Pialligo Estate has seen many proposals, but this is the first time it's been caught on camera for a Singaporean television series.
Cast and crew for the drama series Shero were at the Canberra location on Monday, filming the romantic scene between the two leads, played by Romeo Tan and Joanne Peh.
The 20-episode drama, by Singaporean production company Mediacorp, started filming in the capital on Wednesday, with the 10-day shoot set to finish on Friday. The shoot has taken them to a variety of tourist and scenic locations across Canberra, including the airport, Cockington Green and Jamala Wildlife Park. It means that for actors Tan and Peh, this work trip has also been a chance to soak up everything Canberra has to offer.
"A lot of us in Singapore probably don't know much about Canberra. The most common cities are Melbourne, Sydney, [and] even Perth, right? So Canberra, a lot of people are not familiar with it," Peh said.
"So I think it's important that we take this opportunity to showcase what you can do here. And I think I'm pretty lucky because, in a lot of the scenes that I'm doing, I'm being taken to all the places that are pretty much where it will be fun for tourists or visitors to come. The difference I would say [compared to other cities] is that it is very peaceful, but yet it's not like the countryside. It's modern, but it's peaceful."
Also in the Shero cast are fellow Singaporean A-listers Carrie Wong, Nick Teo, Tay Ying and Aileen Tan.
Shero follows the story of a young woman [played by Peh] who decides to join her missing sister's bodyguard company to continue her legacy - and the search for her parents' murderer. In doing so, she discovers many things about her sister and a web of complications that has her running to save the company, her loved ones, and herself.
And along the way, she also falls in love with the Canberra-based chief executive of a ship-building company [played by Tan] and finds herself going on plenty of dates around the capital. Which is where Pialligo Estate comes in.
"I think that our producer had this view of big green space, because we don't get that in Singapore. So is the ambience, the atmosphere, and I think [Pialligo] is just quite romantic for this scene in particular," Tan said.
Canberra was chosen over other Australian cities for the filming location for Shero, with VisitCanberra pitching the capital as the ideal setting for the drama to play out.
And while an ACT Government spokesperson said it was due to the city's existing relationship with Singapore that helped get Canberra over the line, executive producer Leong Lye Lin added: "The decision to pick Canberra for its accessible and picturesque locations came after much consideration and discussion with VisitCanberra, Screen Canberra and Tourism Australia".
And it's the picturesque locations that have Shero's actors already wanting to return. With such a tight schedule for the drama's film shoot, it doesn't leave too much time for extended sightseeing, but the pair are already hoping another filming opportunity will come up in Canberra. Maybe then Tan can get a chance to hike up Mount Ainslie, and Peh can explore the National Gallery of Australia - two items which have made their way onto the actors' respective bucket lists since arriving in town.
"When we wrap up it is about 7pm, so we don't really get much time to see Canberra, but we have had a lot of fun at the supermarket because that's the only thing open," Tan said.
Behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with talent and additional tourism experiences in Canberra will also be captured by the accompanying online short-video crew JustSwipeLah, which will deliver trending, attention-grabbing content to a Singapore audience. JustSwipeLah is an online content series that features entertainment, lifestyle and food news in short videos.
