2016 ACT election, meaning his seat was taken in a count-back by the 81-year-old, Val Jeffrey, the oldest person ever to serve in the Legislative Assembly.

Brewer

Tracy Morgan

Info to come.

Politician

Joy Birch

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Indigenous Custodian

Aunty Violet Sheridan

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Cultural Change Leader

Julie McKay

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Broadcaster

Ross Solly

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Sculpture

Earthwork

In 1975, Australian sculptor, Bert Flugleman, decided to bury his sculpture, Earthwork, under Commonwealth Park. Why?! Well, Bert wanted people to "imagine what is under their feet" and dwell upon the unseen art that may exist all around them.

Photographer

William James Mildenhall

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Broadcaster

Leon Delaney

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Broadcaster and Writer

Richard Fidler

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Model and Actor

Imogen Bailey

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Surveyor

Charles Scrivener

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Politician

Emma Davidson

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Editor

Arthur Shakespeare

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Businessman

Terry Snow

Info to come.

Politician

Dr Andrew Leigh

Andrew Leigh is the Labor MP for Fraser. The son of academic parents, Andrew is a prolific academic and author, as well as a local MP. Andrew is also Assistant Minister for Employment and Assistant Member for Competition Charities and Treasury. Andrew has authored over 300 articles and published ten books. Andrew is also an active runner who has competed in marathons all over the world.Andrew has no concept of the term "spare time."

Politician

Nicole Lawder

Info to come.

Politician

Ros Kelly

Ros Kelly was the Labor MP for Canberra between 1980 to 1995. Ros was the Minister for Sport under the Hawke government and was forced to resign due to allegations of "sports rorts." Ros was born Roslyn Raw and got her surname from her first husband, journalist Paul Kelly. Ros was the first federal MP to have a baby while in office (twin boys),

Writer and Cryptonaturalist

Tim "The Yowie Man" Bull

Info to come.

Lobbyist and Journalist

Robbie Swan

Info to come.

Politician

Gary Humphries

Gary Humphries was a Liberal MLA between 1989 to 2001, and Chief Minister from 2000 to 2001. Gary was then Senator for the ACT from 2003 to 2013.Gary has long been a fixture in ACT politics holding several ministries as an MLA. As Senator for the ACT, Gary was the first Liberal to vote against the Howard Government's move to overturn the ACT's same-sex marriage legislation. In 2014, Gary quit the Canberra Liberal Party saying that it grown out of touch with the electorate.

Women's Rights Campaigner

Lady Gertrude Denman

Info to come.

Politician

Annette Ellis

Annette Ellis was a local MLA between 1992 to 1995 and the Labor MP for Canberra between 1998 to 2010.

Politician

John Langmore

John Langmore was Labor MP for Fraser between 1984 to 1996. After retiring from politics, John went to work for the United Nations, becoming president of the United Nations Association of Australia and the Australian board member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Historian

Manning Clark

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Politician

Andrew Braddock

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Cartoonist

Geoff Pryor

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Politician

Jo Clay

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Politician

Marisa Paterson

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Screenwriter

Felicity Packard

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Politician

Bill Wood

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Politician

Norm Jensen

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Politician

Gai Brodtmann

Gai Brodtmann was the Labor member for Canberra from 2010 to 2019.It can be argued that John Howard was responsible for Gai becoming an MP. Gai was a public servant at DFAT when PM, John Howard, cut 15,000 permanent public servant positions in the ACT. Gai lost her job and turned her ambitions to politics.Gai is married to journalist, Chris Uhlmann.

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The people we forgot to put in this picture. If you're one of them, feel free to cut and paste your head here.

Sportsman

Michael Bevan

Info to come.

Public Servant

Andrew Cappie-Wood

Andrew Cappie-Wood was appointed the head of the Chief Minister's Department in 2007, before changing it to the more grand, Head of Service and Director-General of the ACT Chief Minister and Treasury Department, in 2011, and then serving in that role until 2013. Andrew went on to become the secretary of the NSW Department of Justice before retiring in 2019. Andrew came out retirement in 2023 to head up an independent review of "unexplained wealth" in Australia. Rumours of him going undercover and patching into a bikie gang in Fyshwick are just that.

