Nationhood

Australian Parliament House opened

09 May 1988

The permanent meeting place of the Australian Parliament is opened.

Parliament House is the building where the Australian Parliament meets. The permanent home of Australia’s Parliament was declared open by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on 9 May 1988. From 1927 to 1988 Parliament met in Provisional Parliament House in Canberra (now known as Old Parliament House) and before that Parliament met in the Victorian Parliament House in Melbourne. 

Australian Parliament House is a symbol of our national unity, history, cultural diversity and achievements. It was designed not only to be functional, but also to be a symbol of democracy and to encourage public access.

The unique design of the building was strongly influenced by Walter Burley Griffin’s plan for Canberra. It sits at the apex of the Parliamentary Triangle, occupying the symbolic centre of the national capital. Although it is large and grand Parliament House does not dominate Canberra. It has been built into the landscape.

We felt if Australia’s new Parliament House was to speak honestly about its purpose, it could not be built on top of the hill as this would symbolise government imposed upon the people. The building should nest with the hill, symbolically rise out of the Australian landscape, as true democracy rises from the state of things.
Romaldo Giurgola, Parliament House architect
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