Australia's Parliament House, Canberra 2014

Australia’s Parliament House, on Capital Hill in Canberra, is a striking building designed by Romaldo Giurgola of Mitchell/Giurgola Architects from New York, America (after winning a design competition which attracted 329 entries from 29 countries). Its design is based on the shape of two boomerangs with an 81 metre (266 foot) flagpole. The flag itself is the size of a bus.

Federal Parliament met in Melbourne until 1927, and moved to Old Parliament House (Provisional Parliament House) in Canberra from 1927 to 1988, which was designed as a temporary arrangement until a permanent building was constructed. In 1988 Queen Elizabeth II opened this new building – its construction commenced in 1881.

The House is situated on 80 acres (32 hectares) of land with grassed areas on top of the building.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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