CANBERRA, the new Federal capital of the Commonwealth of Australia, situated in lat. 35° 15' S. and long. 149° 15' E. on a plateau about 2,000 feet above sea-level in the Yass Can berra district, New South Wales, 70 miles dis tant from the eastern coast line of Australia. The constitution of 1900 provided for a new capital, and after nearly 10 years' search and deliberation the present site was chosen.. The territory is 900 square miles in area, and in cludes a spot of two square miles at Jervis Bay for the construction of a port and a naval college. In 1911 the Australian government offered $15,000 in three prizes, for the best plans submitted, the competition being open to all architects of the world. A serious difference of opinion between the Minister for Home Af fairs and British architects caused all the best of the latter to withdraw from the competition. On 23 May 1912 it was announced that the first prize, $8,750, had been awarded to an Ameri can architect, Mr. Walter Burley Griffin of
Chicago. The second prize ($3,750) went to M. Ehel Saarinen, of Helsingfors, Finland, and the third to Alfred Agache, of Paris. From these three plans the work of designing the future city was begun. The population contem plated for the capital was fixed at 25,000, and a period of eight years in four stages was esti mated for the completion of the preliminary works, at a cost of $10,000,000. According to Mr. Griffin's plan the city will be divided by three large sheets of water, with parks and boulevards; a capitol of 600 feet frontage and 200 feet depth; accommodation for all the great departments of state; courts of justice, mint, art gallery, museum, churches, a university, post office, hospital, stadium, gas-works, etc. A large reproduction of the winning design ap peared in the London Times of 24 May 1913.