Australia
Probably the main visitor attraction in Canberra is Parliament House. It doesn't cost to enter and it's well worth taking a tour, they're free as well, you just sign up for the next one at the Information counter as you enter. Currently there's some renovation work happening and that's why in the picture you can see white covered scaffolding under the pole for the Australian flag.
This Parliament House is the 'new' one, opened in 1988, originally it was hoped to open it on Australia Day, the 26th of January, but the construction was running late so it was officially opened on May 9th by Queen Elizabeth. A nice little nod to history as it was May 9th 1901 when the first Parliament was opened by the then Duke of York and Cornwall (Future King George V, the Queen's grandfather) and also May 9th 1927 when the first Parliament House was opened in Canberra by the Queen's father then the Duke of York.
When Australia became its own country with Federation on the 1st January 1901, Parliament sat in Melbourne while the politicians argued as to where the capital city should be. The Australian Parliament got the Victorian State Parliament building, while the Victorians had to make do with the nearby Royal Exhibition Building for 26 years! That's how long it took for a location for a capital to be decided, as well as the construction of a Parliament House. Even then the Parliament House was a 'provisional' one a more permanent one was to be built at some stage. The provisional parliament house was to be used for 50 years, it ended up being used for 61. Once the new parliament house was opened there was some talk of demolishing the old one, but there was a push to save it and it's now a museum.
Old Parliament House
At the end of the 1970s a decision was made by the government of the time to build the new parliament house and a world wide competition was held. (Following what was already a proven track record, the city of Canberra was designed by the winner of a competition.)
The winning architectural firm was a U.S. firm of Mitchell/Giurgola, with architect Romaldo Giurgola moving to Australia and settling in Canberra permanently. He died in Canberra in 2016 at the age of 95 and it was quite an achievement that he could look at his work from wherever he was in Canberra.
The idea behind the design was that Parliament house should not be above the people so it was cut into Capitol Hill with the sides reconstructed and people could walk the grassed edges to be on the building. (Information from informative guide!)
Once you enter Parliament House you find yourself in this grand foyer. There is an airport style security check to get in, and then you can wander around the public areas freely.
Marble was sourced from around the world to create the foyer, the first time I visited I remember the guide saying something about the pillars representing eucalyptus trees.
The wooden panels show Australia native plants.
Upstairs there are the portraits of Australian Prime Ministers.
There are display cases with historic items, this was the Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples that was given by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in February 2008 apologising for the policies of the past that saw Aboriginal people removed from their families.
The centre of the building houses the Great Hall and the Members Hall, there are wings on either side that are the location of the two houses of parliament.
The upper house which is The Senate. The colour scheme dates back to those used by the British, but the Australia Senate red is a more muted red designed to reflect the colour of red ochre. The enclosed viewing areas at the top are where school students are kept when visiting Parliament House, they're sound proof!
The lower house, The House of Representatives, again the green colour is the one that is used by the U.K. parliament but the green here is more a grey/green and the colour of eucalyptus leaves.
Standing outside Parliament House you can look to the back of the Old Parliament House, across the lake to the War Memorial, right up to Mt. Ainslie.
Probably the main visitor attraction in Canberra is Parliament House. It doesn't cost to enter and it's well worth taking a tour, they're free as well, you just sign up for the next one at the Information counter as you enter. Currently there's some renovation work happening and that's why in the picture you can see white covered scaffolding under the pole for the Australian flag.
This Parliament House is the 'new' one, opened in 1988, originally it was hoped to open it on Australia Day, the 26th of January, but the construction was running late so it was officially opened on May 9th by Queen Elizabeth. A nice little nod to history as it was May 9th 1901 when the first Parliament was opened by the then Duke of York and Cornwall (Future King George V, the Queen's grandfather) and also May 9th 1927 when the first Parliament House was opened in Canberra by the Queen's father then the Duke of York.
When Australia became its own country with Federation on the 1st January 1901, Parliament sat in Melbourne while the politicians argued as to where the capital city should be. The Australian Parliament got the Victorian State Parliament building, while the Victorians had to make do with the nearby Royal Exhibition Building for 26 years! That's how long it took for a location for a capital to be decided, as well as the construction of a Parliament House. Even then the Parliament House was a 'provisional' one a more permanent one was to be built at some stage. The provisional parliament house was to be used for 50 years, it ended up being used for 61. Once the new parliament house was opened there was some talk of demolishing the old one, but there was a push to save it and it's now a museum.
At the end of the 1970s a decision was made by the government of the time to build the new parliament house and a world wide competition was held. (Following what was already a proven track record, the city of Canberra was designed by the winner of a competition.)
The winning architectural firm was a U.S. firm of Mitchell/Giurgola, with architect Romaldo Giurgola moving to Australia and settling in Canberra permanently. He died in Canberra in 2016 at the age of 95 and it was quite an achievement that he could look at his work from wherever he was in Canberra.
The idea behind the design was that Parliament house should not be above the people so it was cut into Capitol Hill with the sides reconstructed and people could walk the grassed edges to be on the building. (Information from informative guide!)
Marble was sourced from around the world to create the foyer, the first time I visited I remember the guide saying something about the pillars representing eucalyptus trees.
Upstairs there are the portraits of Australian Prime Ministers.
There are display cases with historic items, this was the Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples that was given by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in February 2008 apologising for the policies of the past that saw Aboriginal people removed from their families.
The centre of the building houses the Great Hall and the Members Hall, there are wings on either side that are the location of the two houses of parliament.
Standing outside Parliament House you can look to the back of the Old Parliament House, across the lake to the War Memorial, right up to Mt. Ainslie.
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