OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE AND CURTILAGE HERITAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN 2008–2013

D. History of the Place
Part D – Appendices
298 Old Parliament House and Curtilage Heritage Management Plan 2008–2013
Comparison of Furniture Entitlements
Minister’s Office
Usher of the Black Rod’s Office
1 table with drawers 1 office table with drawers and document trays
1 table, small 1 small table
1 office chair 1 office chair
6 chairs 2 small chairs
1 couch 1 couch
1 set bookshelves 1 set of shelving
2 inkstands 1 wardrobe
1 station case 1 station case
1 waste paper basket 1 waste paper basket
1 matchstand 1 matchstand
1 spittoon
1 water bottle and 2 glasses 1 water bottle and 2 glasses
1 armchair
1 screen
1 high desk
1 typewriter
Carpet/linoleum surround
Large dining and refreshment facilities were provided, furnished with custom made furniture and electroplated
cutlery, ceramic and glassware monogrammed with the initials ‘CPRR’ (Commonwealth Parliamentary
Refreshment Rooms) within an oval garter. Recreational furniture included club style lounges, comfortable
easy chairs, card and chess tables, and billiard tables. Senators and Members could enjoy film nights in the
Senate Club Room, where Ministers could congregate to read, write and converse in a relaxed environment. The
Parliamentary Library was furnished with newspaper stands, timber shelving, easy furniture and for the more
serious researcher, heated tables, a concession to the cold winter climate in Canberra. Consideration was also
given to the displacement of politicians from their homes and the long hours they spent at the House. Day beds
and settees provided a comfortable place for resting and lockers were installed for personal storage. Folding
beds were concealed into the offices of the Prime Minister, Leader of the Government in the Senate, President
of the Senate and Speaker for times when Parliament sat late into the night, the linen and blankets supplied
by Myer of Melbourne and monogrammed with the words ‘Commonwealth Parliament’. 87 A few rooms on the
lower floor were furnished for domestic staff that lived on the premises, and fitted out for domestic support
services. 88 Provisional Parliament House was fully self contained and its occupants, many of whom had
lodgings in the nearby Hotel Kurrajong, were provided with some measure of comfort during their working day.
The overall project to create a new Parliament House was believed to be a most prestigious one
and the most extensive inter-war project, so it is not surprising that many furniture and furnishing
firms expressed an interest in undertaking this component of the work. Tenders were called in
August and September 1926 from prominent firms in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and the
competition was fierce. A sample of the comparative quotations is reproduced below. 89
87 Memorandum to the Federal Capital Commission, 1925 Lists of Crockery, Silverware, Cutlery, Glassware. CRS A199 item FC 1925/333
88 List of Furniture Required, Joint House Department, Parliament House, Canberra. CRS A292/1, item C2202 Part 1.
89 Tender documents submitted to the Federal Capital Commission, Canberra, September 1926. CRS A292/1, item C2202 Part 1.