Politician

Gough Whitlam

Info to come.

Indigenous Custodian

Paul Girrawah House

Info to come.

Politician

Clyde Holding

Clyde Holding was the Minister for Arts and Territories iwho introduced the Australian Capital Territory (Self-government) Bill 1988. While opposed by a majority of Canberrans, Clyde said, " It was not about being democratic. It was about the Commonwealth shedding Canberra. You're on your own." Clyde was also a passionate advocate for Canberran institutions and lobbied for the creation of the National Museum of Australia. Despite much opposition, he appointed Betty Churcher to head the National Gallery. Clyde was also the first minister to demand the repatriation of Aboriginal artifcacts from overseas museums.

Definitely not a tram

The Light Rail

Info to come.

Actor

Jackie Chan

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Artist

Dominic Mico

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Architect

John Overall

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Equine Mammal

Brumby Jack

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Politician

David Lamont

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Politician

Rebecca Vassarotti

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Architect

Walter Burley Griffin

Info to come.

Politician

Steve Dargavel

Steve Dargavel was the Labor member for Fraser from 1997 to 1998.

Politician

Zdenko "Zed" Seselja

Zed Seselja was the Liberal senator for the ACT between 2013 to 2022 and an MLA for Molongolo between 2007 to 2013. Zed held a number of assistant minister portfolios in both the Turnbull and Morriosn governments. Zed is a devout Catholic and has reflected his beliefs in politics, opposing same-sex marriage and voluntary-assisted dying.Zed was also instrumental in the $550 million redevelopment of the Australain War Memorial.

Politician

Andrew Barr

Andrew Barr has been an MLA since 2006 and Chief Minister since 2011. Andrew is the longest serving Chief Minister of the ACT and Australia's first openly gay leader. Andrew has always been a political animal, running for Lyneham school captain on a platform of being able to wear clothes other than than the school uniform. Andrew was then active in Labor student politics while studying a Bachelor of Arts at the ANU. Andrew left uni to become a political staffer and then MLA.Andrew once said that when he turned 50 he would retire to run a boutique cafe bookshop that also had records.

Businessman

Graham Tuckwell

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Disability Advocate

Graeme Innes

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Politician

Tara Cheyne

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Politician

Peter Cain

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Politician

Laura Nuttall

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Indigenous Custodian

Aunty Matilda House-Williams

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Union Leader

Zach Smith

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Sportsman

Nick Kygrios

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Pastoralist

Garrett Cotter

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Community Organiser

Diane Kargas Bray

Diane Kargas Bray was the ACT Public Trustee administering the Canberra Bushfire Recovery Appeal and helping people access affordable housing through Common Ground.Diane is an active mentor to people working in the ACT community sector. Diane was Chair of Hands Across Canberra, a philanthropic organisation that funds over 300 community organisations in Canberra.

Public Servant

Bill Harris

Bill Harris was the public servant who put together the mechanics of the ACT government. Bill was the associate secretary of the then Department of Territories that looked after the ACT. In 1987, Bill was buttenholed by then PM, Bob Hawke, who said, "mate, I need you to take all the things that you and 26 other Commonwealth departments do in the ACT and shove them all into one department, to be run by a new ACT government." Not an actual quote, but that was the gist of it. The structure of today's ACT government, is largely as a result of Bill, who also went on to become the first Secretary of the Chief Minister's Department. Bill also helped set up the first Floriade.

Politician

Bill Wood

Info to come.

Politician

Shane Rattenbury

Shane Rattenbury has been an MLA since 2012 and leader of the ACT Greens since 2013. Prior to politics, Shane worked for Greenpeace and as a public servant. Shane helped the ACT Greens become a major coalition partner with Labor, the first power-sharing arrangement of its kind in Australia. Shane has pitched the Greens as the renter's party and owns property in Braddon, Ainslie and South Durras.

Activist

David Madden

Info to come.

