Rough weather meant the patriarchal hot air balloon, complete with offspring, was tethered to the ground on debut, its seven-storey structure towering over the thousands gathered to see it.

But as in all good stories the skies cleared and, many liftoffs later, Skywhalepapa was welcomed into the Skywhale family as another Canberra icon.

Now it's time for the inflatable family to gift its presence to the rest of the country on a national tour.

Tomorrow will be the last day Canberrans can see the balloons above the capital, before they make their first stop in Albury on April 17.

Tickets are sold out, but vantage points are rife surrounding Lake Burley Griffin (where the whales will fly). Liftoff will begin at 6am.

Patricia Piccinini, the artist behind the Skywhales, was appointed to the task in 2013 to mark the centenary of Canberra. As a local Canberran herself, she wanted to mesh the idea of Canberra's artificiality with the city's attempt to blend in with the natural environment.

Her final product? Skywhale! It faced its fair share of criticism upon its reveal, but over time, those who despised it began to love it.

ACT Senator Katy Gallagher was one of those people. It's well known that when she first saw the finished product she said her eyes "nearly fell out of her head".

But, the resilience and tenacity of the Skywhale, and now its companion Skywhalepapa, has shifted hers, and many other's opinions.

Gallagher now regards the balloons as a reflection of Canberra's cosmopolitanism, challenging the commonly held stereotype of Canberra being a "boring" city.

Now it's time for the rest of Australia to see not only the whales but their representation of the territory and its values.

The National Gallery Australia now own both balloons and are in partnership with the Naomi Milgrom Foundation and Visions of Australia to take the whales to both rural and metropolitan locations.

NGA director Nick Mitzevich said the skywhales had become a part of Australia's contemporary culture.

"With touring initiatives ... we have the ability to connect with all Australians and elevate the role art can play in our lives."

Despite its departure from the capital, the Skywhale family will always be Canberra's very own.

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