Parliament House, Melbourne

Parliament House, Melbourne, has been the seat of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia, since 1855, except for the years 1901 to 1928, when it was occupied by the Parliament of Australia. It is the largest 19th century public building in Australia and one of the finest examples of the civic architecture of the British Empire period anywhere in the world. This image was taken by me, Adam Carr, and is released into the public domain. ... This image was taken by me, Adam Carr, and is released into the public domain. ... The Parliament of Victoria is a bicameral legislature. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Parliament House Canberra: The main entrance and the flag The Parliament of Australia is the legislative branch of Australia. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in red, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

In 1851, even before the colony Victoria acquired full parliamentary self-government, Governor Charles La Trobe instructed the colonial surveyor, Robert Hoddle, to select a site for the colony's new parliament to meet. Hoddle selected a site on the eastern hill at the top of Bourke St, which at that time, when few buildings were more than two storeys high, commanded a view of the whole city. A competition was held for a design for the building, but all the entries were rejected and the government architect, Charles Pasley, came up with a design of his own. Subsequent obersevers have suggested that he borrowed heavily from the Leeds Town Hall, which is widely considered to be among the finest civic building in the United Kingdom. The design was later modified by another architect, Peter Kerr. 1851 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Emblems: {{{Emblems}}} Motto: Peace and Prosperity Slogan or Nickname: Garden State, The Place To Be, On The Move Other Australian states and territories Capital Melbourne Government Governor Premier Const. ... Charles La Trobe (March 20, 1801 - December 4, 1875) was the first lieutenant-governor of the state of Victoria. ... Robert Hoddle with his omnipresent surveying telescope Robert Hoddle (20 April 1794 - 24 October 1881) was a surveyor of Port Phillip in the 1830s, and the creator of the Hoddle Grid in central Melbourne. ... Charles Pasley wrote the defining text on the role of the post-American revolution British Empire. ... Leeds Town Hall Leeds Town Hall was built in 1858, on a site in Park Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. ... Peter Kerr born in Lossiemouth but since his early childhood has lived (on and off) in East Lothian. ...

Queen's Hall in Parliament House, dominated by a statue of Queen Victoria

In December 1855 construction began on the site in Spring Street, and the building was completed in stages between 1856 and 1929. The chambers for the Victorian Legislative Assembly and the Victorian Legislative Council were finished in 1856, the library in 1860, the Great Hall (now Queen's Hall) and the vestibule in 1879. In the 1880s, at the height of the great boom fuelled by the Victorian Gold Rush, it was decided to add a classical colonnade and portico facing Spring St, which today gives the building its monumental character. This was completed in 1892. The north wing was completed in 1893 and refreshment rooms at the back of the building were added in 1929. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 307 KB) Summary I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 307 KB) Summary I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria) (24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the eminent Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and Empress of India from 1 January 1877, until her death in 1901. ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Spring Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of Victoria in Australia. ... The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia. ... 1856 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... A California Gold Rush handbill A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers into the area of a dramatic discovery of commercial quantities of gold. ... Enormous colonnade of the Kazan Cathedral in St Petersburg. ... Categories: Architectural elements | Stub ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Pasley and Kerr's design included plans for a dome, but these were abandoned when a sharp depression began in 1891, and the dome was never built. From time to time governments have expressed interest in completing the building by adding the dome, but have been deterred by the enormous cost. The Kennett government, elected in 1992, set up a committee to examine building the dome, but the idea was abandoned when the trade unions would not guarantee that the project would go ahead without industrial disputes. 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Hon Jeff Kennett Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC (born 2 March 1948), Australian politician, was Premier of Victoria from 1992 to 1999. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ...

From 1901 to 1928 Parliament House was the home of the Commonwealth Parliament, since the new capital city envisaged in the Australian Constitution did not yet exist and there were long delays in finding a site and beginning construction. During these years the Victorian Parliament met in the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton, much to its dissatisfaction. Many of the major events of the early federal period took place in this building, including the formation of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party, the "fusion" of the Free Trade Party and the Protectionist Party into the first Liberal Party in 1909 and the split in the Labor Party over conscription in 1916. The building is also notable in having the first set of electrical bells used to call Members of Parliament to divisions (installed circa 1877). 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (in full, An Act to constitute the Commonwealth of Australia) is the primary constitutional text of the Commonwealth of Australia. ... The Royal Exhibition Building, viewed from the west The Royal Exhbition Building, showing the fountain on the southern or Carlton Gardens side of the building The Royal Exhibition Building is located in Melbourne, Australia. ... The Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australias oldest political party. ... The Free Trade Party was a political party in Australia from the 1880s until 1909. ... The Protectionist Party was a political party in Australia from the 1880s until 1909. ... The Commonwealth Liberal Party, usually called The Fusion, was a political movement active in Australia shortly after federation. ... 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 - The Royal Army Medical Corps first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ...

External links

• Parliament of Victoria
• Parliament of Victoria, Virtual Tour
• Disability information