Having passed through Old Parliament House briefly years before, this time I wanted to have a good look.
It’s a lovely building, I think, anyway. There’s a warmth and comfort about it, not something you’d expect considering what it was used for, politics not being particularly warm and comforting. It served as the home of the Australian Parliament from 1927 till 1988.
It’s now The Museum of Australian Democracy, allowing you a close look at the place where so much of Australia’s social and political history was created.
To the left of the entrance hall is the House of Representatives and to the right, the Senate.
Behind a five-inch thick, reinforced and soundproofed door was the Cabinet Room, restricted to senior ministers. Many of the decisions that affected our lives were made here, some good, some bad, the worst perhaps being the conscription of nineteen-year-olds to the Vietnam War. At the time they were still too young to vote, so had no say in it.
A handy contrivance cleared the room of tobacco smoke, which apparently swirled thickly above the ministerial heads during long sittings of Cabinet. Haven’t things changed?
It was Budget time when I was there, so I was interested to read this sign.
The President of the Senate had a pretty comfy spot.
This looks like and ordinary little office but all of the speeches we heard given came out of here.
It’s very relaxed. You can wander around the corridors to your heart’s content without interference, something I just love.
Old Parliament House is a great place for anyone interested in the running of government, but especially for older Australians, like myself, who lived through a lot of it. It brought back a stack of memories for me. It’s also quite enlightening as to what goes on behind the scenes. You want to know. Let’s face it – they have a fair say in our lives.
The gardens were designed and built in the 1930s, to provide a place for leisure and recreation for the Members and Senators.
Located just inside The House of Reps Members Gate is the Centenary of Australian Women’s Suffrage Commemorative Artwork and Fountain. The artwork and fountain commemorate the Commonwealth Franchise Act of 1902, allowing women not only to vote but to stand for parliament, a world first.
The timeline records the milestones and significant achievements of Australian women in Federal Parliament.
I wandered out of the gardens and up the hill to Parliament House to sit in on question time, something I’d always wanted to do. There was a demonstration on the lawns out the front. Our government has decided it would be a good idea to start manufacturing war weapons to send overseas, something I’m sure overseas doesn’t need more of, to support our economy.
I really like the present Parliament House building but it has a rather cold feeling, my experience anyway, after the old one, not helped at all by the men out the front with their guns.
Planning to the Nth 
Lovely post Coral. I would very much like to visit the Old Parliament House
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Thanks, Marion. It’s a nice spot, and awfully interesting. I could easily go back and explore some more.
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We could do with one of those clocks to stop MPs going on too long! They still filibuster here, which has been a big thing in the news this week. Great women’s suffrage memorial.
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Hi Anabel. Filibusting makes me so angry. I think it stops the democratic process.
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It does. Especially when, as happened here, only 15 minutes is allowed for a debate on an important subject and a government minister speaks for the entire time.
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Thank you for the tour, Coral. We also found the old Parliament house fascinating and reminiscent of times past. “Long may they say ……”!
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Thanks for the feedback, Ken. I could definitely spend more time there – if it wasn’t so far from home.
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… and chilly this time of year 🤣
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Another good one Coral, you really know how paint a picture with words. Loving it
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Thanks awfully, Penny.
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I really want to go to Canberra! Been to Australia 3 times now and not manged to get there yet – there’s so much to see everywhere! Thanks for the lovely article!
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Such a big country, Nick.
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We’ve ‘done’ the new one but not the old. Hubby is a political junkie, so I think that I better add this to the list.
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Definitely worth it, then.
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You make it look so enticing
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Thanks, Rose.
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Fascinating tour Coral – some great photos, you get a real feel for the place. Love the stopwatch idea – I wonder if it really worked and people actually spoke in their allotted time slots?! The gardens are beautiful too 🙂
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Thanks. I could easily go back and spend more time there. The long drive prohibits it, sadly.
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We popped into Old Parliament House last week to view the political cartoons exhibition. It was such a hoot and I felt very blessed that we live in a democracy where this sort of commentary is allowed. That was all we could see under the current Covid19 conditions, but still definitely worth a visit. Now, to get our hands on the correspondence between the Queen and Sir John Kerr!! 😉 Mel
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Can’t wait, Mel.
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