Politician

David Smith

David Smith is the Labor senator for the ACT since 2018, entering politics after a career in industrial relations. David is the current Government Whip.

Social Media Personality

Finn Burton

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Broadcaster

Stephen Cenatiempo

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Playwright

Duncan Ley

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Artist

Rosalie Gascoigne

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Politician

Robyn Nolan

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Director

James Wan

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Politician

Bill Stefaniak

Bill Stefaniak was a Liberal MLA between 1995 - 2008. Bill was the ACT's first Canberra-born MLA and a proud Belconnen boy. Bill returned to politics in 2020 to set up the Belco Party, which so,far, has been unsuccessful in claiming a seat. Prior to politics, Bill was a major in the Australian Army.

Writer

Marion Halligan

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Sportsman

Patty Mills

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Journalist

Chris Uhlmann

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Musician

Michael "Flea" Balzary

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Politician

John Knight

John Knight was a Liberal senator for the ACT between 1975 to 1981. He was heavily involved in foreign policy and issues affecting disabled Australians.John was also instrumental in preserving the Lake Ginninderra foreshore for public use, which has been commerated in John Knight Park. John and his wife won the Canberra Day paddle boat race on Lake Burley Griffin in 1977. Water sports were also the cause of John's death, dying of complications following a heart attack while waterskiing on Lake Jyndabine in 1981. He was 37.

Journalist

Virginia Haussegger

Info to come.

Politician

Chris Steel

Info to come.

Politician

Trevor Kaine

Trevor Kaine was a Liberal, and later independent, MLA between 1989 - 2001, and Chief Minister from 1989 to 1991.Trevor was a Wing-Commander in the Australian Airforce before becoming an MLA and bought his military demenour to the role of Chief Minister, making unpopular decisions to bring the debt-ridden ACT budget to surplus. As a result, his crossbench supporters the Residents Rally, moved a motion of no confidence and Trevor was no longer Chief Minister.

Politician

Jon Stanhope

Jon Stanhope was an Labor MLA between 1998 - 2011 and Chief Minister from 2001 to 2011.Jon achieved a number of firsts in office. The first Chief Minister to rule with a majority. The first human rights act in Australia. The first democratically elected Indigenous body to provide a voice to government in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body.Mr Stanhope shot to national fame in 2003, when he stripped off his clothes to save a downed helicopter pilot from Bendora Dam. Jon Stanhope has been a vociferous critic of the current Labor government.

Indigenous Campaigner

Noah Allen

Info to come.

Aerial Cetacean

Skywhale

Skywhale is the creation of sculptor, Patricia Piccinini and was commissioned by Robyn Archer for the Centenary of Canberra in 2013 for the cost of $334,000. The 34-metere-tall balloon was built in the UK and has travelled all over Australia and Japan. In 2021, a second balloon, Skywhalepapa, joined Skywhale, along with their nine babies.

Politician

Kep Enderby

Kep Enderby was the Labor member for the ACT between 1970 to 1975. Kep was the first Minister of the ACT, a position created in 1972 under the Whitlam government to replace the Minister for the Interior. As Attorney-General, Kep introduced the Racial Discrimination Act 1975. As Minister for Secondary industry, Kep became infamous for his public reminder of the obvious, "traditionally, Australia obtains its imports from overseas."

Marsupial

Constable Kenny Koala

Constable Kenny Koala first joined the Australian Poilce Force in 1975 on the Prime TV show, Junior Police 7. Kenny began travelling to schools in 1980 to give advice to ACT children about how to "stay okay."

Politician

Terry Connolly

Info to come.

Public Servant

Kathy Leigh

Kathy Leigh is the current director-general of the Chief Minister and Territory directorate. She is also the first woman to head the ACT public service.

Politician

Carmel Maher

Info to come.

Politician

Bernard Collaery

Info to come.

Politician

Margaret Reed

Margaret Reed was the Liberal senator for the ACT between 1981 to 2002. Margaret was the Liberal whip in the Senate and was elected President of the Senate in 1996. .

