Parliament House

Parliament House on Capital Hill was opened by the Queen on 9 May 1988.  It is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia.  The building was designed by Mitchell/Giurguloa & Thorp, and built between 1981 and 1988 as a joint enterprise by Concrete Constructions and John Holland and is topped by a massive flagpole 266 feet high.  The public are admitted to Question Time and to the big debates.  In earlier times the Federal Parliament met in Melbourne and from 1927 to 1988 in the Provisional Parliament House.  

There are 4,700 rooms here.  The Chamber of the Representatives is green while the Senate chamber is red.  Temporary exhibitions, lectures and concerts are held here. The Parliament House also owns an impressive collection of over 6,000 works of Australian Art, including one of the world’s largest tapestries based on an Arthur Boyd design.  Queen’s Terrace Cafe is also at Parliament and is popular amongst tourists.