He never quite made The Lodge his home, but former ALP leader Kim Beazley has described Canberra as one of his most loved places where "you cannot feel safer".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In a video message wishing Canberra a happy 100th birthday, Mr Beazley, now serving as Australia's ambassador to the United States, said Canberra was "the quiet city of the mind".
“I've been coming to Canberra since I was nought,” Mr Beazley said.
“I first arrived in Canberra carried down the steps of a DC4 by Sir Paul Hasluck and my father and ever since then, whenever I have landed in Canberra as a member of Parliament, as a student, as a retired politician, as a diplomat, I've always felt a sense of excitement as I've got off the plane.
“It is one of my favourite places and the people in it are some of the people I love best.”
Canberra was this week rated in a Property Council of Australia survey as the second most liveable city in Australia.
The survey found Canberrans rated safety and good services as the city's strongest points, a view echoed by Mr Beazley.
"Canberra was once described to me as a quiet city of the mind, and I really think that is true. You cannot feel safer than you do in Canberra; you cannot feel in a more compatible atmosphere than you feel in Canberra. You think there's a thought process going on, a national pulse.
“That's all part of the excitement, which is part of the way this lovely city has been planned out and looked after in the course of its one hundred years in existence.”
