April 12, 2010
Witness to history: the opening of the Provisional Parliament House in 1927
On 9 May 1927 His Royal Highness the Duke of York opened Australia’s first purpose-built federal parliament building, now known as Old Parliament House. There was no national capital city when the Australian federation was formed in 1901 so, for the first 26 years as a nation, the federal parliament met in the Victorian state parliament in Melbourne. However, provision had been made in the Constitution for a seat of Government of the Commonwealth, to be located within Commonwealth territory in the state of New South Wales but not less than 100 miles from Sydney. The site for the national capital was finally announced in 1911, and an inauguration…