OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE AND CURTILAGE HERITAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN 2008–2013

C. Statements of Values
Part D – Appendices
264 Old Parliament House and Curtilage Heritage Management Plan 2008–2013
Official Values:
Criteria
A Events, Processes
Values
Old Parliament House is an important link in the story of the creation of the
Australian democracy and several related defining events. Landmark political
events associated with the building included the Statute of Westminster,
declarations of War in 1939 and 41. The building was the place of 61 years of
national legislation shaping Australian society, the extension of the voting age
to 18 year olds in 1973, and the establishment of new political parties such as
the Democratic Labor Party in 1955 and the Australian Democrats in 1977.
Old Parliament House saw the growth of Commonwealth responsibility for
Aboriginal affairs. Key events included the Bark Petition sent by the Yirrakala
community to the Commonwealth House of Representatives, Canberra (Old
Parliament House) in August 1963 to protest bauxite mining in Arnhem Land,
and the 1967 Referendum that overwhelmingly supported Commonwealth power
to legislate for Aboriginal people. Amongst other developments, this led to the
Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, proclaimed on Australia
Day, 1977. With the new responsibilities arising from the 1967 Referendum, the
Commonwealth Parliament became the focus of Aboriginal political protest including
the siting of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy outside Parliament House in 1972.
Old Parliament House front facade and the immediate grassed area to its north
have been the place of countless events gatherings, protests and demonstrations.
Significant amongst these are; the formal opening of the Provisional Parliament
House, and the address by Prime Minister Whitlam on the front steps of the building
after his dismissal by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, in November 1975.
King’s Hall and the Chambers have special significance for their association with
Royal visits. Dates of key Royal visits are 1927, 1935, 1945, 1954, 1963 and 1974.
They are important for their function in ceremonial events in Australia’s political
history including hosting the annual opening ceremony for the Australian Parliament
conducted in the Senate Chamber, the use of King’s Hall for the public mourning of
Prime Minister John Curtin in 1945 and former Prime Minister Ben Chifley in 1951,
and State receptions held in honour of Queen Elizabeth II in 1954 and 1963, and the
Constitutional Convention held in the House of Representatives Chamber in 1998.