In Conversation with Dawn Waterhouse: Reflections on 1928 1951

Dawn Waterhouse in conversation with Senior Curator Virginia reflects on our exhibition Seeing Canberra and share the story of her painting of Civic in 1947 by Esther Paterson. Building works had been undertaken to establish a national capital, including a new Parliament house and a cluster of government offices. Despite this, it was a time where Canberra felt like a big country town, presided over by the first Secretary of the Federal Capital Commission Charles Studdy Daley, whose desk features in the exhibition.