To mark the 30th anniversary of “CityNews”, social historian and journalist NICHOLE OVERALL has written an eclectic history of Canberra and beyond over the past three decades. Here is 1997.

ANOTHER year in which there was much to leave us heavy of heart.

Princess Diana’s death was a time-stopping moment and if you were around, you can probably pinpoint where and how you heard (me: 2CC news bulletin while stopped at the Fyshwick/Hindmarsh Drive traffic lights).

Canberra was still reeling from the shocking death of young Katie Bender, killed by debris from the “deadly demolition” of the old Canberra Hospital to make way for the much-debated new National Museum.

And within weeks, the devastating Thredbo landslide, ripping away two ski lodges and 18 lives. After 65 hours entombed beneath, 27-year-old ski instructor and sole survivor Stuart Diver is dragged from the wreckage. (In 2012, Diver is appointed operations manager of the Thredbo Ski Resort). 

With Ivan Milat serving seven life terms, when a third woman goes missing from Claremont in Perth, police confirm they are investigating the prospect of another serial killer.

Closer to home, in October, Bega is rocked when two young schoolgirls disappear, only to be found murdered. Two Yass men are arrested after a car they stole in Canberra is located. Both will receive life sentences.

Supposed to “keep the bastards honest”, Cheryl Kernot, since ’93 the leader of minority party the Australian Democrats, whips up a political maelstrom on her defection to Labor. The rumour mill is in overdrive but it’s much later that the influence of her relationship with Labor’s Deputy Leader Gareth Evans is revealed.

So too, the wonders of technology causing angst: with computers now in “one in three Canberra homes”, “you’ve got mail” means “you’ve got a virus”; the first ever, ShareFun, sharing its “fun” by emailing itself to everyone on your contacts list.

Financial hits as well: the “Asian contagion” stock market crash, most significant in a decade, and a threat to Australian icon Arnotts with biscuits removed from ACT, NSW and Queensland shelves following an extortion attempt claiming tampered packets contain enough pesticide “to kill a small child”. 

But for every challenging challenge, as Stuart Diver proved, there were moments to say “that sky’s fantastic”.

One of the brightest spots for the ACT, its blossoming as “cultural capital”, even earning a “Canberra Cultural Authority”. On the bustling program – the relaunch of arts magazine Muse, new appointments for the National Gallery and the Canberra School of Music, plans for a new Playhouse for the Canberra Theatre and preparations for the opening of the new Canberra Museum and Gallery, the Tuggeranong Arts Centre and capitalising on the National Multicultural Festival, kicked off in 1996.

To wrap the year, the words of Zidler, impresario of the Moulin Rouge in Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 film: “everything’s going so well …”

The full collection of Nichole Overall’s work can be seen here.