The construction of the skyscraper began in 1975 and lasted 5 years. Its architectural style was dubbed "brutalism." Queen Elizabeth II inaugurated the High Court of Australia in 1980. It is located on the north side of Parliament House, opposite the Senate Gardens. Canberra was built as a replacement for the old Federal Capital City, which had been destroyed by fire. The new capital was expected to provide more space for government departments and allow them to be reorganised to better serve the public. It also was intended to make federal politics less parochial and give Australia's national government a more uniform appearance. In addition to being the new capital, the city of Canberra also has its own council, government, and police force. However, they have no legal authority over other cities or counties within the state of Queensland, only the power delegated to them by the federal government. In fact, Canberra is an independent city-state that is not part of Australia or Queensland. Canberra is surrounded by land that is now part of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), but at one time was part of New South Wales. The ACT became a separate territory in 1978 when most rural and suburban areas relinquished their self-government.