Parliament House, Canberra
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Parliament House is the name given to two purpose-built buildings opened in 1988 in Canberra, the capital of Australia. The final cost was over $1.1 billion, making Parliament House the most expensive building in Australian history. Prior to 1988, the Parliament of Australia met in the Provisional Parliament House, which is now known as "Old Parliament House".
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[edit] Before Canberra
In 1901, when the six British colonies in Australia federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia, Melbourne and Sydney were the two largest cities in the country, but the long history of rivalry between them meant that neither could become the national capital. Section 125 of the Constitution of Australia therefore provided that:
The seat of Government of the Commonwealth shall be determined by the Parliament, and shall be within territory which shall have been granted to or acquired by the Commonwealth, and shall be vested in and belong to the Commonwealth, and shall be in the State of New South Wales, and be distant not less than one hundred miles from Sydney.
Such territory shall contain an area of not less than one hundred square miles, and such portion thereof as shall consist of Crown lands shall be granted to the Commonwealth without any payment therefor. The Parliament shall sit at Melbourne until it meet at the seat of Government.
In 1909, after much argument, the Parliament decided that the new capital would be in southern New South Wales, on the site which is now Canberra. The Commonwealth acquired control over the land in 1911, but World War I intervened, and nothing was done for some years to build the city. Federal Parliament did not leave Melbourne until 1927.
In the meantime Parliament met in the 19th century edifice of Parliament House, Melbourne, at the invitation of the Victorian State Parliament, who met in the nearby Royal Exhibition Building for 26 years. Begun in 1853 and ready for occupancy (though not actually finished) in 1856, it was built at the height of the gold rush when Victoria was awash with money, and was one of the finest public buildings in the British Empire.
[edit] Old Parliament House
After World War I the Federal Capital Advisory Committee was established to prepare Canberra to be the seat of government, including the construction of a Parliament House. The committee decided that it would be best to erect a "provisional" building, to serve for a predicted 50 years until a new, "permanent" House could be built. The government architect, John Smith Murdoch, therefore produced a fairly plain "stripped classical" design, making use of simple geometric forms. Although this received some criticism from architects at the time as lacking in the grandiosity of legislative buildings in other places, the general view has been that this gave the nation a building which was both functional and handsome.
Construction began in August 1923 and the building was ready for occupancy in May 1927. The interior of the House followed the same pattern of simple geometric designs and plain surfaces. The building cost about £600,000. The official opening was on 9 May, and the Duke of York (later King George VI) officiated, accompanied by the Prime Minister, Stanley Bruce. Parliamentarians and public servants alike were not pleased at giving up the comforts of Melbourne for this remote, cold, dusty hamlet, particularly since alcohol was banned. (This ban was lifted soon after Parliament met in the new building).
This "provisional" House accommodated the Parliament for 61 years, and the city of Canberra grew up around it. Despite being deliberately planned for future growth, by the 1960s the building was already too crowded, and the press in particular complained about their cramped quarters. A building designed to house 300 people was expected to cope with over 4,000, despite several major extensions from 1947.
But successive governments blanched at the likely cost of building a new, much bigger Parliament House. There was also a prolonged battle over where to put a new House: either on the same site as the old one, behind it on Capital Hill, or by the lake shore, which was where the original designer of Canberra, Walter Burley Griffin, had intended it to be.
[edit] New Parliament House
Finally in 1978 the Fraser government decided to proceed with a new building on Capital Hill, and the Parliament House Construction Authority was created. The Authority, with the National Capital Development Commission made ready a brief and competition documents; consulting the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. A two-stage Competition was then announced drawing 329 entries from 28 countries. Five were invited to advance to the second stage to present more detailed plans and building models.
The clear competition winner was the US-based Italian architect (and now Australian citizen) Romaldo Giurgola, with a design which involved burying most of the building under Capital Hill, and capping the edifice with an enormous spire topped by a large Australian flag. The facades, however, deliberately echoed the designs of the Old Parliament House, so that there is a family resemblance despite the massive difference in scale.
Construction began in 1981, and the House was intended to be ready by January 1988, the 200th anniversary of European settlement in Australia. It was expected to cost A$220 million. Neither deadline nor budget were met. The building was finally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 9 May 1988, the anniversary of the opening of both the first Federal Parliament in Melbourne (9 May 1901), and of the Provisional Parliament House in Canberra (9 May 1927).
From above, the design of the site is in the shape of two boomerangs enclosed within a circle. Much of the building is buried beneath Capital Hill, but the meeting chambers and accommodation for parliamentarians are free-standing within the boomerang-shaped arms.
The site, 640 metres in diameter, spans 32 hectares, of which the structure occupies an area 300 metres long and 300 metres wide.
There are 25,000 granite slabs on the curved walls which, placed end to end, would stretch 46 kilometres. The building required 300,000 cubic metres of concrete, enough to build 25 Sydney Opera Houses and has a design life of at least 200 years. The building has 4,700 rooms and has 2,416 clocks that are used for voting. On a non-sitting day there could be 2,000 to 3,000 people working there. Parliament House attracts approximately 1,000,000 visitors a year.
