Peter Harrison

Peter Firman Harrison (21 October 1918 — 30 October 1990), town planner, was a champion of the Griffin Plan for Canberra and an influential advocate for the public interest in the development of Australia's national capital.

Early career Harrison grew up in Sydney during the Great Depression. Between 1934 and 1951, he undertook part-time architecture studies, before switching to town planning studies, while working as a draftsman at AGL, the Commonwealth Department of the Interior, Commonwealth Department of Works and Housing, and the Cumberland County Council. He was appointed senior lecturer in town planning at the University of Sydney in 1951. Harrison was a member of the Royal Australian Planning Institute committee which argued, in a submission to the Senate Select Committee on the Development of Canberra in 1955, that the Griffin Plan for the national capital should be adopted.

Professional life in Canberra The Menzies Government established the National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) in 1958 and, in early 1959, appointed Harrison its first Chief Town Planner. From that position, Harrison strongly advocated for development consistent with the Griffin Plan developed by Walter Burley Griffin. Harrison devised the 'Y plan', adopted by NCDC in 1967, which allowed for the expansion of Canberra consistent with the preservation of the open character of a city separated by bushland. "Peter believed strongly that large city centres were inefficient creations of speculative development," Neutze wrote. "He always insisted that development should serve the needs of people, not just line the pockets of investors." The Canberra suburb of Harrison, is named in his honour.