TRAVEL TUESDAY 291 - PARLIAMENT BUILDING, MELBOURNE

“Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness” - Frank Gehry

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Parliament House in Melbourne, Australia, located at Spring Street in East Melbourne at the edge of the Melbourne city centre, has been the seat of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia, since 1855 (except for the years 1901 to 1927, when it was occupied by the Parliament of Australia).

In 1851, even before the colony of 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 Street, 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, and John Knight’s design won the first prize of £500, but was not used. The government architect, Charles Pasley, subsequently came up with a design of his own. Subsequent observers have suggested that he borrowed heavily from Leeds Town Hall, which even today is widely considered to be among the finest civic buildings in the world. The design was later modified by an architect in his office, Peter Kerr. Construction of the project was managed by John Knight who was also on Casley’s staff.

The story of Parliament House is one of staged construction and architectural ambition thwarted. Work on this began in 1856 and progressed until 1929. A 20 storey dome that would sit on top of the Vestibule was to be the crowning glory. There had been problems with the quality of the stone used on the building. Although tests in 1882 eventually approved the stone, they delayed work. Now confronted by altered economic conditions, the Minister for Works, Alfred Deakin, cancelled the contract for the Dome which has never been built...

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