Parliament House, Perth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Parliament House, Perth |
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| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Government |
| Location | West Perth |
| Address | Harvest Terrace |
| Town or city | Perth, Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 31°57′06″S 115°50′50″E / 31.9517°S 115.8471°E |
| Current tenants | Parliament of Western Australia |
| Construction started | 1902 |
| Completed | 1904 |
| Opened | 28 July 1904 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | John Grainger and Hillson Beasley |
| Architecture firm | Public Works Department |
| Type | State Registered Place |
| Designated | 24 September 2004 |
| Reference no. | 2239 |
Parliament House in Perth is a very important building in Western Australia. It's where the state's government, called the Parliament of Western Australia, meets to make laws for everyone. This includes two main groups of elected officials: the Legislative Council (often called the upper house) and the Legislative Assembly (the lower house). You can find this historic building on Harvest Terrace in West Perth.
Contents
History of Parliament House
Choosing the Location
Back in 1832, when the Swan River Colony was first settled, the first government group, the Legislative Council, met in small offices on St Georges Terrace. Later, in 1890, another group, the Legislative Assembly, met near the Town Hall.
By 1897, people decided it would be better if both groups met in the same building. A special committee looked at two possible places: the old site on St Georges Terrace or a hill on Harvest Terrace, behind the old Pensioner Barracks. Even though the committee first suggested the St Georges Terrace site, politicians John Winthrop Hackett and George Leake preferred the Harvest Terrace location. In the end, Parliament chose the Harvest Terrace site for the new building.
Designing the Building
To find the best design for Parliament House, a competition was held across Australia. The main judge was the government architect from New South Wales. He didn't pick one overall winner but gave special awards to several good designs.
Four architects from the Public Works Department received one of these awards. A parliamentary committee then decided that the Public Works Department's design was the best. The main architects for this project were John Grainger (who worked there from 1897 to 1905) and Hillson Beasley. Hillson Beasley took over as acting chief architect in 1903 when John Grainger was ill.
Building Parliament House
Construction of the first part of Parliament House began in 1902. The building was made using local materials. The walls are made of local brick, and the outside is covered with special tiles from Rottnest Island. They also used Donnybrook stone, strong jarrah wood, and clay tiles made right there in Western Australia.
During construction, they decided to add more rooms, including a large general room for members of Parliament and a library. The first stage of the building was finished in 1904. Parliament House officially opened on 28 July 1904.
When it first opened, a newspaper called The West Australian wrote about the new building. They mentioned the "extraordinary colour scheme" of the Assembly Chamber and the many black swans on the blue carpet. They also talked about how high the viewing galleries were.
Later, the eastern part of the building was added between 1958 and 1964. The building was made even bigger towards the south in 1978.
Solidarity Park
In 1997, some union workers were protesting and set up a "Workers' Embassy" on an empty piece of land across from Parliament House. Later, a new government officially set aside this land and named it Solidarity Park. It's a place that remembers the history of workers' rights and protests in Western Australia.
