The High Commission of Australia in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

is the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. It is located in Australia House, a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

building. It was Australia's first

and is the longest continuously occupied diplomatic mission in the United Kingdom.

History

A major landmark on the

Strand, London Strand (or the Strand) is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster, Central London. It runs just over from Trafalgar Square eastwards to Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar, where the road becomes Fleet Street in the City of London, and i ...

, construction on the building by the Dove Brothers commenced in 1913, but shipping problems caused by the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

delayed completion. It was officially opened by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

in a ceremony on 3 August 1918 attended by the Australian Prime Minister William Morris Hughes. The cost of the triangular shaped land was £379,756 (£ in ) when purchased by the

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

in 1912 and building and other associated costs brought total expenditure to about £1 million. The building was designed by British architects,

Alexander Marshall Mackenzie Alexander Marshall MacKenzie (1 January 1848 – 4 May 1933) was a Scottish architect responsible for prestigious projects including the headquarters of the Isle of Man Banking Company in Douglas, and Australia House and the Waldorf Hotel in ...

and his son,

Alexander George Robertson Mackenzie Alexander George Robertson Mackenzie (12 March 1879 – 20 March 1963) was a Scottish architect. Early life Born in Aberdeen on 12 March 1879, AGR was the second son states "eldest son" while own article states "second son" of Marshall Mackenz ...

following an architectural competition, the judges of which included

Bertram Mackennal Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal (12 June 186310 October 1931), usually known as Bertram Mackennal, was an Australian sculptor and medallist, most famous for designing the coinage and stamps bearing the likeness of George V. He signed his work "BM". ...

John Longstaff Sir John Campbell Longstaff (10 March 1861 – 1 October 1941) was an Australian painter, war artist and a five-time winner of the Archibald Prize for portraiture. His cousin Will Longstaff was also a painter and war artist. Longstaff was known ...

George Washington Lambert George Washington Thomas Lambert (13 September 1873 – 29 May 1930) was an Australian artist, known principally for portrait painting and as a war artist during the First World War. Early life Lambert was born in St Petersburg, Russia, th ...

, Fred Leist and

Arthur Streeton Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (8 April 1867 – 1 September 1943) was an Australian landscape painter and a leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. Early life Streeton was born in Mt Moriac, Victoria, so ...

. The Commonwealth of Australia's chief architect, John Smith Murdoch, travelled to London to work with the Mackenzie firm on the building. Although an Official Secretary had been appointed to London as early as 1906, the High Commission to London was the first Australian diplomatic mission and one of the most prominent in London. The building itself was built over a 900-year-old sacred well drawing from the

River Fleet The River Fleet is the largest of London's subterranean rivers, all of which today contain foul water for treatment. Its headwaters are two streams on Hampstead Heath, each of which was dammed into a series of ponds—the Hampstead Ponds an ...

, a subterranean London river. The water in the well is clear and has been tested as safe to drink.

Construction

Much of the building materials used in its construction were imported from Australia. The building is of

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries are cut in beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building ...

on a base of Australian

trachyte Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava enriched with silica and al ...

. The marbles used include dove-coloured

Buchan Buchan is an area of north-east Scotland, historically one of the original provinces of the Kingdom of Alba. It is now one of the six committee areas and administrative areas of Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. These areas were created by ...

marble from

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, the light and dark Caleula from

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, and white Angaston marble from

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

. The joinery and flooring timbers include timber varieties from all Australian States but the most prominent of these is black bean, a very hard and dense wood similar to

English oak ''Quercus robur'', commonly known as common oak, pedunculate oak, European oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native plant, native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus ...

, used principally for panels of the first floor Downer Room where the carvings represent arts and sciences. This work is credited to Messrs Wylie & Lockhead of London and Glasgow.

Modern use

Government agencies within the High Commission include Austrade, Defence, Materiel (CONDMAT), National Library of Australia and Public Affairs/Media/Cultural. The building's grand interior was used as the setting of

Gringotts Wizarding Bank J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' universe contains numerous settings for the events in her fantasy novels. These locations are categorised as a dwelling, school, shopping district, or government-affiliated locale. Dwellings The Burrow The Wea ...

in ''

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a 1997 fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series and Rowling's debut novel, it follows Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, a youn ...

'', as well as scenes in 2017's ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as bein ...

''.

Elections

2007 Australian Election - Voters at Australia House, London

Australia House is usually the single largest polling station in Australian federal elections, with more votes being cast at the London polling station than at any polling station in any of the Australian states or territories.

Gallery

File:High_Commission_of_Australia_in_London_1.jpg, The entrance to the High Commission File:澳洲大使館 (27335900807).jpg, Close-up of the entrance File:High_Commission_of_Australia_in_London_3.jpg, View from Aldwych File:High_Commission_of_Australia_in_London_4.jpg, View from Strand File:Australia House (48391495646).jpg, The High Commission File:Phoebus Driving the Horses of the Sun, Australia House, London - 2022-09-10.jpg, ''Phoebus Driving the Horses of the Sun'' by

References

External links

Official website
{{Australia–United Kingdom relations 1918 establishments in England

Government buildings completed in 1918 Australia–United Kingdom relations Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster Aldwych Commonwealth Heritage List Strand, London