The Buckleys Crossing Hotel, Dalgety. One of the Coulda been Capitals!
Back in the 1890’s the various colonies of the antipodes got together and drew up a joint constitution. After a few referenda they’d all decided to live together as one. Being old school, they sought parental permission and the Poms passed the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act for us in 1900 and the whole thing was consummated on January 1 st , 1901. It’s article 44 of this constitution that’s been forcing the dual national parliamentarians out of their offices and back to reality, but let’s get onto another part. Further down, Article 125 of the Constitution mandated the creation of a national capital somewhere within NSW but more than 100 miles from Sydney. It took ‘em nine years to get their shit together and actually settle on the Yass-Canberra. But before this was finally chosen, a few other towns went real, I mean really real, close to getting the gig. One of these ‘Coulda been Capitals’, one of the very last to slip off the list was Dalgety. A bu...