POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Railway map of NSW showing proposed Federal Capital sites

Railway map of NSW showing proposed Federal Capital sites

Object No. 2005/275/1

On the first of January 1901, the colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania joined together in a new Commonwealth of Australia. Both before and after Federation there was much public bickering about where the federal territory and seat of government should be. However, the Constitution had provided that the capital had to be in New South Wales, not less than 100 miles (161 km) from Sydney, and that the territory had to be at least 100 square miles in area. King O'Malley, a member of the first Federal Parliament (when temporarily located in Melbourne) and later Minister for Home Affairs, proclaimed that 'cold climates have produced the greatest geniuses'. He became the most outspoken advocate for a federal capital being located in the Snowy Mountains area of southern New South Wales. The desire for a site with bracing climate was considered important as it was claimed that legislators and public servants might fall asleep in a tropical atmosphere. The new city would also have to be on an elevated site ideally with some surrounding mountains to provide an impressive situation. It was also important not to be contaminated by industry or previous major urban development. Security was vital and as an attack from the air was not a serious concern but assault from a seaborne enemy bombardment was a real threat. Consequently, Australia's capital could not be on the coast. Over 60 country centres in New South Wales were promoted as sites for the capital because of their bracing climate, the purity of their water supplies or the abundance of stone and timber for building. Ample water was essential to supply the need of residents and to create 'ornamental waters' for recreation. Towns along the main railway line from Sydney to Melbourne offered accessibility to both cities, while sites in the far south of the State around Albury were thought too close to Melbourne. Sites in the north of the State, such as Armidale and Tamworth, were considered too far from Sydney and much too far from Melbourne. During late autumn of 1902 members of both Houses of Parliament left Melbourne, where they were sitting prior to a new parliament house being built in the new capital, to inspect many of the nominated sites. This lithographed silk map was printed by the New South Wales Department of Lands showing the proposed sites. Even though the conditions in the mountains were freezing cold during the trip, the politicians were strongly attracted to sites in the south-east of the State. When the Parliament held its first vote, the Senate proposed Bombala while the House of Representatives chose Tumut. Six months later both Houses agreed on Dalgety, a small township just north of Bombala. The New South Wales Government refused to support 'remote Dalgety' and continued to press for a site much closer to Sydney such as near Orange or Bathurst. A 'new' site at Yass-Canberra emerged as an acceptable compromise for all parties. This large district was 180 miles (290 km) from Sydney and offered clean air, a good water supply and an invigorating climate. Apparently if the Federal Parliament were to see their way clear to changing their mind in favour of Canberra, New South Wales offered to provide land on the coast so that the federal city could have its own seaport at Jervis Bay. In October 1908, the Seat of Government Bill, confirming Yass-Canberra as the nation's capital, was passed by the Federal Parliament. Margaret Simpson Assistant Curator, Transport November 2005

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Summary

Object Statement

Railway map, entitled 'Map of New South Wales shewing Proposed Federal Capital Sites', silk / timber, owned by James Thomas Noon, New South Wales, Australia, lithographed and printed by New South Wales Department of Lands, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1902

Physical Description

The railway map is entitled 'Map of New South Wales shewing Proposed Federal Capital Sites'. It features a map of New South Wales showing the railway lines radiating out from Sydney and Newcastle together with projected railways. All stations are shown with the distance from Sydney in numbers next to the station. Four inset maps titled 'Australasia'; 'Diagram of the South Coast Line from Sydney to Kiama and part of Southern Line Sydney to Moss Vale and the Sydenham to Belmore Line'; 'Diagram showing part of the Western Line Blacktown to Tarana also routes to Jenolan Caves' and 'Diagram showing Northern Coast Line Sydney to Newcastle and Branch Lines Milsons Pt to Hornsby and Blacktown to Richmond'. The list of fifteen proposed sites for the new Federal Capital is noted in red in a box with a table noting their distances from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. The towns and places listed 1 to 15 are: Albury, Bathurst, Bombala via Cooma (rail and coach), Braidwood via Tarago (rail and coach), Carcoar Garland via Carcoar (rail and coach), Cootamundra, Forest Reefs and Calvert via Millthorpe, Orange and Canobolas, Tumut via Gundagai (rail and coach), Wagga Wagga, Yass and Lake George. The number of each town or place is noted on the map in red. Further proposed sites are indicated on the map by a red square and are underlined. Some of these include: Tenterfield, Armidale, Inverell, Port Stephens, Molong, Moss Vale, Rylstone and Mt Clarence, Tumbarumba and Dalgety. The scale of the map is 29 miles to an inch or 1:1 837 440. The map is printed on silk which has been pasted onto a foamcore backing board and framed in a narrow black laminated timber frame without glass.

DIMENSIONS

Height

660 mm

Width

785 mm

PRODUCTION

Notes

Made by New South Wales Department of Lands, 1902.

HISTORY

Notes

Copies of this map were said to have been presented to all the members of the railway crew on the train which carried politicians around various locations in New South Wales in 1902 to choose the Federal capital site. Members of the Senate made their inspection in March while the House of Representatives went in May. The locomotive used for the Senate's tour was a 32 class and it is possible that it was 3206, then numbered 12. This locomotive had been built by Beyer Peacock and was put into service on 11 March 1892. The sites inspected included Tumut, Yass, Goulburn, Orange, Armidale, Lake George, Dalgety and Bombala. Some of the members of the House of Representatives also inspected and admired the site of Canberra when they were at Queanbeyan for the inspection of the site at Lake George. The map was given to James Thomas Noon, who was said by family members to have been a guard on board one of the trains, though his actual position on the train has not been substantiated. However he is more likely to have been a steward as it believed that he also worked as a steward on board passenger ships. James Thomas Noon was born on 5 June 1881 at Bega, in New South Wales, the son of Patrick and Mary Noon. He was educated at Concord Convent and Croydon Public School. By the time of the 1902 rail trip around southern and western New South Wales, Noon would have been 21 years of age. On 20 April 1915 Noon enlisted as a Private in the Australian Imperial Force. He is listed in the Nominal Roll for the 17th Infantry Battalion and his occupation is noted as a cordial maker, aged 32, single, and living at "Roseleigh", Stanley Street, Burwood. His next of kin was listed as his mother at the same address. His religion was noted as Roman Catholic and his service number was No.1596. Noon embarked on 12 May 1915 and saw War service in Gallipoli. He was wounded there but continued on duty until the evacuation. Noon went on to undertake further service in France and was wounded again at Pozieres where he was invalided back Australia and dismissed as medically unfit in March 1917. James Noon left the AIF as a Corporal. He was then appointed to a position in the Small Arms Factory at Lithgow but died, at the age of about 38, on the 3 May 1919, in the Randwick Veterans' Hospital, most probably relating to his wounds. He was interred two days later at Rookwood Cemetery. This became a war grave in 1948. Some time after James Noon died the map passed to his sister, Sarah Agnes Noon, born at Burwood in 1891. Sarah married Robert Donohoe/Donehue in 1924 and the map stayed with them until passed onto their son, also Robert Donehue. Robert jnr had the map in his possession for about 20 years and in about 1990 had it mounted and framed. In 2004 Robert Donehue and his wife, Jacqueline, presented the map to the Museum.

SOURCE

Credit Line

Gift of Jacqueline and Robert Donehue, 2005

Acquisition Date

22 December 2005

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