What does the name of the Australian capital Canberra mean in Aboriginal language?

Canberra is the federal capital of the Commonwealth of Australia located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). With a population of approximately 350,000, it is Australia's largest inland city.

Canberra began as an entirely purpose-built, planned city. Following an international contest for the city's design, a design by Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected and construction commenced in 1913. The city's design was heavily influenced by the garden city movement and incorporates significant areas of natural vegetation that have earned Canberra the title "bush capital."

Archaeological evidence from the Canberra region suggests human habitation of the area for at least 21,000 years. The word "Canberra" is derived from the name of the local Ngabri people dialect, one of the Ngunnawal family groups, from the word Kanbarra meaning "meeting place" in the old Ngunnawal language.

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Julie Allen

In 1913, when the Canberra area was no more than an outback sheep station divided by the Molonglo River, a ceremony was held to name the city. ‘Canberra’, as a new name for the capital, was a sentimental favourite and logical choice. The name probably derived from a local Aboriginal word for ‘meeting place’ and had been in common use in the district for more than three-quarters of a century. The people of Australia, nevertheless, responded with imagination and good humour to a Government invitation to find a suitable name for their future capital. ‘Cookaburra’, ‘Wheatwoolgold’ and ‘Kangaremu’ headed a list of Australiana which also included ‘Sydmelperadbrisho’ and ‘Meladneyperbane’. Politics prompted other names such as ‘Swindleville’, ‘Gonebroke’ and ‘Caucus City’. It was something of a relief when at noon on 12 March Lady Denman, the wife of the Governor-General, mounted a crimson-draped platform and declared in a clear English voice: ‘I name the capital of Australia, Canberra – the accent is on the Can’.