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Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Put out more flags: Griffin Guardians on warpath over Rond Terrace flagpoles

Six new flagpoles are being installed at Rond Terrace, on the Lake Burley Griffin foreshore; on Australia Day, the two sets of poles will fly the Australian, Aboriginal, and Torres Strait Islander flags. But a community group has opposed their installation, claiming they do not fit architect Walter Burley Griffinโ€™s vision.

Rond Terrace had long been the venue for citizenship ceremonies, and it was appropriate the Australian flag be flown as part of the ceremonies, the National Capital Authority stated; the flagpoles would enhance the site as โ€œthe centrepiece of citizenship ceremonies held on Australia Dayโ€.

But the Lake Burley Griffin Guardians, committed to safeguarding the lake and its shore, claimed the flagpoles were being erected without public consultation, as part of a plan to โ€˜militariseโ€™ the area.

โ€œIt does seem as though the NCA has used the cover of COVID to undertake this further โ€˜improvementโ€™ of this critical Griffin Land Axis,โ€ the Guardians said. โ€œIs it a further extension / confirmation of the militarisation of Anzac Parade, down to the Lake-side parade area with its so-called symbolic red scoria [gravel]?โ€

Location of Rond Terrace. Source: National Capital Authority.

The Guardians said they were concerned there had been no public consultation on the proposed works, public statement of heritage impact, or apparent notification of reference under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 for works in this โ€œnationally sensitive heritage areaโ€. They noted that attempts to put World War I and II memorials on Rond Terrace a decade ago โ€œevoked enormous public condemnationโ€.

An independent Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) on Rond Terrace concluded that a referral under the EPBC Act was not warranted, an NCA spokesperson said.

The NCA then consulted with the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE), which provided written advice that supported the HIA findings, and decided a referral was not required.

The Rond Terrace flagpole construction in Commonwealth Park. Photo: Kerrie Brewer.

Is Rond Terrace a parade ground?

The Guardians also took umbrage with the statement on the NCA website that Rond Terrace was โ€œoriginally designed as parade grounds for military eventsโ€. They claimed the statement was incorrect, and wanted the comment changed.

โ€œThere is nothing ‘military’ in Griffin’s description of his stadium area (now Rond Terrace),โ€ the Guardians said. โ€œIt is only in recent decades that a parade strip was installed at the Lake edge below the terrace. It was not Griffinโ€™s original intention, and contradicts Griffinโ€™s principles as set out in his Report Explanatory.โ€

Recreation Group. Source: Walter Burley Griffinโ€™s Report Explanatory, 1913.

According to Griffinโ€™s Report Explanatory of the Preliminary General Plan(1913), the Guardians argue, Rond Terrace was intended โ€œfor the peoplesโ€™ recreation, relaxation, cultural activities, arts, sporting events, and the reflection on and respect for democracyโ€.

Griffinโ€™s Report Explanatory placed โ€œthe Stadium for general assemblyโ€ (Rond Terrace, according to the Guardians) facing the waterway, near a theatre, an opera house, galleries of the graphic and plastic arts, museums for natural history and archaeology, zoological gardens, public swimming baths, and gymnasia.

โ€œThe use of Rond Terrace for gatherings is consistent with the Griffinsโ€™ principle which proposed that a stadium be built,โ€ the NCA spokesperson responded. โ€œThe NCA will continue to explore opportunities for enhancements to support nationally significant events.โ€

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