New Parliament House, Canberra
July 16th 2011 05:45
Undoubtedly, the centre point of Canberra is the new Parliament House. All roads, paths, parks and even the lake seem to lead to it, point to it, highlight it or underscore it. There is truly, no missing it. It’s a striking building, by anyone’s standards – a sprawling white stone mass, semi-submerged in a rolling green lawn with great, gleaming metal flagpole at its apex. Despite its awe-inspiring aspect or perhaps because of it, I didn’t snap a single shot of the exterior. It probably doesn’t matter too much. Australians will be able to conjure up its image instantly from its daily TV appearances as a backdrop to the latest political pearls, while foreigners have a billion and one google pics at their fingertips.
Parliament was not in session at the time of our tour, so the place was ours to explore and enjoy. Our wonderful Education Officer/ Guide made certain that we didn’t miss anything and that we felt truly at home there, stressing that the New Parliament Building and indeed, the whole of Canberra, belongs to all Australians.
We began our inspection of our new Parliament House in the Great Hall, where we stood in silent admiration of the beautiful and enormous tapestry that fills the far wall. Then followed a long, long walk through narrow corridors running north, south, east and west, past closed doors and past portraits of familiar political faces of today and yesterday. Occasional banks of windows gave glimpses of quiet green courtyards below. We crammed into a lift and burst out onto the roof under the flagpole. It rose above us like a giant tripod, its pointed end lost in wisps of cloud. From here the roof-top lawn seemed made for roly-poly! But better games awaited us!
Downstairs my 30 twelve-year-old travelling companions dressed up and took over the House of Representatives. "Should ads be shown during kids TV programmes?” they debated. They played the game really well. They followed the protocols of parliament and read their scripted lines with conviction. They put an end to advertising during kids TV shows. But, in truth, they were far too polite, well-behaved and downright decent to be convincing politicians!
The House Of Representatives, New POarliament House
Parliament was not in session at the time of our tour, so the place was ours to explore and enjoy. Our wonderful Education Officer/ Guide made certain that we didn’t miss anything and that we felt truly at home there, stressing that the New Parliament Building and indeed, the whole of Canberra, belongs to all Australians.
We began our inspection of our new Parliament House in the Great Hall, where we stood in silent admiration of the beautiful and enormous tapestry that fills the far wall. Then followed a long, long walk through narrow corridors running north, south, east and west, past closed doors and past portraits of familiar political faces of today and yesterday. Occasional banks of windows gave glimpses of quiet green courtyards below. We crammed into a lift and burst out onto the roof under the flagpole. It rose above us like a giant tripod, its pointed end lost in wisps of cloud. From here the roof-top lawn seemed made for roly-poly! But better games awaited us!
Downstairs my 30 twelve-year-old travelling companions dressed up and took over the House of Representatives. "Should ads be shown during kids TV programmes?” they debated. They played the game really well. They followed the protocols of parliament and read their scripted lines with conviction. They put an end to advertising during kids TV shows. But, in truth, they were far too polite, well-behaved and downright decent to be convincing politicians!
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