Canberra Meeting & Venue news

A monumental destination

Great facilities and a wealth of outstanding and unusual venues make the Bush Capital tower above the rest. Meeting organisers, naturally enough, are a tough bunch. There’s a long check list of things they require before they’ll even consider a destination. A purpose-built convention centre is a necessity, as is a range of accommodation venues with enough meetings space to hold any size event. Then there needs to be a sufficient choice of interesting venues for gala dinners, cocktail parties and social events.

Canberra, fondly known to Australians as the Bush Capital, has it all in spades. Located 300 kilometres from Sydney and 650 kilometres from Melbourne, Canberra International Airport has more than 400 direct flights a week from Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.

With a population of 324,000, Canberra certainly doesn’t have the feel of a big city. Rather, its expansive spread makes it easy to get around, an added bonus for those delegates who have been used to other conference destinations with choked freeways and long transfers from their hotels to their meetings venues, and then on to their social programs.

Last year, Canberra hosted such events as the Royal Australasian College of Physicians 2004 Annual Scientific Meeting, Australasian Business Travel Association’s National Conference, 18th International Conference on Plant Growth Substances, and Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) National Conference.

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PRESTIGE MEETINGS

This year the list is equally illustrious, including the Australian Institute of Physics 16th Biennial Congress, Speech Pathology Australia’s National Conference, Australian Health Promotion Association’s 15th National Conference, and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management’s annual convention.

Large meetings and congresses don’t present a problem, either. Woolworths took 3,000 delegates to Canberra, while AMP Financial Services gathered 1,400 delegates for one of their most successful congresses ever. This year, some 7,000 members and family of the Ulysses Club will convene at the Exhibition Park in Canberra for their AGM. Established in 1983, it is the largest motorcycle club in the Southern Hemisphere, open to riders 40 years and over.

Last year, the ACT Government announced the upgrade of the National Convention Centre (NCC). While the industry welcomed the move, there were many who believed it was taking too long and that Canberra’s large scale meetings fortunes were suffering in the meantime. However, a PKF Report, commissioned by the federal government and handed down in January 2001, highlighted the urgent need to upgrade the NCC.

VENUE EXPANSION

For the past three years, the Canberra Convention Bureau (CCB) has led the charge in seeking ACT government support for this initiative, working together with the Canberra Business Council, ACT Chamber of Commerce, Meetings Industry Association of Australia, Australian Hotels Association and Tourism Industry Council.

A spokesperson for the CCB said: “We welcome the upgrade as an interim step, but the industry is concerned that we are not already well down the path of designing a state-of-the-art, new conference facility to meet the city’s future requirements. “If work on the upgrade is accomplished very soon and can meet our requirements over the next five years, there is opportunity for the city to win back the conference business that outgrew our current facilities and moved to competitor cities. However, we need to be realistic about the future. If we do not move quickly to develop world-class conference facilities for the future, then the potential to attract this valuable revenue stream for the city will diminish rapidly and Canberra will not achieve a competitive edge in this market – even in the medium term.”

The NCC, partnered with the Crowne Plaza Canberra next door, can handle up to 2,500 people with five theatres, seven flat-floor rooms, board rooms, 2,400 square metres of exhibition space, and a ballroom for 600 people theatre style.

NEW FACES

A raft of new facilities is currently underway in Canberra. Doma Hotels, the largest locally owned and operated accommodation provider in the nation’s capital, is building a new hotel in Barton, within sight of Parliament House. Expected to be completed by late 2006, it will comprise 160 one and two bedroom apartments. Conference facilities will comprise a plenary room to seat 750 delegates theatre style; two additional function rooms, which can cater for up to 60 guests each; and a spacious exhibition space for break-outs or booths. The yet-to-be-named property will also house a number of dining and retail outlets.
Five design ideas have been short-listed to transform a fire-ravaged landscape above Lake Burley Griffin into a world-class arboretum and gardens at a cost of more than $10 million. Work on the 250 hectare Canberra International Arboretum and Gardens is expected to start in July 2005, with Spring 2008 the target opening date. The arboretum is planned to become an iconic part of Canberra and an ideal venue for special events, cocktail parties and themed dinners.

