OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE AND CURTILAGE HERITAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN 2008–2013

2. Description
Part A – Context
4 Old Parliament House and Curtilage Heritage Management Plan 2008–2013
2. Description
Location
Australia and the Australian Capital Territory
Old Parliament House is situated in Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory which is surrounded by New South
Wales (NSW), Australia. Canberra is 150km inland from the coast, 287km from Sydney, and 660km from Melbourne.
Canberra is the seat of the Australian Federal Government.
Old Parliament House is in the suburb of Parkes, bounded by King George Terrace to the north, Queen Victoria Terrace
to the south and Parliament Square to the East and West.
Parliamentary Triangle
There are a number of important relationships between the building and its wider setting. Old Parliament House sits in
an important and extensive landscape stretching between Mount Ainslie and Capital Hill. As a result, Old Parliament
House has a strong relationship to Parkes Place, which is the area between it and Lake Burley Griffin and includes the
reflection ponds and components of the National Rose Gardens. It has a strong relationship with the flanking Senate
and House of Representatives Gardens which were integral to the social development of the place and were private
gardens frequently used by parliamentarians and their families during the time Old Parliament House was a functioning
parliament.
Figure 3:
Maps of Australia and the Australian Capital Territory