Politics, parties, delegations, and celebrations – The Hyatt wants to hear your story
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It’s one of Canberra’s most iconic buildings and while it has always been a place of memories and milestones for many locals, for the HerCanberra team the Hyatt Hotel is extra special.
Starting as a one-woman blog in January 2011, it was within those storied walls that HerCanberra officially launched its print magazine in 2015. And while our beloved print edition is no longer in circulation (thanks COVID), a decade later, we’re still bringing stories of Canberra to life – and now so is the Hyatt.
Celebrating its 100-year history as the preferred gathering place and social axis of the Canberra community, the Hyatt Hotel has launched its modern-day time capsule, Centenary Stories.
Calling for locals to share their stories and memories from the past, feature and guest stories will be housed on a new and engaging site designed to preserve the history of one of Canberra’s most intriguing buildings.
Sharing memories, love letters, photos, history, and the very human and joyful experience of hospitality, Hyatt Hotel Canberra General Manager, Adam Myott says that Centenary Stories will act as a time capsule of the past – and that it’s a once-in-a-century opportunity to unravel all of the Hyatt’s many glorious secrets.
“Rather than burying our history to uncover in years to come, we want to celebrate it now and bring it with us into the future,” he explains.
“We want to hear about the little and big moments that made lasting ripples in the lives of our guests. It’s in the little details that exceptional can be found and that’s what we want to celebrate”.
Along with the new site launch, to encourage Canberrans to submit their stories each entry will also go into the draw to win a two-night Suite Centenary stay valued at $2,900 – including breakfast and dinner for two and two tickets to the exclusive Centenary Cocktail Gala on Friday 25 October. The giveaway is a game of chance, with every submission going into the draw to win until Monday 30 September.
Love, politics, parties, dignitaries, delegations, and celebrations – it’s time for these historic walls to talk. And to inspire you to submit your own stories (if the prize isn’t enough), here three members of the HerCanberra team share their memories of the Hyatt.
Amanda Whitley, Founder
In March 2015, we celebrated the launch of HerCanberra’s print magazine with a sparkling event in the leafy Hyatt Courtyard, complete with live cooking stations and free-flowing bubbles. As a bootstrapped start-up, an event like this was beyond my wildest dreams, and the Hyatt team poured so much passion and enthusiasm into making it one to remember.
A celebration of all things local – including 15 remarkable Canberra women ‘to watch’ – we enjoyed music by Kaleid, DJ’ing by DJ Ave Nocturna (aka Vanessa), and live art by George Rose in the intimate outside space.
Nearly 10 years on, it’s a memory that lives large in my mind. It was the first time I’d sat back and looked at the brand I’d built and realised other people’s emotional attachment to it. I ugly cried. Perhaps we should do it all again in 2025?
Emma Macdonald, Associate Editor
Growing up in Canberra, the Hyatt was always the placemaking hotel of the city and I have an abundance of memories of special events, special meals, and celebrations of note. But my two favourite memories are the time when I was about 16 or 17 and just starting in modelling and I did a Melbourne Cup fashion parade in the ballroom. It was so long ago I can’t remember the clothes exactly, but I think they were from Gabby’s or Millers of Manuka, and I do remember that they were glorious – a strapless ballgown that weighed a tonne that made me feel like a princess. Needless to say, it was a world away from my high school uniform.
Another fabulous memory is the time in 2018 when the American rock band Foreigner (I Want to Know What Love Is, Urgent, Cold as Ice) came to Canberra and after interviewing the lead singer I got an invite to hang with them after the show. Of course they stayed at the Hyatt, and there was a group of us who took over the Speaker’s Corner Bar well into the night. In fact, we were there until 4 am, talking, drinking, and hearing some incredible stories from the music industry. The guys were delightful, the bar stayed open, and the champagne kept flowing.
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Erin Cross, Online Editor
The Hyatt has always been a symbol of luxury and history to me – a building that’s so immersed in the landscape of Canberra that you can’t have one without the other. And while it’s always been a part of my life in some way or another (whether it’s a landmark on my daily drive to work or a place to celebrate), two memories stand out to me.
The first is 2019 – my introduction to the Tea Lounge. It was the year of 18th birthday parties and one friend decided that she wanted to start her adult life in one of the most elegant ways possible: a high tea, served as it has been since the 1920s. I remember walking through the lobby in my best dress and heels, overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the room and the tiered feast of sweet and savoury treats, tea, and coffee. Sitting there for a few hours, sipping coffee and working my way through an array of finger sandwiches and tiny cakes (this was pre-coeliac diagnosis) was one of the first times I felt like a refined young woman instead of a gauche girl still figuring out how to walk in her heels.
My second memory is 2021, just days after the COVID-19 lockdown in Canberra ended. It was freezing cold, and pitch black as Bea and I met at 4 am at the Hyatt for a sunrise balloon flight with Balloon Aloft Canberra. It was the first time we had seen each other in person in months, and as we met in the foyer, masks on and about 30 layers of clothing as the hotel porters bustled around us, it felt almost bittersweet. I think we hugged (even though there was still social distancing in place) and being able to enjoy a magical experience like a sunrise balloon flight when the world still felt tumultuous reminded me how lucky we were (and are) to work at HerCanberra.
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It was a long, beautiful morning that I’ll always remember for a multitude of reasons. But one thing that will always stick in my mind is pulling up outside the Hyatt, looking at the glowing windows against the dark sky, and feeling the anticipation and excitement for life to start again.
For more information or to submit your story, visit hyattcanberra.com.au
Feature image via the National Archives of Australia.