March 2006 will see the opening of the new, state-of-the-art John Curtin School of Medical Research at the Australian National University. The new building will house a 200 seat lecture theatre, with full conferencing facilities available – including in-house catering, world-wide video linkage, and its own on-site multimedia team. A large foyer area will be able to seat 200 guests for banquets, while meeting rooms of varying sizes will be available for corporate hire.

SPORTING CHANCE

One of the newest venues in Canberra is simply known as The Auditorium. Built as part of the Tuggeranong Valley Rugby Union & Amateur Sports Club at Erindale, it has a flat-floor space of 1,000 square metres capable of seating 840 people theatre style or 500 people for banquets at round tables.

The Auditorium’s spacious proscenium arch stage is complemented by two dressing rooms, a green room and a loading dock serviced by a hydraulic lift. With a stage height of 1.2 metres, The Auditorium is the perfect venue for conferences, special events and award ceremonies. Audiovisual equipment includes three motorised screens, high-powered projectors and permanent video facilities.

Canberra’s strength lies in its outstanding range of non-accommodation facilities for conferences, meetings and special events. The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Belconnen is one such venue. The federal government-funded training ground for our Olympic athletes, the AIS has numerous events solutions for the creative planner.

The AIS has three conference rooms aptly named Gold, Silver and Bronze, as well as a theatrette with tiered seating for 314 delegates. The AIS Arena can accommodate 5,000 delegates or 1,200 for functions, and can be themed for any use. The Sports Visitors Centre includes Sportex, an interactive exhibition that’s a winner for groups. Another great aspect of the AIS is the ability to have elite athletes, possibly even an Olympic medallist, as a special guest or speaker.

HISTORIC OFFERINGS

At the Australian War Memorial, guided tours can be organised through the galleries commemorating Australia’s military heritage. Specialist areas for events include the ANZAC Hall, part of some $30 million in funding poured into the museum in recent years to expand facilities. Up to 250 people can attend a gala dinner in the ANZAC and dine under such dramatic exhibits as a World War II Lancaster bomber.

At the National Gallery of Australia, outdoor dinners can be held in the Sculpture Gallery or formal dinners in the Scribbles Café. Cocktail parties in the Foyer and Exhibition Foyer are popular, followed by guided tours of the museum – including the iconic Jackson Pollack painting, Blue Poles.

At Old Parliament House, delegates can step back in time and hold an animated discussion or debate in the House of Representatives Chamber, while up to 380 people can dine in the beautifully restored Members’ Dining Room. The Senate and House of Representatives Courtyards are great places for cocktail parties.

VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE

Canberra is one of the few capital cities in the world that encourages use by the community. There’s no more stirring backdrop that the Great Hall decked out for a formal dinner for 800 people or cocktails for 1,200. VIP tours of the building are easily organised and it’s even possible to obtain a parliamentarian, maybe even a government minister, as a special guest. The curious will be superbly entertained at Questacon – The National Science and Technology Centre. With more than 200 hands-on exhibits, it’s a venue where having fun is encouraged. Such companies as IBM, Fuji Xerox and James Hardie have utilised it in recent times.

The Australian Railway Historical Society (ACT) operates the Canberra Railway Museum in Kingston, which can organise conferences, dinners or cocktail parties aboard its collection of historic rolling stock. Guided tours explain the history behind some of the exhibits and include such steam engines as the diminutive 1210, built in 1878; and the 265 tonne Beyer-Garratt steam locomotive 6029. Delegates can also get out of Canberra on short trips, such as the Michelago Tourist railway that takes in Queanbeyan and Royalla.

TRIBUTE TO AUSTRALIA

Amidst its extensive range of exhibits chronicling the history of our nation, the National Museum of Australia has a number of popular special event areas. The Hall can take 800 people for banquets or 1,200 for cocktail parties, and has spectacular views across Lake Burley Griffin.

The Visions Theatre is a 177 seat theatre with large screen playback facilities, while the Studio seats 120 theatre style and has full broadcasting capabilities and fully equipped TV studio. The Peninsula Room can hold 300 people for cocktails and be divided into three smaller spaces, while the Gardens of Australian Dreams is an enclosed outdoor space capable of hosting cocktail parties for up to 750 people.

The Hyatt Hotel Canberra is the site caterer for the National Museum of Australia, as well as Parliament House, the Australian War Memorial and grapefoodwine at Madew Wines at Lake George, 30 minutes outside Canberra on the Federal Highway.

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