Old Parliament House, Canberra

Old Parliament House
Front (northeastern) elevation
Former names	Provisional Parliament House
Alternative names	Parliament House
General information
Type	Parliament House
Architectural style	Stripped Classical
Address	18 King George Terrace, Parkes, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Country	Australia
Coordinates	35°18′08″S 149°07′47″E / 35.30222°S 149.12972°E / -35.30222; 149.12972
Current tenants	Museum of Australian Democracy
Construction started	28 August 1923 (1923-08-28)
Opened	9 May 1927 (1927-05-09)
Renovated	1992
Cost	A£600,000
Owner	Australian Government
Height	18.5 metres (61 feet) (without flagpole)
Technical details
Material	Brick
Floor count	3
Grounds	2.5 hectares (6 acres)
Design and construction
Architect(s)	John Smith Murdoch
Renovating team
Awards and prizes	Engineering Heritage Recognition Program
Website
moadoph.gov.au
Commonwealth Heritage List
Official name	Old Parliament House and Curtilage, King George Tce, Parkes, ACT, Australia
Type	Listed place
Criteria	A., B., D., E., F., G., and H.
Designated	22 June 2004
Reference no.	105318
References
[1]

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.

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]