2. Description

2.1. Location

2.1.1. Australia and the Australian Capital Territory

Old Parliament House is situated in Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory which is surrounded by the state of New South Wales. Canberra is 150 kilometres inland from the coast, 287 kilometres from Sydney and 660 kilometres from Melbourne. Canberra is the seat of the Australian Federal Government.

Old Parliament House is in the suburb of Parkes, bounded by King George Terrace to the north, Queen Victoria Terrace to the south and Parliament Square to the east and west.

2.1.2. Parliamentary Triangle

There are a number of important relationships between the building and its wider setting. Old Parliament House sits in an important and extensive landscape stretching between Mount Ainslie and Capital Hill. As a result, Old Parliament House has a strong relationship to Parkes Place, which is the area between it and Lake Burley Griffin and includes the reflection ponds and components of the National Rose Gardens. It has a strong relationship with the flanking Senate Garden and House of Representatives Garden, both of which were integral to the social development of the place and were private gardens frequently used by parliamentarians and their families during the time that Old Parliament House was a functioning parliament.

Figure 3: Map of Australia and the Australian Capital Territory

The map indicates Old Parliament Houses location close to Lake Burley Griffin and Canberra City in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The map shows the ACTs regional centres, rivers, and the main highways including the Federal Highway leading to Sydney, and the Barton Highway leading to Melbourne. There is an inset map showing the location of the ACT in relation to Sydney and Melbourne and all of Australia.