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4.1 Why is Australia’s Parliament House located in Canberra?

Section 125 was inserted in the draft Constitution during the premier’s conference of 1899. Part of the section states that the ‘seat of government of the Commonwealth … shall be in the state of NSW, and be distant not less than one hundred miles from Sydney’. This and other requirements of the section, establish the seat of Australian governance and the capital of the country within the area which is now known as the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

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4.2 When was Parliament House opened?

Australia’s Parliament House was officially opened on 9 May 1988 by Australia’s head of state; Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

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4.3 Who designed Australia’s Parliament House?

The architectural firm Mitchell, Giurgola and Thorp designed Parliament House. Romaldo Giurgola was the principal architect. The firm entered an international architectural competition to create the best possible design for Australia’s new federal parliament and competed against 28 countries. The current design was chosen from 329 entries.

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4.4 How much did Parliament House cost to build?

The total cost of the Parliament House building was almost $1.1 billion in 1988.

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4.5 Why was new Parliament House built?

The new Parliament House was built to:

  • provide a permanent building for the federal Parliament. From 1927 to 1988 the Parliament sat in Provisional Parliament House, Canberra. The provisional building was designed to be used for approximately 50 years, although it was used for 61 years until it became far too small to accommodate its inhabitants.
  • facilitate the work of the Parliament for 200 years. The current building is designed to be in use without any major alterations or extensions for approximately 200 years and is currently one of the largest buildings in the southern hemisphere.

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4.6 Who works in Australia’s Parliament House?

When Parliament is in session more than 3000 people work in the Parliament House building. The work of members and senators is supported by staff including electoral officers, advisors and public servants from federal government departments. Other people who support the work of the Parliament include librarians, educators, building maintenance workers, gardeners, members of the media, chefs and cleaners amongst many more.

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4.7 Who visits Australia’s Parliament House?

Every year over one million people visit Parliament House, the majority of which are Australian and overseas tourists and school students on educational tours.

Other visitors to Parliament House come specifically to meet with members of the Australian Parliament. These people include lobbyists, special interest groups, representatives of other countries and dignitaries representing various international organisations.

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4.8 What are some facts about the Parliament House flagpole?

The Australian flag flies 81 metres above Parliament House and marks the exact centre of the Parliament House building. The position of the flag also marks the apex of Canberra’s Parliamentary Triangle which consists of three major roads: Kings Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue and the base of the triangle, Constitution Avenue.

The Australian flag flies above the building twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week and is changed approximately every two to three weeks. Three people are required to change the flag, a process which takes approximately 30 minutes to complete.

The flag is approximately the size of a double decker bus and measures 12.8 by 6.4 metres. The materials used to make the flags include Dacron, Nylon and Cotton mix. This ensures that the flags can fly well in variable wind conditions—from light breezes to strong gales. Currently the Department of Parliamentary Services maintains a wardrobe of 22 flags which are rotated and flown on a regular basis so the flags wear evenly and can be inspected for damage.

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4.9 Which timbers are used in Parliament House?

The timbers used throughout Parliament House are mainly Australian timbers. The timbers contribute to the feeling of warmth and naturalness inside the building and include coachwood, jarrah, blackbutt, brush box, white birch, turpentine, silver ash and grey box.

Ebony is used in the Great Hall and was a gift to the Australian people from Papua New Guinea.

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4.10 What is in the Parliament House art collection?

The Parliament House Art Collection comprises over 5000 works across three major collections:

  • commissioned works
  • Gifts Collection
  • Historic Memorials Collection.

The commissioned works of art were developed within the architects’ design brief. These include the mosaic pavement, the Coats of Arms at the entrance to the building, the marquetry panels, tapestries, rugs, sculptures, stained glass windows, ceramic murals and hand-crafted furniture.

The Gifts Collection comprises gifts from other countries to celebrate the bicentenary of European settlement in Australia (1988) and to commemorate the opening of the permanent Parliament House building.

The Historic Memorials Collection comprises portraits of former members and senators including prime ministers, other office holders and important historical events. There are currently over 130 works in the Historical Memorials Collection.

There are also many important historical documents, memorabilia and items of significance contained within the art collection. Some of these documents are on display in the Members Hall of Parliament House and include a 1297 Inspeximus issue Magna Carta, Queen Victoria’s writing desk, Constitutional and other legal documents.

Other aspects of the art collection include contemporary Australian art that has been purchased for specific locations in the building.

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4.11 Why are there so many gardens?

The gardens which line the perimeter of Parliament House are planted with Australian natives. Garden paths lead to tennis courts and a sports playing field.

Many internal courtyards enhance the design of the building by allowing natural light to enter the majority of office spaces in the building. These 17 courtyards are planted with a combination of deciduous and evergreen, native and exotic plants.

Other gardening facts about Parliament House include:

  • 103,000 squared metres of grassed area covering Parliament House
  • 135,000 planted trees
  • 18 irrigation zones.

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4.12 What gives the building its sense of space and light?

Parliament House contains many windows of different shape and size, which admit natural light. Large sky lights are positioned in the foyer, Great Hall and Members Hall and in both the House of Representatives and Senate chambers.

Large glass link ways connect the five separate wings of the building that are the:

  • House of Representatives (eastern side)
  • Senate (western side)
  • ministerial (southern side)
  • Members Hall (building centre)
  • public areas (northern end).

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4.13 Why are there so many clocks?

There are currently over 2700 clocks in Parliament House. Besides telling the time, the clocks are fitted with two flashing lights to alert members and senators to activities in the chamber that may require their attendance. This usually means a division vote, the need to form a quorum or to signal the commencement of specific chamber business.

Of the two flashing lights, one flashes green for the House of Representatives, the other flashes red for the Senate. When the lights flash in either colour, the sound of a bell rings through speakers located throughout the building.

The buttons which set the clocks ringing and flashing are controlled by the Clerks of either chamber. The Clerks turn a sand timer to time how long the lights and bells ring for (generally four minutes).

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4.14 What stone is used throughout the building?

A mixture of Australian and international stone is used to provide different textures to the internal and external design of Parliament House.

Australian stone includes ‘Carmina’ granite from ‘Eugowra’ in NSW and ‘Calca’ granite from South Australia.

International stone includes Italian ‘Paradise White’ Carrara marble, ‘Cippolino’ marble and Verde Isori igneous rock. Belgium ‘Granitello Nero’ limestone and Portuguese ‘ Atlantide Rosa’ marble. No Australian marble was used in the building.

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