NOTING that Canberra was named and its foundation laid on March 12, 1913, the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia has decided to celebrate the actual birthday of the nation’s capital on March 12, with a new free film program.

Canberrans will be able to travel back in time and see this city evolve on the big screen in  “Australia’s Capital Nearing Completion”, silent black and white footage from around 1920,  comes from Fox News, and includes shots of Old Parliament House under construction.

“Canberra in the 1920s” is a black and white silent film that shows the Hotel Canberra, Albert Hall, Parliament House with East and West blocks, Melbourne and Sydney Buildings, Civic, children and teachers at Telopea Park School, Canberra Girls’ Grammar School and suburban houses.

A 1952 government film promotes Canberra as Australia’s Garden City, in contrast to today’s more common title “The Bush Capital”, while the 1959 film, “Canberra Today and Tomorrow: Alongside Local Life and Leisure”, features Canberra’s prominent buildings and monuments including the War Memorial, as well as embassies as “a sign of Australia’s growing status in international affairs”.

There’ll be “Tomorrow’s Canberra” (1972) directed by Fred Schepisi, which describes the general development of Canberra as Australia’s national capital and inland metropolis.

On the quirkier side, “Canberra Dog Fanciers Parade their Pets” (1950) takes viewers into the gardens of the home of the High Commissioner for the UK, who played host to the Championship Show of the Canberra Kennel and Trial Association.