Old Parliament House, Canberra
Scottish John Smith Murdoch (1862–1945), first Commonwealth Government architect here, persuaded architect Walter Burley Griffin to come from the USA in 1913.
Parliament House was designed by Murdoch and a team of assistants from the Department of Works and Railways. The building was never intended to be permanent or elaborate; it was to be a provisional building that would serve Parliament for 50 years max. It would be a classical building like the Parthenon, but without all the ornate details. And it was to look out over Lake Burley Griffin.
Murdoch designed both the exterior of the building and the interiors. He had to integrate all the spaces required of a parliament including: chambers, King’s Hall, party rooms, library, offices, members’ dining rooms and kitchens. And he designed a distinctive set of furniture that shared the architecture’s design language.
So Murdoch’s provisional parliament building was to be modest, functional and impermanent. It was designed on a basic square which provided the building with regular proportions. It was a 3-storey brick building with the principal floor on the middle level, and the functional aspect was reflected in all the design.
The façade originally included a grid of recessed openings and balconies, with four bays having arched bronze windows and stepped parapets. The façade had strong horizontal lines, displaying only two storeys, with massed elements behind the façade indicating the location of the debating chambers. The lower mass in the centre was where King’s Hall was. As a result, with its now enclosed verandas and colonnades, the building was not what some Australians expected from a proper Parliament House.
It did not include such classical architectural elements like columns or pediments, but did have the necessary symmetry. In the end, he had designed what is now considered a significant, nationally-listed heritage building with a fine sense of classical simplicity, order and proportion.
The Duke and Duchess of York
opened Parliament in 1917
The building was in the Simplified or Stripped Classical Style, commonly used for Canberra’s government buildings built in the 1920s-1930s, and also recognisable in Murdoch’s other Canberra buildings eg the Hotel Canberra/now Hyatt Hotel Canberra and Hotel Kurrajong. It was opened by the Duke and Duchess of York at the opening in May 1927.
When politicians arrived in Canberra for the opening of Provisional Parliament House in 1927, they saw bare ground and a low hedge, planted by the Superintendent of Parks and Gardens. The bush landscape stood in stark contrast to the established lush gardens of the temporary Parliament in Melbourne. So from 1931-8, the Secretary of the Joint House Department started creating gardens to the east and west of Canberra’s Old Parliament House.
Old Parliament House's significance today lies in its historical and social value to the nation. Now it is an important museum of Australia’s political heritage. Old Parliament House is open daily, for a guided tour or a self-tour where it’s possible to visit nearly all areas of the Old Parliament.
Old Parliament House's significance today lies in its historical and social value to the nation. Now it is an important museum of Australia’s political heritage. Old Parliament House is open daily, for a guided tour or a self-tour where it’s possible to visit nearly all areas of the Old Parliament.
On the guided tour, see:
King's Hall,
House of Representatives Chamber,
Corridors of Power,
Ministerial Party Room,
Prime Ministers Office,
Cabinet Room,
National Portrait Gallery,
Senate Chamber,
Suite of the President of the Senate,
Senate Club Room,
House Gallery and
Strangers Gallery.
King's Hall
Senate chamber
Speaker's chair, oak, House of Representatives
Old Parliament House Canberra was the seat of the Parliament of Australia from 1927-88 . In the 61 years that the building served, there were changes in the size and nature of the Federal Parliament eg in this time the House of Representatives grew from 76 to 148 members and the Senate from 36 to 76 members. In 1927, only the Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, Prime Minister, Leader of the Government in the Senate and ministers had their own offices. Meanwhile great changes were taking took place in Australian social and political life, and democracy matured.
During its life as a working parliament, the building was the setting for many of Australia’s major political events. Debates that influenced the future of the nation took place here, key decisions were taken, political careers were made and ended. But by the 1980s the building had exceeded its capacity with 3000 people crowded into a building originally intended for a few hundred. Members and senators had tiny and overcrowded offices.
In June 1988, members sat for the last time after 61 years in the old building, just as Parliament moved to the New Parliament House on Capital Hill. Then Old Parliament House became home to The National Portrait Gallery which holds a variety of changing exhibitions. And it serves as a venue for temporary exhibitions, lectures and concerts. In May 2008 King’s Hall became the Museum of Australian Democracy. The museum tells the heritage of the building and the story of Australia’s democracy.
Located on either side of Old Parliament House are the House of Representatives Garden and Senate Garden. The roses in this garden were planted during the Great Depression, and when Parliament moved, the old gardens were restored to their former glory and opened to the public. New features included seating pavilions, pergolas, rose arbours, gateways and refurbished tennis courts.
The old gardens have been restored and new facilities opened
The Hall of Valour recognises the heroic deeds of ordinary Australians in war.