Parliament House, on the corner of North Terrace and

King William Road King William Street is the part of a major arterial road that traverses the CBD and centre of Adelaide, continuing as King William Road to the north of North Terrace and south of Greenhill Road; between South Terrace and Greenhill Road it i ...

in the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ad ...

, is the seat of the

Parliament of South Australia The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat House of Assembly ( lower house) and the 22-seat Legislative Council ( upper house). General elections ar ...

. It was built to replace the adjacent and overcrowded Parliament House, now referred to as "Old Parliament House". Due to financial constraints, the current Parliament House was constructed in stages over 65 years from 1874 to 1939. Guided public tours of the building are held on weekdays at 10am and 2pm, except when the Parliament is sitting.

"Old" Parliament House

The Parliament of South Australia began in 1857, when the colony was granted self-government. Today Old Parliament House on North Terrace is situated to the west of the new Parliament House, and is associated with numerous and progressive legislative reforms in which South Australia led the way (such as the introduction of full adult male suffrage in 1856, and women's suffrage in 1894). The building, designed over many stages, incorporates the work of three important colonial architects: William Bennett Hays,

Edward Angus Hamilton Edward Angus Hamilton (born 27 February 1831) was an architect and politician in colonial South Australia. Hamilton was the son of George Ernest Hamilton, a civil engineer, and arrived in South Australia on 5 December 1849. In April 1852 he bega ...

, and

Edward John Woods Edward John Woods F.R.I.B.A. (1839 – 5 January 1916) was a prominent architect in the early days of South Australia. History Woods was born in London and educated at several private schools, then, deciding to become an architect, served ...

. Originally built as a single room brick chamber in 1843, the building was then extended in 1857 to accommodate the new bicameral Parliament. It is one of only a few buildings constructed before 1860 remaining in Adelaide.

Renewal

Following the completion of the new Parliament House in 1939, Premier Thomas Playford proposed that the old complex be demolished. It was saved by the onset of the Second World War and its use as a

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

recruiting office. Thereafter it was used by government departments. Further modifications and alterations continued through to the 1970s, but by the mid 1970s the complex was sadly rundown and neglected. In the late 1970s it was converted to the "Constitutional Museum" and was restored to reflect its 1875 condition. Under the direction of the newly created

History Trust of South Australia The History Trust of South Australia, sometimes referred to as History SA, was created as a statutory corporation by the ''History Trust of South Australia Act 1981'', to safeguard South Australia’s heritage and to encourage research and public ...

, the museum (as Australia’s first political museum) operated under that name from 1979 and then as "Old Parliament House" until 1995, when the building reverted to use by the parliament, largely as offices and committee rooms.

"New" Parliament House

Construction

In 1872 legislation increased the House of Assembly by 10 members, effective from 1875, reflecting the increased colonial population. It was decided that a completely new building was needed for the expanding parliament. A commission, appointed by the

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gen ...

, was set up in 1874 to adjudicate a design competition for the new building that would form the basis of ‘New’ Parliament House. A design by prominent Adelaide architect Edmund Wright and his partner Lloyd Taylor was selected as the winner. This

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

design featured ornate columns of the

Corinthian order The Corinthian order ( Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

, impressive towers, and a grand dome. Parliament House was built with Kapunda

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

and

West Island The West Island () is the unofficial name given to the cities, towns and boroughs at the western end of the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. It is generally considered to consist of the Lakeshore municipalities of Dorval, Pointe-Cla ...

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

. Construction began on the West Wing in 1874 and was completed in 1889 at a cost of £165,404. However, lack of funds resulted in the towers and dome being removed from the design that was implemented. The West Wing contained the new chamber for the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was crea ...

and associated offices. The

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly. It sits in Par ...

continued in the Old Parliament House next door. Economic depression in the 1890s delayed the completion of Parliament House, and it was not until 1913 that plans were sketched for the East Wing. The outbreak of the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

again delayed construction.

Completion

The project was taken up again in the 1930s following a £100,000 gift by Sir

John Langdon Bonython Sir John Langdon Bonython (;Charles Earle Funk, ''What's the Name, Please?'' (Funk & Wagnalls, 1936). 15 October 184822 October 1939) was an Australian editor, newspaper proprietor, philanthropist, journalist and politician who served a ...

, who sent a cheque to the State Premier with a note indicating the money should be used to complete the half finished Parliament house on North Terrace. The project also functioned as a job generation scheme to alleviate the mass unemployment of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. Work began on the East Wing in 1936, the year of

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 ...

's centenary, and was completed three years later in 1939 at a cost of £241,887. When finally completed, the British Houses Of Parliament were so delighted the building was completed after such a long time they organized to have the Lion forming part of a Royal Coat of Arms at the Westminster Houses Of Parliament removed from the stonework and shipped to Adelaide. It was presented to The Parliament Of South Australia by The Empire Parliamentary Association United Kingdom in 1939. The statue and plaque are located in a setting at the front of the building.Image of Lion and Plaque Located on North Terrace, Adelaide The completed Parliament House was formally opened on 5 June 1939 by Lord Gowrie, the 10th

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gen ...

). Since that time, occasional plans to complete the building by constructing the towers and dome are revived, but none of them has ever been implemented.

Gallery

File:SA Parliament Opening.jpg, 1939 opening of the new Parliament House. File:OIC sa parliament 1.jpg, Old Parliament House File:Parliament House, Adelaide.jpg, Parliament House (new) File:OIC sa parliament front interior.jpg, Front porch File:Adelaide internet censorship protest.jpg, Protest on the front steps File:OIC sa parliament lion 1.jpg, Westminster Lion File:Foyer.ParliamentHouseAdelaide.JPG, Foyer dome File:Hallway.ParHAdelaide.JPG, Interior hall File:House of Assembly SA.png, House of Assembly File:South Australian Legislative Council Chamber.jpg, Legislative Council File:Max Dupain North Terrace Adelaide.jpg, Outside Parliament House, looking at North terrace (1940)

References

External links

Parliament of South Australia
{{coord, display=title, -34.921096, 138.598554, type:landmark_region:AU Buildings and structures in Adelaide * Legislative buildings in Australia Tourist attractions in Adelaide Australian National Heritage List Neoclassical architecture in Australia 1939 establishments in Australia South Australian Heritage Register Government buildings completed in 1874 Government buildings completed in 1939 Government buildings in South Australia Adelaide Park Lands