Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2021L01869:reg:4:p5
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2021L01869
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 4 (pt 5/63)
Character Range: 353499–356565

or both.

  Appendix C: Extracts from the National Heritage Listing and the Commonwealth Heritage Listing

  Extract from the National Heritage Listing

Old Parliament House and Curtilage, King George Terrace, Parkes, ACT

(from the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts Website: EPBC Amendment Regulations 2003)

List:           National Heritage List
Class:          Historic
Legal Status:   Listed place (20/06/2006)
Place ID:       105774
Place File No:  8/01/000/0017

SUMMARY STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
Old Parliament House and curtilage is the historic building and its internal courtyards, perimeter gardens and lawns, and the front forecourt area. As the home of Australia's Federal Parliament, for 61 years, Old Parliament House is important for significant milestones of Australia's democracy history that were forged within the building, particularly national legislation development that was critical to the improving social processes, landmark political events such as the establishment of new political parties, and numerous national political events. The front façade of Old Parliament House including its entrance portico and the immediate grassed area to its north have been the setting of countless events gatherings, protests and demonstrations. Significant among these are the opening of the building in 1927 that heralded the symbolic birth of Canberra as the Nation's capital. A sequence of defining events for Aboriginal rights at Old Parliament House included the Yirrkala Bark Petition, the 1967 Referendum and the establishment of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972, all of which contributed towards Aboriginal Land Rights legislation. Another major event was the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975.
The building through its alterations and additions, reflects the increasing numbers of members and senators and the change in the physical functioning of Parliament with the executive arm of government being accommodated into the legislature's area, a pattern now set and present in (new) Parliament House. The internal fabric and collections of Old Parliament House convey the way in which the parliamentary functions were conducted within the building reflecting the everyday use of the building over a period of 61 years of Australian legislature.
King's Hall and the Chambers have features that reflect both the austerity of the time and a dignified formality as evident in the decorative skylights, elegant pendant lights, and parquet flooring, as well as in the height of the ceiling, accentuated by the raked galleries, the timber wall panelling, and the extensive, restrained and subtle decoration. The Hall features bas-relief busts of prominent personalities related to Federation, the judiciary and of the first Parliament in 1901 on its colonnades, and portraits of former prime ministers on the walls, as well as the statue of King George V. The Chambers demonstrate, through their fabric, furnishing and objects, the growth of Parliament, including the evolution of communications technology