Politician

Andrew Fisher

Info to come.

Disability Advocate

Sue Salthouse

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Businessman

Peter Strong

Info to come.

Politician

Alicia Payne

Alicia Payne has been the Labor MP for Canberra since 2019. Alicia was a former advisor to Bill Shorten and Chief of Staff to Jenny Macklin.

Musician

Steve Kilbey

Info to come.

Politician

Ken Fry

Ken Fry was the Labor member for Fraser from 1974 to 1984. Long considered the father of the ACT Labor left faction, Ken also was a strong campaigner for independence for East Timor. President of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta, was a longtime friend of Ken's and sent a heartfelt message at Ken's funeral in 2007.Before his death, when it was public that Ken's days were drawing to a close, Ken received many messages from friends and colleagues. Asked by his daughter whether he wanted some of these messages read at his funeral, Ken replied, "you can say what you like - I won't give a stuff by then."

Writer

Karen Viggers

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Music Boss

Nic Dalton

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Politician

Suzanne Orr

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Sportsman

Mal Meninga

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Politician

Fiona Carrick

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Broadcaster

David Kilby

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Restaurateur

Augustin "Gus"Petersilka

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Vintner

John Kirk

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Social Justice Campaigner

Tom Calma

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Politician

Fiona Patten

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Artist

Patricia Piccinini

Info to come.

Musician

Anna Ryan

Info to come.

Politician

Ellnor Grassby

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Politician

Mark Parton

Info to come.

Politician

Elizabeth Lee

Elizabeth Lee is the Leader of the Canberra Liberals and has been a Liberal MLA since 2016.Elizabeth was born in South Korea and moved with her family to Australia when she was seven. Elizabeth is the first Asian-Australian person to lead a political party in Australia. Elizabeth made international headlines when she, Johnny-Cash-like, flipped the bird to journalist, Ian Bushnell.

Writer

Bryce Courtenay

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Norseman

Victor the Viking

Info to come.

Nocturnal Bird

The Big Powerful Owl

The Big Powerful Owl is the work of sculptor, Bruce Armstrong and was commissioned by Jon Stanhope in 1991 for the cost of $400,000. t has long been remarked that Canberra is a good sheep paddock, ruined. It sits at the entrance to Belconnen town centre and is made of fibreglass. The owl more commonly goes by the name, The Belco Owl, and unkindly as, The Penis Owl.

Politician

Katy Gallagher

Katy Gallagher was a Labor MLA between 2001 to 2014, and Chief Minister from 2011 to 2014. Katy then became Senator for the ACT from 2015.As Chief Minister, Katy was the first leader to introduce same sex marriage legislation, even though this was overturned by the High Court as being illegal (only the Commonwealth had the power to make this law). Katy is a vegetarian and a classically-trained cellist.

Politician

Wayne Berry

Info to come.

Politician

David Prowse

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Journalist

Michelle Grattan

Info to come.

Activist

Boguslaw "Bogey" Musidlak

Known as 'the father of Hare-Clark' in Canberra, Bogey Musidlak, was the President of the Proportional Representation Society. When self-government was announced for the ACT, Bogey campaigned for a modified version of the Hare-Clark system for ACT elections, a Single Transferable Vote system that had been implemented in Tasmania. But Bogey wanted a modification - that voters only needed to nominate one candidate to be a valid vote.Bogey was also something of an eccentric and a notorious hoarder.

Academic

Andrew Hughes

Info to come.

Politician

Rosemary Follett

Rosemary Follett was the first Chief Minister of the ACT and a Labor MLA between 1989 to 1996.Barely a month after being elected as the Territory's first Chief Minister, Rosemary was subject to a vote of no confidence by the Residents Rally, her cross-bench supporters, leading to Trevor Kaine becoming Chief Minister. Rosemary then returned to Chief Minister after Kaine suffered a vote of no confidence in 2001.After leaving politics, Rosemary became Deputy Vice-chancellor at the University of Canberra where she also received an honorary doctorate.

