The View from Old Parliament House | The Exhibition
Today we took a journey back through time, as we visited the country’s former seat of governance – the Old Parliament House ( or – the Museum of Australian Democracy).
Originally intended as an interim location for Parliament, the building was opened in 1924 and served as the seat of Parliament until the current Parliament House was officially opened in 1988.
Over the course of its sixty four year life, the building saw many historic events, such as the dissolution of the Whitlam government and countless protests through to the establishment of the ‘Aboriginal Embassy’ on the lawns opposite.
Former House of Representatives | The Senate
Our intended visit was mainly to see the exhibition of political parodies/cartoons called the “Behind the Lines” exhibition. The bonus, of course, was having access to the rest of the building – retracing the steps of former leaders through the offices, meeting rooms and great halls of the old building.
We paid our respects to both houses of Parliament; the House of Representatives (always in green) and the Senate (in brilliant imperial red). As you can observe from the photos, both houses and associated rooms are in very good condition.
The Prime Minister’s Desk King’s Hall
In fact, the building as a whole is a bit of a treat. There are very few countries I can think of who even have an “old parliament”, which means there are few occasions where visitors can have access to (what would have been) some of the most secure or restricted rooms in the country.
At one point we were able to access the former Cabinet room for a special presentation. Not opened to the public very often, the Cabinet room was likely the venue where most of the critical decisions of the era were addressed. The presentation covered Malcolm Fraser’s decisions in 1975 in handling the refugees arriving from Vietnam by boat.
Vote Rob for Prime Minister?
At the end of the session, we were invited to take photos of the room and to pose (as I did) in the former Prime Minister’s Cabinet chair.
All-in-all, a very interesting day. The cost?
$2.00 per person, or $5.00 per family.
Best deal in Canberra.
Location