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Old Parliament House, Canberra
The House of Representatives Chamber with its green carpet of eucalyptus leaves. A model of the Mace sits on the end of the central table and the Speakers' Chair is at the other end.The Old Parliament House (see previous entry), an understated but impressive building, had served as the home of the Federal Government from 1927 to 1988, when the new Parliament was completed. By that time more than 3,000 people were packed into a building only meant for a few hundred to work in. I bet they were thrilled with their new premises – no more sitting on each others’ laps!
Inside the Parliament we went through the two Chambers- Upper (Senate) and Lower (House of Representatives), which were very imposing but decorated with lighter red and green than I had realised. I had expected them to be like the Melbourne ones, following the strong British Parliament colours, but they were more subdued and had eucalyptus leaves throughout the carpet instead of oak leaves. Then we saw the Press Rooms and some of the old equipment they used to send in their reports. It all looked so antiquated.
There was also a veritable maze of offices and Party Rooms, both for the Prime Minister and the Opposition leader and their staff, all with the lovely old 1920s furniture inside. Safely tucked away in a glass display case set in the wall
Old Parliament House, Canberra
King's Hall, with its statue of King George V on the left, sits between the two Chambers. This is looking towards the entrance into the Senate Chamber which is flanked by portraits of former Prime Ministers Bob Hawke, on the right, and John Howard with his wife Janette, on the left. of the Speaker of the House of Representative’s office, I was thrilled to discover a gleaming, gold Mace (that sits on the table in the House of Representatives and is used to signify the House is in session). It turns out this one is not the real gold covered sterling silver one, which was a gift in 1951 from King George VI and the UK House of Commons to mark the 50th anniversary of Federation, because that is still in use in the current Parliament House. This slightly simplified display version was made in 2004 by the same company who made the original and in the same metals. Well, it still looked beautiful!
We ran out of time then and had to race through the last few rooms. I hadn’t expected to have so much to see there!
(If you want to look for yourself search online for the Museum of Australian Democracy and check the Collection.) We finished the day by walking past the Aboriginal Tent Embassy which is still camped outside on the lawns (although much smaller than in the past) and trying to challenge the “Sovereignty” of Australia. You have to admire them for their persistence.
Old Parliament House, Canberra
The Senate Chamber, with its red decor, had a school group in it. It was first established in 1972 to fight for legal titles and mining titles (or compensation) for a wide range of sites around the country, especially in the Northern Territory, as well as the preservation of all sacred sites. Some of their demands have been met since then but not enough for these activists – so they fight on.
We suddenly realised how late it was getting and started to worry that the Portrait Gallery might be closed and have locked the ute in. What a great relief it was to find the car park still open – it would have been a long walk home!
Back at the van, we watched another beautiful sunset until we were nearly blown away in the rapidly strengthening wind. I even found one cloud that looked like a fire breathing dragon. Marvellous!
Later, Barry went to bed and I stayed up to type a bit more of my log – I’m so far behind! Then I heard the strange grunting noises again. This time I had a torch ready and I quietly opened the door and shone the torch around the ground – no kangaroos. Then I heard it again
Museum of Australian Democracy, Canberra
One of the old Press Rooms, full of antiquated equipment. but from above me. I shone the torch into the tree and sitting upright directly in front of me – just a few feet away- was a possum with eyes glowing in my light. He didn’t move at all but just kept looking at me. I moved the light away from his face but he still sat frozen. A second one was moving around on a higher branch but the first one seemed as fascinated with me talking to him as I was with him. I took a photo but the camera didn't pick much up as there was little natural light and my torch was a small LED one. I’ll just have to remember it as a lovely end to a wonderful day!
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