Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2021L01869:reg:4:p16
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2021L01869
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 4 (pt 16/63)
Character Range: 393197–396149

and the lake. The role of the Old Parliament House as a national icon is reinforced by its central location in the nation's capital.
Old Parliament House also represents a significant creative achievement. Intended as a provisional structure but occupying such a prominent location, it was deliberately designed as a plain yet dignified structure so that it possessed appropriate aesthetic and formal qualities for its location, but not to such an extent that it would enhance the possibility of the building becoming a permanent fixture in the landscape. (Criteria E1 and F1)
Old Parliament House has been a strong symbol of Commonwealth Government in Australia, and of Canberra itself, for many generations of Australians. While its original function has shifted to the current Parliament House, the earlier building remains an important and familiar feature because of the memories of its former role, its new roles in the public realm, and its major contribution to the most familiar views in Canberra, from and to the building along the Land Axis. Elements of the building that particularly reflect this value are the front façade, the entrance portico, King's Hall and the Chambers. The façade of the building is significant as a widely recognised symbol of Commonwealth Parliament and government from 1927 to 1988. The façade is also important as the backdrop for media interviews, protests and other events associated with the Parliament and government. These events include the establishment of an Aboriginal Embassy in nearby Parkes Place in January 1972 and the address by Prime Minister Whitlam on the front steps of the building after his sacking by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, in November 1975. (Criterion G1)
As the home of the Commonwealth Parliament from 1927 until 1988, Old Parliament House is significant for its associations with Commonwealth Governments, Oppositions, political parties, individual politicians and the press. Specific rooms and spaces within the building are directly associated with events that shaped the political and private lives of prominent individuals in Australia's political and social history.
Many of the surviving parliamentarians, support staff and media representatives feel strong associations with the building and its contents.
Old Parliament House is also significant as the most prominent example of the work of the Commonwealth's first government architect, John Smith Murdoch. To a lesser extent, it is significant as an

SUMMARY STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
example of the work of the Chief Architect of the Department of the Interior, Edwin Henderson, who devised the scheme for adding the southeast and southwest wings in their original two-storey form. (Criterion H1)

OFFICIAL VALUES:
Criteria                 Values
A Processes              Australia's first federal Parliament building was designed as the grandest element and central focus of a fully planned capital city. Old