While most Canberrans were celebrating the 10th anniversary of Black Mountain Tower on this day in 1990, the unique design had at least one critic.
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Former secretary of the committee to save Black Mountain, Bruce Kent, would not pay tribute to the Canberra icon - saying it was a pity it could not be torn down.
Dr Kent, a senior lecturer in history at ANU, led the committee against the towers construction in 1973. The case was taken to the ACT Supreme Court, which found that construction would be illegal. The win was short lived however, with the Federal Government changing the law on construction of the tower, appealing the decision and winning at the High Court.
Dr Kent was unimpressed and stated that "It was basically constructed as a status symbol" and while the tower was "not particularly unsightly" he recommended viewing it from far away.
"I think that aesthetically the closer you are the worse it gets" he said.
He also said it was technically redundant and that it is more of a tourist spot now. He went on to say that it had been a waste of money and doubted it was making a profit.
He did however, praise the builders and engineers of the project. "It was well produced" he said.
It would seem that even with his strong views against the tower and its merits, he could not resist taking a peek for himself. Dr Kent admitted to having been up a few times.