| Parliament House, Perth | |
|---|---|
 West side of Parliament House | |
 Parliament House (●) is located inWest Perth, and faces theBarracks Arch across theMitchell Freeway near the western terminus of St Georges Terrace. | |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Government |
| Location | West Perth |
| Address | Harvest Terrace |
| Town or city | Perth,Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 31°57′06″S115°50′50″E / 31.9517°S 115.8471°E /-31.9517; 115.8471 |
| Current tenants | Parliament of Western Australia |
| Construction started | 1902 |
| Completed | 1904 |
| Opened | 28 July 1904 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | John Grainger andHillson Beasley |
| Architecture firm | Public Works Department |
| Website | |
www | |
| Type | State Registered Place |
| Designated | 24 September 2004 |
| Reference no. | 2239 |
Parliament House, Perth is located on Harvest Terrace inWest Perth,Western Australia. It is the home of theParliament of Western Australia, including theLegislative Council (upper house) andLegislative Assembly (lower house).
TheSwan River Colony's original (1832)Legislative Council was housed in small 1830s government offices inSt Georges Terrace, and the (1890)Legislative Assembly in Howick Street near theTown Hall.[1] An 1897 Royal Commission recommended proposals to house the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly in the same building, and suggested two possible locations: the site of the existing Legislative Council in St Georges Terrace, and the hill in Harvest Terrace, behind thePensioner Barracks.[1] After designs were completed for both sites, the Royal Commission recommended the St Georges Terrace site.[1] PoliticiansJohn Winthrop Hackett andGeorge Leake favoured the Harvest Terrace site, which was eventually chosen by Parliament.[1]
AnAustralia-wide competition was held for the design of Parliament House, adjudicated by the governmentarchitect ofNew South Wales.[1] He did not recommend any of the entries, but gave awards of merit. One of the awards went to four officers of thePublic Works Department.[1] The decision was then referred to the parliamentary committee, which awarded the design to the Public Works Department[1] whose chief architects wereJohn Grainger (1897–1905)[2]: 7–8 andHillson Beasley, who became acting chief from November 1903 during Grainger's absence through illness.
Building of the first stage of Parliament House commenced in 1902.[1] The facade was designed in aFederation Academic Classical style with walls constructed of localbrick andtile facing fromRottnest Island,Donnybrook stone,jarrah woodwork and locally-madeclay tiles.[1] A large general room for members and alibrary were added to the initial design during construction, which was completed in 1904.[1] The building opened on 28 July 1904, andThe West Australian commented:[1]
When the assembly members trooped into the Council Chamber to hear the Commission read, the visitors had time to criticise the extraordinary colour scheme of the Assembly Chamber, count the hundreds ofblack swans swimming in the blue sea of carpet, comment on the dizzying height of the galleries, and draw comparisons – born of the wearying display of stained glass and coloured wood – between the general appearance of the Chamber and that of a glorifiedsaloon [...].
The eastern (city) wing was added between 1958 and 1964 at a cost of£A 416,500,[3] equivalent toA$13.1 million in 2022. The eastern facade was designed on aStripped Classical style. The building was extended to the south in 1978.
During the 1980s, uneventful proposals were put forward to extend the structure eastwards by covering the adjoiningMitchell Freeway, incorporating commercial development, and connecting the Parliament House precinct with St Georges Terrace.
The Lion and Unicorn statues originally located on the western side of Parliament House are from the Houses of Parliament, Westminster. The statues now located on the western façade are replicas, the replica unicorn and lion are known as Katherine and Digby respectively, with the original statues displayed inside the building. They were presented to the Parliament of Western Australia by the Empire Parliamentary Association and placed on the façade in 1936. The lion represents England and the unicorn symbolises Scotland.
In 1997, protesting union workers established a "Workers' Embassy" on vacant land opposite Parliament House, a site which was later reserved and namedSolidarity Park by a subsequent Labor government.[4]
Media from Commons
