OLD PARLIAMENT HOUSE AND CURTILAGE HERITAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN 2008–2013

3. Heritage Values
Part A – Context
18 Old Parliament House and Curtilage Heritage Management Plan 2008–2013
National heritage listed values
Criterion G–Social value
Specific rooms and spaces within the building are
directly associated with events that shaped the political
and private lives of prominent individuals in Australia’s
political and social history. Many of the former
parliamentarians’ support staff and media representatives
retain strong associations with the building and its
contents.
The importance of Old Parliament House to the Australian
community was demonstrated when organisations and
individuals rallied to support the retention of the place
when it was threatened with demolition in the 1970s.
Commonwealth heritage listed values
Old Parliament House has been a strong symbol of
Commonwealth Government in Australia, and of Canberra
itself, for many generations of Australians. While its original
function has shifted to the current Parliament House,
the earlier building remains an important and familiar
feature because of the memories of its former role, its new
roles in the public realm, and its major contribution to
the most familiar views in Canberra, from and to the
building along the Land Axis. Elements of the building
that particularly reflect this value are the front façade,
the entrance portico, King’s Hall and the Chambers. The
façade of the building is significant as a widely recognised
symbol of Commonwealth Parliament and Government
from 1927 to 1988. The façade is also important as the
backdrop for media interviews, protests and other events
associated with the Parliament and Government. These
events include the establishment of an Aboriginal Tent
Embassy in nearby Parkes Place in January 1972 and the
address by Prime Minister Whitlam on the front steps of
the building after his sacking by the Governor-General, Sir
John Kerr, in November 1975.
The Farmers’ Demonstration of 1985 was the largest held at the front of Old Parliament House and expressed farmers’
anger about the impact of government policies on the rural sector
Photographer: Michael Jensen
Source: In the Picture Exhibition, Old Parliament House Collection
Attributes Key: Fabric shown in green Associations and Use shown in bold