The flag flown from the 81 metre flagpole is 12.8m by 6.4m, about the size of half a tennis court. The flagpole weighs 220 tonnes and is made of polished stainless steel from Newcastle, New South Wales. It is one of the largest stainless steel structures in the world. It was designed to be the pinnacle of Parliament House and is an easily recognizable symbol of national government. It is visible by day from outside and inside Parliament House and floodlit at night. The flag itself weighs approximately 15 kg.
Although security has been greatly tightened in recent years, much of the building is open to the public.
The building was designed to "sit above" Old Parliament House when seen from a distance, but when the idea was floated to demolish Old Parliament House so that there would be an uninterrupted vista from the New Parliament House to Lake Burley Griffin and the Australian War Memorial, there was an outcry at this idea. The historic building was preserved, and it now houses a parliamentary museum and part of the National Portrait Gallery.
The original concept was for Parliament House to be freely open to the public, and the sweeping lawns leading up to the entrances were intended to symbolize this. Since the terrorist attacks of recent years, however, security at Parliament House has been greatly tightened. One measure has been the erection of crash barriers blocking access to the lawns (a 4WD was driven through the front doors in 1992). The ugliness of these barriers is widely regretted, and construction of less obstrusive barriers was completed in 2006.
[edit] Layout
Parliament House is structured into a main foyer leading into a Great Hall, which features a tapestry based on a painting by Arthur Boyd (also situated in the building on display). Functions that have parliamentary and federal relevance often take place here, but the Great Hall is also open to functions for the general public, such as weddings, and the nearby University of Canberra hosts graduation ceremonies here also.
Below the tapestry of The Great Hall is a removable division, which opens on to the Member's Hall, with a water feature at its centre. Directly ahead of the Member's Hall is the Ministerial Wing, housing the office suites of the Prime Minister and government ministers. Member's Hall has access to the House of Representatives and the Senate buildings to the left and right of the main entrance to the Halls respectively. Public access to the visitors' galleries and the Main Committee Room is via an upper level reached by impressive staircases ascending from the entrance foyer.
[edit] The House of Representatives
In a reflection of the colour scheme of the United Kingdom House of Commons, the House of Representatives is decorated in green. However, the colour is muted to suggest the color of eucalyptus leaves.
From the perspective of the image to the right, the press gallery is ahead, with public galleries to the left and right. Soundproofed galleries for school groups lie directly above these, as no talking is permitted when the House is sitting.
Frontbench (Cabinet) members approach the table with the ornate box (pictured). These boxes are known as the dispatch box, to speak. Backbenchers have a microphone on their desk, and merely stand to speak (unless they cannot stand), in accordance with standing order 60.
Also seen on the table is a copy of Hansard and where the clerk and deputy clerk sit. The clerk is the most learned person in the house. The clerk needs to know all the rules in parliament and is responsible for ringing the bells during a division. In front of the clerk is the hour glasses. The outer glasses last for four minutes and the middle glass runs for two. These glasses are turn when there is a division, one of the four minute glasses is turned and the bells will ring and the clocks will flash green for the House of Representatives or red for the senate for four minutes. After the hour glass runs out, the houses attendants will lock the doors and the whips will count the votes. MPs vote by either moving to the government side of the house for a vote for a bill or the opposition side for a vote against a bill. If there is a division shortly after another division, the middle hour glass will be turned and the bells will ring for two minutes.
As is the custom with Westminster parliaments, members of the governing party sit to the Speaker's right, and the Opposition sits to the Speaker's left. Independents and minor parties sit on the cross-benches. The long benches (the front benches) closest to the dispatch boxes are reserved for the Cabinet on the government's side and the Shadow Cabinet on the Opposition's side.
[edit] The Senate
The Senate building follows the colour scheme of the House of Lords, decorated in red, this time muted to tints of ochre, suggesting the earth and the colours of the outback.
The gallery arrangement is identical to that of the House of Representatives. Unlike the House of Representatives, only the Leader of the Government or Opposition in the Senate approach the lectern pictured, other frontbench Senators and all backbench senators have their desk microphone. As can be seen from the illustrations, unlike the House of Representatives, there is no distinction between the front and back benches in the Senate chamber; Senate Ministers and their opposition counterparts have the same two-seat benches as all other Senators. The Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery is located above the Senate chamber.
[edit] Clocks
The Parliament House has 2,416 clocks [1], which, beyond serving the usual purpose, remind members of events such as Question Time at 2pm, when all members are expected to attend. When the House of Representatives or the Senate divides (where a vote must be tallied), all members are called to the chamber to vote. Bells audible throughout the house are rung, and one of two separate panels (one green, one red) lights up to indicate whether the division is for the House of Representatives or the Senate. Once a bell for a vote has rung, members have no more than four minutes to get to the chamber before the doors are locked.
[edit] Catering
All food service for Parliament House is organized through the Hyatt Hotel's catering company. This includes the 'Members and Guests' restaurant, banquets department, Queens Terrace Cafe, house service and staff dining.
[edit] External links
- Old Parliament House
- New Parliament House
- Parliament House / image trail from PictureAustralia
- This Australian ABC page gives an account of the new Parliament House.
- Maps and aerial photos
- WikiSatellite view at WikiMapia
- Street map from Google Maps or Multimap.
- Satellite image from Google Maps
