OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE AND CURTILAGE HERITAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN 2008–2013

C. Statements of Values
Part D – Appendices
Old Parliament House and Curtilage Heritage Management Plan 2008–2013
265
Official Values:
Criteria
A Events, Processes
B Rarity
C Research
D Principal
characteristics of
a class of places
Values
Furniture that contributes to the richness of the place include the John Smith
Murdoch designed furniture and fittings; the HMAS Australia table, the Country
Party Table and the first Australian Cabinet table; items which underlie the
significance of Australia’s role initially as a member of the British Empire
and later as a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the President of
the Senate’s Chair presented by the Dominion of Canada and the Speaker’s
Chair, presented by the United Kingdom Branch of the Empire Parliamentary
Association; furniture and fittings designed or purchased for the extensions or
alterations to the building, in particular the Senate and House of Representative
Wings and the President of the Senate and Prime Minister’s Suites.
There is a rare, intact surviving record (documented in the Old Parliament
House, KE Emu data base) comprising both furniture and documentation. The
documentation relates to initial design concepts, specifications, quotes and detailed
drawings for manufacture. The importance of the Library fabric lies primarily in
the features retained of everything up to and including the 1958 extension.
Old Parliament House is uncommon in that it housed both the legislative
and executive functions of government. This is reflected in the construction
of the House of Representatives (southeast) and the Senate (southwest)
Wings, the front pavilions, and a great number of internal changes.
The House of Representatives Wing provides extensive and relatively intact evidence
of the accommodation provided for Members and Ministers at various periods and
the working conditions of parliamentarians and staff over the period 1943-88.
The former Members’ Private Dining Room contains the remains of the 1927
hand-painted wall features that are rare and are the only example in the building and
in the ACT.
Research to date suggests that the furniture in Old Parliament House
is part of an intact surviving record comprising both furniture and
documentation. The documentation relates to initial design concepts,
specifications, quotes and detailed drawings for manufacture.
The research potential of the understanding of history, ways of life and cultures
in Australia, the original documentary evidence including plans, photographs
and files that are directly related to the design, construction, use, and
alteration of the Chambers and King’s Hall, constitute a significant collection
and provides important historical research information. The inventory of the
collection is documented in the Old Parliament House KE Emu data base.
Old Parliament House is a primary example of the Inter War Stripped Classical
style of architecture, dominant in Canberra’s government architecture of the
1920s - 40s. In particular, it is exemplar of the Canberra interpretation of
the style, a major stylistic expression of Federal Capital Architecture that
included the influence of Garden City ideals with the courtyards with loggias
and pergolas, verandahs, internal courtyards and adjacent gardens.
The characteristics of the style and their expression in Old Parliament House’s
exterior and interior, is due to the design work of the Commonwealth’s first
government architect, John Smith Murdoch. Murdoch’s design is modest,
embracing classical symmetry and forms, having balanced masses with projected
bays with arched bronze framed windows and subdued spandrels between
storeys emphasizing the verticality. Old Parliament House, (the then Provisional
Parliament House) was central to this expression, one of classical orderliness.