Politician

David Pocock

David Pocock is the independent senator for the ACT. Born in South Africa, David moved to Australia in 2002 and quickly became a skilled rugby player, ending up captaining the Wallabies in 2012. David has a Masters in Sustainable Agriculture and, in 2009, established Eightytwenty Vision, a charitable foundation to help underprivileged people in rural Zimbabwe. David keeps to a disciplined diet and exercise regime and once boasted he did 450 crunches a day.

Presenter and Writer

James O'Loghlin

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Artist

Chris 'Walrus' Dalzell

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Presenter and Writer

Alicia Malone

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Politician

Dennis Stevenson

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Sportsman

Michael Milton

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Brewer

Laurence Kain

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Muisician

Michael Kieran-Harvey

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Music Promoter

Steve "Pav" Pavlovic

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Comedian

Mick Molloy

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Politician

Yvette Berry

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Sportswoman

Lauren Jackson

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Director

Alister Grierson

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Director and Writer

Rachel Perkins

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Poet

Geoff Page

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Politician

James Milligan

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Musician

Genesis Owusu

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Politician

Bob Hawke

Info to come.

Public Servant

Michael Harris

Mike Harris was Chief Executive of the ACT Chief Minister’s Department from 2003 to 2009. He then returned as gamekeeper turned poacher in 2018 as the ACT Auditor-General. In this role, Mike has kept a watchful eye on behalf of the long-suffering ACT taxpayer, uncovering all manner of ACT government waste and poor performance. Mike's reports are usually covered in the media with the accompanying words, "ACT Auditor-General blasts..."

Indigenous Campaigner

Julie Tongs

Info to come.

DJ

Emily Scott

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Comedian

Chris Ryan

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Politician

Michael Pettersson

Info to come.

Artist

Tina Van Raay

Info to come.

Politician

Bob McMullan

Bob McMullan was the Labor senator for the ACT from 1988 to 1996 and then as MP for Canberra and then, after electoral redistribution, Fraser, between 1996 to 2010. Bob held many ministries and shadow-ministries under Labor leaders from Paul Keating to Kevin Rudd. Like Andrew Leigh, Bob refused to join a Labor faction saying, "I believe that there are a lot of people in the ACT who share my view that there ought to be room for people to agree with the Right on some issues and with the Left on others."

Businessman

Glenn Keys

Info to come.

Politician

Steve Doszpot

Info to come.

Businessman

David Lamont

Info to come.

Architecture

Clem Cummings Bus Shelter

In 1974, Canberra architect, Clem Cummings, was asked to design bus shelters for the ACT by the National Capital Development Commission. His Brutalist concrete design became a Canberra icon.

Politician

Robert Menzies

Info to come.

Architect

Marion Mahony Griffin

Info to come.

Politician

Ted Quinlan

Info to come.

Clothing

Puffer Jacket

Canberra is a cold place. No, seriously, Canberra is a friggin' cold place; especially in Winter. And the Canberra clothing de la saison is the puffer jacket. Invented by Australian mountaineer, George Finch, in 1922, the first puffer jacket was made out of balloon fabric and eiderdown.

Politician

King OMalley

Info to come.

Politician

Chris Bourke

Info to come.

Public Service

Tony Blunn

Tony Blunn was the City Manager of Canberra between 1975 to 1978 and Secretary of the federal Department of the Capital Territory between 1981 to 1983. Tony was one of the senior bureaucrats behind the push for self-government. As City Manager, Tony once considered the Black Mountain Aerial Gondola System, a cable car from Civic to Black Mountain tower.

Politician

Leanne Castley

Info to come.

Public Servant

John Turner

John Turner was the ACT City Manager prior to self-government. Back in those days, the ACT City Manager was responsible for transport, roads, parks, rubbish collection and the ACT Fire Brigade. John helped transition these services to self-government, reminding incoming ministers that unlike the Commonwealth days of blank cheque-books, they now had a fixed budget to provide council services. John was also a cricket tragic and chair of the ACT Cricket Board for many years. He was influential in organising the upgrades to Mauka Cricket Ground.