So what would you put in a time capsule to capture Canberra in 2013?
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Well, among the 100 items that will be sealed for a century on March 11 are a toe from the Skywhale prototype, a parking fine, an ACT number plate, restaurant menus, a bust of King O'Malley, letters, photographs, a Legislative Assembly lanyard, annual reports and artwork inspired by the national capital.
The time capsule will be part of a $200,000 sculpture gifted to the national capital by Canberra CBD Limited, funded by its members, commercial property owners in the city, Braddon and Turner.
Artist Geoff Farquhar-Still was commissioned by Canberra CBD Limited to create the sculpture - an 8.5m high obelisk - that will sit on City Hill.
It will be known as the Canberra Centenary Column and Time Capsule.
The ACT Government is also funding a footpath to connect London Circuit to City Hill.
Chief Minister Katy Gallagher will officially unveil the sculpture and seal the time capsule on March 11 this year - regarded as the last day of the centenary year - and it won't be re-opened until March 11, 2114.
The public will be able to view the 100 items before they go into the time capsule in a special exhibition in Petrie Plaza from February 22 to March 2.
Canberra CBD Limited chief executive officer Jane Easthope said copies of some items would also be stored in the ACT Heritage Library with an embargo of 20 years.
"But the actual objects, they will stay in the capsule itself," she said.
Craft ACT, working with Canberra CBD Limited, has curated the 100 items, including centenary memorabilia such as the souvenir scarf, bowl and brooch. Excerpts from Assembly Hansard and speeches by MLAs that they had hand-written for the project are also included. As is a ceramic bowl by artist Cathy Franzi showing Canberra native flowers. Every tertiary institution in Canberra is also contributing an item.
Craft ACT curator exhibition manager Anne Radimin said items that also summed up the life of a Canberran in 2013 were also included such as a My Way bus ticket, restaurant menus, gym membership, chemist prescriptions and petrol voucher would also be sealed for 100 years.
"It's really about how we live now and objects that seem mundane now may be very instructive in 100 years' time," Ms Radimin said.
Ms Easthope said Canberra CBD Limited, which was charged with promoting the city centre and inner-city shopping centres, was excited to be involved in the project.
"We are facilitating the opportunity for Canberrans in 2113 to discover unique stories that helped shape the first 100 years as the nation's capital," she said.
* The exhibition of contents to be sealed in the Canberra Centenary Time Capsule will in a dis-used shopfront at 4 Petrie Plaza, between the merry-go-round and London Circuit from February 22 to March 2. Opening hours will be Monday to Friday 11am to 6pm and Saturday and Sunday noon to 4pm.