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Old Parliament House, Canberra

Old Parliament House, formerly known as the Provisional Parliament House, was the seat of the Parliament of Australia from 1927 to 1988. The building began operation on 9 May 1927 after Parliament's relocation from Melbourne to the new capital, Canberra. In 1988, the Commonwealth Parliament transferred to the new Parliament House on Capital Hill. It also serves as a venue for temporary exhibitions, lectures and concerts. Old Parliament House is, looking across Lake Burley Griffin, situated in front of Parliament House and in line with the Australian War Memorial.

"Museum of Australian Democracy" redirects here. For the similarly named museum in Ballarat, see Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka.

Old Parliament House

Provisional Parliament House

Parliament House

Parliament House

18 King George Terrace, Parkes, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

Australia

Museum of Australian Democracy

28 August 1923 (1923-08-28)

9 May 1927 (1927-05-09)

1992

600,000

Australian Government

18.5 metres (61 feet) (without flagpole)

Brick

3

2.5 hectares (6 acres)

Old Parliament House and Curtilage, King George Tce, Parkes, ACT, Australia

Listed place

22 June 2004

105318

On 2 May 2008, it was made an Executive Agency of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.[2] On 9 May 2009, the Executive Agency was renamed as the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House (MoAD), reporting to the Special Minister of State.


Designed by John Smith Murdoch and a team of assistants from the Department of Works and Railways, the building was intended to be neither temporary nor permanent—only to be a "provisional" building that would serve the needs of Parliament for a maximum of 50 years. The design extended from the building itself to include its gardens, décor and furnishings. The building is in the Simplified or "Stripped" Classical Style, commonly used for Australian government buildings constructed in Canberra during the 1920s and 1930s. It does not include such classical architectural elements as columns, entablatures or pediments, but does have the orderliness and symmetry associated with neoclassical architecture.[1]

Extensions[edit]

Old Parliament House was only intended to be 'provisional' and so office space was not provided for all members. This shortage of space was compounded by the decision of Prime Minister James Scullin to relocate his principal office from West Block to the building in 1930. This eventually resulted in all ministers, with their departmental staff, being accommodated in the building over time, compounding the office space problem.


The first extensions were made to the rear of the building in 1947 to provide more office space for members. Some further extensions were constructed in 1964. In the 1970s, large extensions were added to both sides of the building and the south-west corner. The front façade was extended in a sympathetic fashion to conform with Murdoch's design. On the Representatives side, larger extensions were required, and a substantial part of the gardens were built over and linked to the main building by a bridge.


The interiors of the 1972–73 extensions reflect fashions of the time, although wooden panelling was used for the walls, in keeping with the older parts of the building, but with an unequivocally 1970s style. On the Representatives side, the extensions necessitated the demolition of the Prime Minister's suite of offices (originally intended for the Speaker) and the original Cabinet Room. The rooms are now left in the condition they were in at the time they were occupied by Bob Hawke, immediately prior to the move to New Parliament House in May 1988. Similar extensions were made on the Senate side, with a new suite of rooms being constructed for the President of the Senate in a similar style.

Engineering heritage award[edit]

Both the old and new Parliament House received an Engineering Heritage National Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.[21]

Commonwealth Heritage List

Parliament House, Canberra

Parliament House Puzzle

Australian Construction Service (1988). The building in its setting: Old Parliament House redevelopment.

Australian Construction Service (1991). Old Parliament House redevelopment study: design drawings.

Australian Construction Service (1991). Heritage strategy: Old Parliament House redevelopment.

Australian Construction Service (1991). Architectural character: Old Parliament House redevelopment.

Australian Construction Service (1995). Conservation management plan: Old Parliament House, Canberra, A.C.T.

Charlton, Ken (1984). Federal Capital Architecture. (ACT).

National Trust of Australia

Connybeare Morrison & Partners; others (1994). Restoration of Old Parliament House Gardens, Report on History of the Gardens, prepared for the NCPA.

Conybeare Morrison & Partners (1994). Restoration of Old Parliament House.

Dick, George (1977). Parliament House Canberra. Canberra: .

Australian Government Publishing Service

Gardens: masterplan report.

Garnett, Rodney; Hyndes, Danielle (1992). The Heritage of the Australian Capital Territory. (ACT) and others.

National Trust of Australia

Gibbney, Jim (1988). Canberra 1913-1953. .

Australian Government Publishing Service

Gray, J. (1995). Poplar trees in the Garden Courts of Old Parliament House, Canberra: options for replanting.

Gutteridge Haskins and Davey (1999). Old Parliament House South West Wing Heritage Study, report for the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.

Howard Tanner and Associates (1986). Provisional Parliament House: The Conservation Plan.

Marshall, D. (1995). Documentation on Historic Places in the Australian Capital Territory. Vol. 1–3. (unpublished).

Australian Heritage Commission

Nelsen, Ivar; Waite, Phil (1995). Conservation Management Plan, Old Parliament House, Canberra, ACT. Australian Construction Services.

O'Keefe, B.; Pearson, M. (1998). Federation: A National Survey of Heritage Places. .

Australian Heritage Commission

O'Keefe, B. (2000). Old Parliament House : heritage study for the conservation and refurbishment of the southwest wing of Old Parliament House.

Patrick and Wallace (1988). Draft conservation study of Old Parliament House gardens, Canberra.

Pearson, M.; Betteridge, M.; Marshall, D.; O'Keefe, B.; Young, L. (2000). Old Parliament House Conservation Management Plan. Report prepared for the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.

Pryor, L. D.; Banks, J. C. G. (1991). Trees and Shrubs in Canberra. Canberra: Little Hills Press.

Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House

The Parliament of Australia

National Trust of Australia (ACT)