Parliament House Grounds and Gardens

Exterior Self-Guided TourApproximately 20 minutes

The grounds of Parliament House are regarded

as a prestigious and symbolic venue for the

conduct of important ceremonies and civic

functions, as well as for public rallies and the

presentation of petitions.

While construction of the building began in the

early 1900s, the built form and landscaping

that are most visible from the city and city

approaches were developed in the late 1950s.

The initial development of the grounds reflects

the emergent interest in the early decades of

this century in the beautification of the city and

the image of Perth as a garden city.

HAY ST

MITCHELL FWY

One Way

NE

SW

HAVELOCK ST

Parliament House

Main Entrance(Eastern Side)

Harvest Terrace

Private Car Park

Pedestrian crossing

(Western Side)

The Foundation

Stone9NE

SW

The eastern façade was authorised during the term of Premier Albert (Bert) Hawke in 1956. Construction began soon after with additions to the southern, central and northern sections of the eastern front as well as extensions to the northern and southern elevations of the existing building. It was officially opened on23rd March 1964.

1

Pensioners Barracks

2

The Barracks Arch is all that remains of the Pensioners Barracks built in 1863 to house soldiers of the Enrolled Pensioner Force.The Barracks later became office space for the Public Works Department. Two wings of the Barracks were demolished when the Mitchell Freeway was constructed in 1966.

The sunken gardens is one of the attractivegarden settings surrounding Parliament House.This peaceful setting is regularly used asthe backdrop for interviews and weddingphotographs.

3

4

The southern extension was built in 1978and incorporates offices, as well as a stairway and entry to the Legislative Assembly’s publicgallery.

Sunken Gardens

The Southern Extension 3

Adjoining Walls 4

2

10

(Eastern Side)

Lion and UnicornStatues 5 Western Façade of

Parliament House6 North-west corner of Parliament House

Iron Sculpture8

5

Originally built as an open colonnade,the western arches are now enclosed with windows as part of the Members’Dining Room. The two green doors on the western façade were once used for official entry to the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly prior to the completion of the 1960s eastern extension. They are no longer in use.

6

7 The north-west corner of Parliament House became the final major extension of the building and was completed in 2004.

8 An iron sculpture forms an enclosure to analfresco area at the northern end of the Parliament. The Australiana themed windows,by Jennifer Cochrane, were installed in August2003 as part of the northern extensions of thebuilding.

The foundation stone was repositioned in1964 to sit within the completed eastern façade,where it remains today.

9

10

7

The Lion and Unicorn statues were removedfrom the stonework of the Houses of Parliament,Westminster, London in 1935, and were laterpresented to the Parliament of Western Australia by a visiting delegation of the EmpireParliamentary Association. The lion represents England and the unicorn symbolises Scotland. Each statue is one metre high. Replicas are on display outside the western façade, with the original statues located inside the building.

Adjoining walls of 1903 contain lime-stonequarried from Rottnest Island (left) andDonnybrook sandstone (right).

Eastern Façade of Parliament House

1

Building Exterior

Note - Information plaques and signage indicating species of flora are positioned in the garden beds.

SUNKEN GARDENS - SOUTH SIDE

25

Parliamen

tary Precinct

9 West Australian Peppermint (Agonis flexuosa)

4 Flooded Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulesis x rudis)

17 Red Flowering Gum (Eucalyptus ficifolia)

10 Darling Range Ghost Gum (Eucalyptus laeliae)

2 Irish Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo)

3 Hong Kong Orchid (Bauhinia x blakeana)

1 Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata)

23 Coolibah (Eucalyptus microtheca)

6 Coastal Blackbutt (Eucalyptus toditiana)

18 Coral Gum (Eucalyptus torquata)

27 Coolibah (Eucalyptus victrix)

11 Wandoo (Eucalyptus wandoo)

28 Claret Ash (Fraxinus oxycarpa ‘Raywoodii’)

8 Queensland Box (Lophostemon confertus)

21 Weeping Paperbark (Melaleuca leucadendra) 35 North American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styracciflua)

31 Kentia (Howea forsteriana)

15 Jacaranda (Jacaranda mimosifolia)

24 Western Tea-Myrtle (Melaleuca nesophila)

7 White Cedar (Melia azedarach)

25 New Zealand Christmas Tree (Metrosiderous excelsus)

37 Variegated New Zealand Christmas Tree (Metrosiderous excelsus ‘Variegata’)

43 Hills Fig (Ficus hillii)

29 Pandanus (Pandanus spiralus) 41 Stone Pine (Pinus pinea)

42 Olive (Olea europaea)

13 Chinese Pistachio (Pistacia chinensis)

14 Lombardy Poplar (Populus nigra ‘Italica’)

16 Queensland Umbrella (Schefflera actinophylla) 30 Bookleaf Pine (Thuja plicata)

5 Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghamiana)

12 Lemon Scented Gum (Corymbia citriodora)

20 Illyarrie (Eucalyptus erythrocorys)

19 River Sheoak (Casuarina cunninghamiana)

22 Variegated West Australian Peppermint (Agonis flexuosa)

26 Bottlebrush (Callistemon species)

32 Norfolk Island Pine (Araucaria heterophylla)

33 Camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora)

34 Lillypilly (Acmena smithii)

36 Kaffir Plum (Harpephyllum kaffrum)

38 Port Jackson Fig (Ficus rubiginosa)

39 Fiddlewood (Citharexylum spinosum)

40 Canary Island Pine (Pinus canariensis)

44 Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla)

45 Carob (Ceratonia seliqua)

46 Red Box (Eucalyptus polyanthemos)

Tree Species

45

43

39

44

42

4140

3837

363534

33

3230

29 2827

2623

22

212018

1716

19

1514

1312

11109

87

65 4

321

4624

31

Parliament House belongs to the people of Western Australia. The gardens have been planted with the unique Western Australian native flora with plantings from the six regions including the Kimberley, Pilbara, Gascoyne, Mid West, Goldfields and South West regions (below).

As one of the State’s main civic buildings, Parliament has a strong commitment to ensuring that the gardens are anicon for current and future Western Australians. The establishment of native gardens reflective of the differentregions of the State in 2010-11 was recognition by Parliament of its role in representing and making decisions for all Western Australians. It also forms part of a broader sustainability strategy around water conservation through theplanting of native species.

Sustainability Strategy For the Gardens at Parliament House

The Six Regions of Western Australia

HAY ST

MITCHELL FWY

One Way

NE

SW

HAVELOCK ST

KimberleyRegion

PilbaraRegion

GascoyneRegion

Mid WestRegion

GoldfieldsRegion

South WestRegion

Parliament House Eastern Entrance

Kimberley Region Pilbara Region

Gascoyne Region

Goldfields Region

South West Region

Midwest Region

Parliament House Gardens