By then, the population of Canberra had reached
,
,39,000. "
One of their recommendations was
Home Affairs Minister King O'Malley, who was responsible for selecting Burley
Griffin's award-winning design for Canberra to hammer home the
site for the new federal capital. Scrivener,
appointed to carry out a topographical
survey of the area, was told "to remember that the
federal capital should be a beautiful city,
in a commanding position commanding extensive views,
".
In a burst of progress, especially in the Parliamentary Triangle area,
King's Avenue and the Commonwealth A site for
bridges, the Mint, the National Library,
the Treasury and other groups of
government agencies have been completed. The date was
March 12, 1913.
A number of professional bodies, including the Royal Institute of British Architects
also entered the competition when they opposed King O'Mall ey's membership on the
board. . A sparse crowd of
overcoats, stiff-collared politicians, their wives, some soldiers
and local farmers watched as Lady Denman, wife of the Governor-General of Australia, took the map
from a small golden box and announced.
That memorable foundation
ceremony was also attended by Lord Denman, Prime Minister Andrew Fisher and Minister of the Interior King O'Malley, a bearded former Kansas realtor.
After the war, development was further hampered by an acute
shortage of housing, building materials and labor.