Why did Canberra’s population grow rapidly during the 1960s and early 1970s?

Canberra’s rapid population growth during the 1960s and early 1970s was primarily driven by the large-scale transfer of government departments from Melbourne to Canberra and a significant expansion in government employment.1

This growth was facilitated by the establishment of the National Capital Development Commission in 1958. Supported by Prime Minister Robert Gordon Menzies and provided with adequate funding and wide-ranging powers, the commission effectively managed the development of infrastructure, public buildings, and the subdivision of land, which remained in public ownership. As a result of these coordinated efforts, the city's population increased from 30,000 in 1954 to more than 200,000 by the mid-1970s.2