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The flagpole at Regatta Point is one of the many landmarks surrounding Lake Burley Griffin even if it is outshone by its better known neighbours. But the Canadian Flagpole’s future is at risk after plans for a maintenance operation on Friday were thrown into turmoil. The flagpole will be coming down but there is a chance it may break on the way. National Capital Authority chief executive Sally Barnes said experts and engineers had worked for months to plan the operation. She said the flagpole would be lifted by crane and it would then be put on the hill, wrapped in plastic and floated down the lake to a specially-made compound on the Acton peninsula. However, disaster struck on Thursday. Ms Barnes said when workers had started to remove the metal base that held the flagpole in place they discovered there wasn’t enough strength in the pole to lift it up. “Engineers working with us advised us it would actually collapse and would be quite dangerous and probably the best thing to do would be to actually fell it like a tree so all of our grand plans of lifting it out and floating it down the lake may not come into place,” she said. That would pose a risk though and there are fears that when the chainsaw is taken to the landmark on Friday morning it could mean the end of the Canadian Flagpole. “The uncertainty now is when it does fall after is whether is stays in one piece or whether it breaks up,” Ms Barnes said. “We won’t know that until it happens and once we know what condition it is in we’ll know what to do next but it may well be that it’s the end of the current flagpole. “It’s quite distressing and deflating for everybody who had such high hopes that we would be able to give it a bit of a health check and keep it going for the next 50 years but we will wait and see.” The flagpole was gifted to Australia in 1955 from the Canadian Government, hence the name. It came from a Douglas fir tree that was logged from a forest in British Columbia. While it arrived in Australia in 1955 it was not erected until two years later as it had to be debarked, shaped and undergo and series of chemical treatments. It was erected in August 1957 and has flown the Australian flag and the Canadian flag on July 1 (the country’s national day). Ms Barnes said the National Capital Authority had worked with the Canadian High Commission on the planned operation and if the operation does go awry they would ensure there was another symbol of Australian-Canadian friendship. But she said it would be very disappointing should it break. “It’s the history and it’s the link to Canada… and it’s part of that story around the nation was being formed all of the Commonwealth countries wanted to present something to Australia to strengthen that link,” Ms Barnes said. “In Canberra nothing is what it seems behind everything is a depth of history and symbolism and the flagpole is that symbol.” While it may fly under the radar for humans that walk around the lake, Ms Barnes said the flagpole is actually used by pilots as a marking point.
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The flagpole at Regatta Point is one of the many landmarks surrounding Lake Burley Griffin even if it is outshone by its better known neighbours.
But the Canadian Flagpole’s future is at risk after plans for a maintenance operation on Friday were thrown into turmoil.
The flagpole will be coming down but there is a chance it may break on the way.
National Capital Authority chief executive Sally Barnes said experts and engineers had worked for months to plan the operation.
She said the flagpole would be lifted by crane and it would then be put on the hill, wrapped in plastic and floated down the lake to a specially-made compound on the Acton peninsula.
However, disaster struck on Thursday. Ms Barnes said when workers had started to remove the metal base that held the flagpole in place they discovered there wasn’t enough strength in the pole to lift it up.
“Engineers working with us advised us it would actually collapse and would be quite dangerous and probably the best thing to do would be to actually fell it like a tree so all of our grand plans of lifting it out and floating it down the lake may not come into place,” she said.
The flagpole was a gift from the Canadian government. Picture: Sitthixay Ditthavong
That would pose a risk though and there are fears that when the chainsaw is taken to the landmark on Friday morning it could mean the end of the Canadian Flagpole.
“The uncertainty now is when it does fall after is whether is stays in one piece or whether it breaks up,” Ms Barnes said.
“We won’t know that until it happens and once we know what condition it is in we’ll know what to do next but it may well be that it’s the end of the current flagpole.
“It’s quite distressing and deflating for everybody who had such high hopes that we would be able to give it a bit of a health check and keep it going for the next 50 years but we will wait and see.”
The flagpole was gifted to Australia in 1955 from the Canadian Government, hence the name.
It came from a Douglas fir tree that was logged from a forest in British Columbia. While it arrived in Australia in 1955 it was not erected until two years later as it had to be debarked, shaped and undergo and series of chemical treatments.
It was erected in August 1957 and has flown the Australian flag and the Canadian flag on July 1 (the country’s national day).
Ms Barnes said the National Capital Authority had worked with the Canadian High Commission on the planned operation and if the operation does go awry they would ensure there was another symbol of Australian-Canadian friendship.
But she said it would be very disappointing should it break.
“It’s the history and it’s the link to Canada… and it’s part of that story around the nation was being formed all of the Commonwealth countries wanted to present something to Australia to strengthen that link,” Ms Barnes said.
“In Canberra nothing is what it seems behind everything is a depth of history and symbolism and the flagpole is that symbol.”
While it may fly under the radar for humans that walk around the lake, Ms Barnes said the flagpole is actually used by pilots as a marking point.
