City
Canberra, where a map becomes a garden
In Canberra, you can cross a map of central Australia on foot, trace the design axes of Lake Burley Griffin and learn how herbarium specimens document plants in the botanic garden.
At a glance
A place worth remembering
A map measured in footsteps
Walking gives the Garden of Australian Dreams a physical scale: one step over its stylised map represents 100 kilometres across central Australia. The museum adds a linguistic dimension, rendering “home” in 100 languages used in Australia today.[1]
A lake shaped around two axes
The National Capital Authority’s March 2024 guide says Lake Burley Griffin began filling in 1963 and stage-one filling was officially commemorated on 17 October 1964. In Walter Burley Griffin’s plan for the city, the East, West and Central Basins were to lie along the water axis, which intersects the land axis.[2]
Living plants, documented specimens
Herbarium specimens give researchers a reference for the provenance and classification of the Gardens’ wild-sourced living plants. On a page last updated 4 November 2025, the Gardens reported around 77,000 individual plants in a collection spanning more than 4,600 species—about a fifth of Australia’s native plant species.[3]
Good to know
A few clear answers before you explore.
What distance does one step across the museum garden map represent?
The museum says one step represents 100 kilometres across the land shown on the map.[1]
When did filling of Lake Burley Griffin begin?
The guide says filling began in 1963; stage-one filling was officially commemorated on 17 October 1964.[2]
How do herbarium specimens support research at the botanic gardens?
They accompany wild-sourced living plants and help researchers consult their provenance and current classification.[3]
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