Development of the Parliamentary Triangle   Margaret Hendry (1993) 'Thirty years of achievement' Landscape Australia Volume 4, pages 342-343. Lake Burley Griffin did not exist in 1963, when the National Capital Development Commission's first landscape architect, Richard Clough, gave a paper during the Australian Planning Institute's `CANBERRA 63' Convention entitled `Ornamental Waters for the National Capital'. This event heralded new opportunities for landscape architects to become an integral part of the design process for significant large scale projects; the measure of which was confirmed 21 years later, when the lake together with the surrounding parkland became the winner of the inaugural Award for Landscape Excellence. The event also acted as a reference point to mark subsequent achievements of a small group of people, who on the next day decided to work towards forming a professional organization to promote landscape architecture now the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects. As I minuted the decisions of this first meeting, little did I realize the resilient purposeful intent contained in this goal. The need for a landscape forum was soon evident. During the umbrella formative years, when the landscape group met at A.P.I. congresses, distinguished international speakers championed our cause. With the driving force of celebrities of the calibre of Sylvia Crowe, Edmund Bacon and Zvi Miller, the momentum grew. All the time, we were drawing on a heritage started before Federation, continuing during the pre-depression period and later fanned by both the movement of people and ideas during the 50s into the 60s. The design and construction of Parliament House in Canberra within its own landscape setting in the 20s is a mid-period example. Within two decades books written by Lewis Mumford, in particular The Culture of Cities, began to influence Australian designers. Edna Walling refers to his works in many of her books written later in the 50s. Other writers continued to build up this knowledge base. Significant were: Christopher Tunnard's Garden in the Modern Landscape, Brenda Colvin's Land and Landscape and Ernest Lord's Shrubs and Trees for Australian Gardens, acting as the catalyst for the rich variety published in the 50s. Together with the increase in available literature, the growing reputation of internationally known landscape architects helped to reveal the need for a professional organisation. This was linked to the number of students studying in England and America during the 50s and due to return. It was time. Woven into this fabric of opportunity and time, a small number of people were working professionally and setting the scene Australia wide. It was an opportune moment. The post-war construction boom had transported the profession from the era of parks and gardens design into one of many scales: roads, quarry restoration, cemeteries, parkland, sportsfields, housing estates and urban centres. The Australian economy was buoyant, set between the wool and mineral booms. The trigger was rapid population growth. The Menzies government invested in large scale development, set up the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electricity Scheme and undertook the construction of Canberra. The scene was set. Both the public and private sectors increasingly employed people to work within the landscape. John Oldham was undertaking major public works in Western Australia; Harry Oakman achieving the revitalisation of the Brisbane city parks; Noel Lothian redeveloping the Adelaide Botanic Gardens; John Stevens in private practice working alongside some of Melbourne's leading architects; while in Sydney, Bruce Mackenzie's talent for developing a distinctly Australian design character was being recognised. All were later honoured ... This link between the early 60s changing attitudes towards landscape quality and identity, and groups of concerned people Australia-wide, acted as the incentive for the profession to grow a hundredfold during the next 30 years. The 60s built on a literature tradition created the previous decade. Writers Garrett Eckbo, Edna Walling, Peter Shepherd, Thomas Church, Sylvia Crowe, John 0. Simonds and Geoffrey Jellicoe set new dimensions and set international standards. Literature, people and events completed the triangle. The 4th November 1963, became our birth date. Goals were set, international lecturers spoke to wide professional audiences at API Congresses, councils were elected, corporate membership established, bulletins published, conferences held, Memorandum & Articles of Association were prepared and the Institute was given legal identity through registration. A period of social change which flowered during the late 60s heralded in a new era. Instrumental in this was the interplay between the public service removal of the marriage bar; more recognition of women in the workforce; the introduction of the metric system; the keyline land management and water harvesting system; slowing of the previous rapid population growth; an awakening to environmental, historical and cultural values; and a growing international perspective, combined with the end of the Menzies reign. The mood was one of changing attitudes. Increasingly landscape architects were employed on large scale projects. Our first President, Peter Spooner, worked with engineers and planners on the Warringah - Newcastle Expressway. Councillors were responding to the important task of supporting the post graduate courses already introduced into the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and the University of NSW, and preparing for undergraduate programs. Beryl Mann prepared the first education report, which later led on to the education seminar conducted by Ian Barwick in the 70s, and the Education Policy document, 1968 Volume 1, Number 1, signalled our first publication. Distinguished visitors from Japan opened the way for cultural exchanges. First, Akira Sato, President of the Japanese Institute, followed by Kanto Shigimori and Ken Nakajima, who came in 1969 to advise on the location and construction of a Japanese garden in Sydney. Rd Osmundson came from California and Zvi Miller from Israel. Australia was now firmly part of the international scene. Three significant books of the time, which highlighted these changing attitudes, were Design with Nature by Ian McHarg, The Landscape we see by Garrett Eckbo and Peter Spooner's Highway Landscape Design. Various forms of environmental deterioration continued to be exposed during the 70s. Complex social, political and economic issues emerged. People reacted against many government policies with public demonstrations about social and environmental concerns. The need for change was evident. The 1972 National Wage Case predicted that within three years women performing work of equal value to that done by men should receive equal pay. Regional and City Planning came and went. The National Urban and Regional Development Authority was replaced by the