February 18

Hello Canberra,

Hello Canberra

🌦️ Weather: 30° and possible showers.

📆 Today: It’s Sunday 18th February

Today: 🥬 City Farm Tour

The City Farm is a community garden home to allotments and shared community areas. They are holding an open day today. There will be plant sales, tours, workshops and more.

There will also be a fruit tree netting swap. Bring your unsafe garden netting and swap old, large-mesh nets for wildlife-friendly nets, which have been purchased with funds from the ACT Government. Details here.

News: ⛈️ Canberra United Match Abandoned

Canberra United’s match against Sydney FC was abandoned after a sudden storm hit the ground. Nearby lightning and heavy rain forced the players to leave the pitch twice before the officials decided it was a lost cause. More.

Something to Do: 🍅 Learn How to Grow Veggies

The Suburban Land Agency is hosting a series of workshops on growing your own veggies. The series will focus on getting the best from Canberra’s unique growing climate, teaching participants when and what to plant for a bountiful supply of backyard produce year-round. Details here.

On This Day: 🗳️ First Elections with Hare-Clark

On the 18th of February 1995, the Hare-Clark electoral system was used for the first time in Canberra. The ACT held a referendum in 1992 asking voters if they would like to use the Hare-Clark, and it passed with a large majority. This system is only used in The ACT and Tasmania.

The Hare-Clark system ensures that political parties receive a proportion of seats that closely match their proportion of the overall vote, reducing the likelihood of major distortions in representation.

The ABC made a good explainer on Hare-Clark here.

Something To Do: 🙋‍♂️ Trivia at Gang Gang

Every Thursday evening there is Trivia at Gang Gang in Downer. Topics include pop culture, politics, geography, musical clues, movie clues, and cryptic clues. Details here.