"Good old Scottish resilience", a penchant for reinvention and an all-you-can-eat buffet are some of the major factors behind the continuing success of the Canberra Burns Club, which this year celebrates 100 years, making it the oldest club in the national capital and the second-oldest business, after the Cusack's furniture shop.
The club formed on October 13, 1924, reflecting the large number of Scots in the young national capital at the time. The club members funded a statue of the Scottish poet and club namesake Robert Burns which was opened on the corner of Canberra Avenue and National Circuit in Forrest in 1935 at a function attended by then prime minister, Joseph Lyons. After years of meeting wherever they could, the club members opened their first permanent facility in 1957 in Forrest, behind the Burns statue.