Cities Commission. Credit cards came to stay. The Sydney Opera House was opened and the National Botanic Gardens was officially recognised. Darwin was devastated in 1974 and the Whitlam government sacked in 1975. Tertiary education expanded into new disciplines. Existing post graduate courses gave way to undergraduate programs in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Rex Fairbrother came from Manchester to become the first academic Fellow in landscape design at the School of Environmental Design CCAE, Canberra. Others followed later from both America and England. International visitors continued to come. Sylvia Crowe returned to give a series of lectures. Others include Derek Lovejoy, Metro Vroom, Herbert Owens and Julius Fabos, who suggested landscape architects could make a greater contribution through Landscape Planning. The Professional Institutes were engaged in critical evaluations. Albert Fein carried out a study for the American Society of Landscape Architects, and revealed a movement beyond project orientation to include concerns about the quality of the environment. The British Institute was restructured in 1978 to include related professions and became the Landscape Institute. National conferences and local symposiums raised concern about the environment and conservation, discussed development issues and engaged in community dialogue. Cliff Tandy edited the Handbook of Urban Landscape; Michael Laurie produced the textbook An Introduction to Landscape Architecture; Susan and Geoffrey Jellicoe - The Landscape of Man - Shaping the Environment from Prehistory to the Present Day; Ellis Stones - GardenBook; and Landphair and Klatt's Landscape Architecture Construction consolidated the literature base for education to flourish. Richard Clough's rare and important collection of landscape books was accepted by the CCAE Library and became the Clough Collection. New opportunities were opening. Grace Fraser was instrumental in organising the restoration of the historic garden at Melbourne's Como House. Jean Verschuer was pioneering new landscapes for railways and the mining industry in Western Australia, as well as being our first woman president in 1976. Fourteen years later Jean became the first woman to receive the Landscape Architecture Award. President George Williams followed, strengthening both the delivery of services and the secretariat administration. Landscape contracts became part of large scale National Projects. By the 80s corporate membership increased substantially, accelerating each year. Improved educational programs together with accreditation procedures set new standards. Demand for landscape architects grew. Australia-wide major projects were undertaken, including the High Court of Australia, the National Gallery and Parliament House. Competitive project tendering along with contractual and legal awareness increased. The computer superseded the pen. Private practices consolidated with the assistance of advertising and marketing, only to be shaken by the October 21 1987 world market share loss. Economic rationalism and restructuring of employment challenged professionals to reallocate resources into different market niches. The AILA prospered under presidential leadership. Bruce Mackenzie introduced and presented Peter Spooner with the inaugural Award in Landscape Architecture at the IFLA/AILAs XX World Congress; Landscape Australia - A Challenge. Later Bruce became the third recipient of this Award. The financial success of the Congress was used to set up the administrative services at the national secretariat. Catherin Bull and Geoff Sanderson instigated the National Project Awards in Landscape Architecture. Ian Oelrichs and Adrian Pilton introduced the Corporate Plan, published George's Membership Handbook and printed the Education Policy Document, while Ken Taylor opened the way for the formation of the International Landscape Architecture Alliance. Melbourne University landscape students' exhibition circulated widely in 1983. Competitions for renewal projects in major cities brought internationally recognised experts including Lawrence Halprin. Other visitors introduced new concepts and ideas from China and the Americas: Professor Sun Xiaoxiang, Robert Royston, Christopher Degenhardt, Peter Ker Walker and Ian McHarg. Larry Coffin became the first exchange landscape architect to work with NCDC in Canberra. The journal Landscape Australia containing 'Landmark', later to become a separate entity, was making a significant contribution to the integration and professional development of landscape design and its implementation. Recognition of Dame Sylvia Crowe's contribution to landscape architecture was marked by her inaugural Dan Kiley Lecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and by ASLA's highest award medal in 1988, followed later by the AILA's medal to her and Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe. The 1988 celebration of 200 years of European settlement in Australia acted as the transition into the 90s, signalling new directions for the nation - now a diverse society from different cultural and historic roots, constantly changing to create an ongoing living tapestry. It was time to appraise both past and future events. Recent community based movements show the need to find more appropriate methods of assessment for inputs into the `Social Brief' for the next decade. The building blocks are in place. Water harvesting, drought-resistant plant use, along with people-sensitive city spaces, indicate professional awareness and accountability. The process stimulus of conferences and seminars, witnessed by the `Living Canvas', `Common Ground', `A Sense of Place' and `Ancient Land - New Perspectives', assisted the discarding of inherited value systems based on European Renaissance and 18th century images. Together with the move to operational efficiency, the profession would benefit from a more critical academic base with wider terms of reference, to enable sharper appraisal of public concerns, some of which arise from unchallenged prejudice. As a product of three decades, the potential for the profession is as yet unrealized, limited by the lack of women willing to undertake leadership and policy decision-making roles and by an educational framework lacking in discipline diversity or academic strength. Student career planning was also restrictive, not providing sufficient opportunity for shared integrated experiences with other professional disciplines. Social planning and archaeology are examples. During the introductory period of Affirmative Action, there were no women on Council. The recent `Half Way to Equal' Parliamentary Report reveals that little has changed in this respect since the first idealistic decisions in the early 70s. In the last 26 years, only two women have been presidents - a ratio of 1 to 7. Perhaps now is the time to review our successes and future opportunities and rewrite the `Brief' as an appropriate celebration for this 30th anniversary?