Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00408:front:0:p414
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00408
Segment Type: other
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Character Range: 1320015–1322778

design of the Administrative building, flanking the land axis in Parkes, which was to house about eight departments. The building was to be the first in the Parliamentary Triangle and its design was considered important because it would influence future buildings in the central National area. In 1924, G Sydney Jones won the competition. Work started in 1927 and the foundations were completed in 1928. However, work was stopped at this point because of the Depression. There were then many delays. The design of the proposed building was modified in 1946, construction started again in 1947 and the new design required the demolition of the original foundations. The building was substantially completed in 1956. The building is claimed to have been the largest Australian office building when completed. It was renamed as the John Gorton Building in 1999.

The major development at the northern end of the land axis was the construction of the Australian War Memorial. The site was agreed in 1923 and in 1928 Griffin expressed the view that the proposed site was suitable for the memorial. Construction began in 1928 but was not completed until 1941.
Although a memorial to King George V was proposed in 1936 it was not until 1941 that the architectural part was constructed but the bronze figure was not developed until after World War II. It was unveiled in 1953 but attracted criticism for blocking the vista to the Australian War Memorial. In 1968 King George Terrace was realigned and the memorial was moved to its current location west of the land axis, on a corner of the western part of the National Rose Garden.

In 1955 a Select Senate Committee of Inquiry urged tree planting and landscape works to be undertaken in Canberra under the direction of the National Capital Development Commission. The Commission sought guidance from landscape designers including Lord William Holford and Dame Sylvia Crowe. Holford recommended that a predominantly Australian character be retained around Lake Burley Griffin with autumn coloured foliage trees used in a dramatic way. Parliament House was to be built on the lakeside with a great forecourt. In 1968 the lakeshore location was rejected in favour of Camp Hill or Capital Hill. During the 1960s, the landscaping of the Parliamentary Triangle was modified to create more formality in Parkes Place. This included realigning roads, installing the four fountains in the pools in the land axis, paving and the relocation King George V statue.

The National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) Act of 1957 set in motion a significant phase in the development of Canberra with the support of Robert Menzies Liberal government. The report of British Town Planner Sir William Holford stressed the need for 'unified