Parliament House ( mi, Te Whare Paremata), in
Lambton Quay
Lambton Quay (once known as The Beach) is the heart of the central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.
Originally, as the name implies, it was the high-water line of the foreshore, and sometimes the sea would roll ...
,
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, is the main building of the
New Zealand Parliament Buildings
New Zealand Parliament Buildings ( mi, Ngā whare Paremata) house the New Zealand Parliament and are on a 45,000 square metre site at the northern end of Lambton Quay, Wellington. They consist of the Edwardian neoclassical-style Parliament Ho ...
. It contains the debating chamber,
speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
's office, visitors' centre, and committee rooms. It was built between 1914 and 1922, replacing an earlier building that burned down in 1907. Parliament started using the yet to be completed building from 1918. Parliament House was extensively earthquake strengthened and refurbished between 1991 and 1995. It is open for visitors almost every day of the year, and is one of Wellington's major visitor attractions. Parliament House is a Category I heritage building registered by
Heritage New Zealand
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...
.
Architecture
Parliament House was designed in an
Edwardian
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
neoclassical style
Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The pr ...
. It was deliberately designed to display New Zealand materials; the building is
faced with
Takaka marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
, with a base course of
Coromandel granite. Major architectural features of the building exterior include a
colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
lining the front and a long set of steps leading to the main entrance.
History
On 11 December 1907, the original Parliament House burned to the ground, along with all other parliament buildings except
the library.
The
Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to:
Australia
In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia:
* Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...
took this as an opportunity to completely redesign the seat of government, with unified buildings in permanent materials for the politicians and the supporting administration. A museum was allowed for and the public servants would move across from the
Old Government Buildings on
Lambton Quay
Lambton Quay (once known as The Beach) is the heart of the central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.
Originally, as the name implies, it was the high-water line of the foreshore, and sometimes the sea would roll ...
.
![Corner of Bowen Street and Lambton Quay, circa 1929 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Corner_of_Bowen_Street_and_Lambton_Quay%2C_circa_1929_%28cropped%29.jpg)
A competition to find a replacement design was announced by Prime Minister
Joseph Ward
Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, (26 April 1856 – 8 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the Liberal and Unit ...
in February 1911 and 33 designs were entered. The winning design, by government architect
John Campbell, was selected by
Colonel Vernon, former government architect for
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. As another of Campbell's entries won fourth place, the actual design is a combination of both entries. The design was divided into two stages. The first half, a
Neoclassical building, contained both chambers and the second half
Bellamy's
Bellamy's (or Bellamys) is the name given to the in-house catering service and dining facilities of the New Zealand Parliament. Named after an earlier British parliamentary institution, Bellamy's has been in existence since the establishment of t ...
and a new
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
library to replace the existing one.
Despite cost concerns, Prime Minister
William Massey
William Ferguson Massey (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925), commonly known as Bill Massey, was a politician who served as the 19th prime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Zea ...
let construction of the first stage begin in 1914, but without much of the roof ornamentation or the roof domes.
The outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
created labour and material shortages that made construction difficult, and the choice of Takaka marble added a logistical challenge to the building process. Chosen on account of its strength and polished finish, over 5000 tonnes would be utilised for build materials. By 1917 the top floor had been added and the grounds had been levelled, but everything was behind schedule. Although the building was unfinished, MPs moved into it in 1918 to get out of the old, cramped
Government House
Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries.
Gover ...
, which housed the
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
. In 1922, the first stage was completed; the second stage was never built.
During the construction of the building, in 1915, a statue of
Richard Seddon
Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the List of prime ministers of New Zealand, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. ...
(a former prime minister who died in office in 1906) was erected east of the main entrance steps. It was designed by
Sir Thomas Brock
Sir Thomas Brock (1 March 184722 August 1922) was an English sculptor and medallist, notable for the creation of several large public sculptures and monuments in Britain and abroad in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
His mos ...
of England.
1990s restoration and strengthening
![Parliament House, Wellington, New Zealand (87)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Parliament_House%2C_Wellington%2C_New_Zealand_%2887%29.JPG)
During the 1980s, there were discussions about earthquake risk, and the exterior of Parliament House had started to look shabby. There was even discussion about demolishing it.
In 1989, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now known as
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...
) assigned the highest heritage rating to the building – Category I.
This helped convince the decision makers to have the building strengthened and renovated, and what was up to then New Zealand's largest heritage building conservation project began. In 1991, members moved across to
Bowen House
Bowen House is a 22-storey office building on the corner of Lambton Quay and Bowen Street, Wellington, New Zealand, that is leased by the New Zealand Parliament to house some members of Parliament and government staff.
The building was designed b ...
, where a temporary debating chamber had been built.
Base isolation
Seismic base isolation, also known as base isolation, or base isolation system, is one of the most popular means of protecting a structure against earthquake forces. It is a collection of structural elements which should substantially decoupl ...
was installed, and at its peak, 400 workers were on site plus an additional 300 people were working offsite on the project.
The renovated building was officially opened in November 1995 by
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
,
Queen of New Zealand
The monarchy of New Zealand is the Constitution of New Zealand, constitutional system of government in which a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of New Zealand. The current monarch, King Charles III, as ...
, after its comprehensive strengthening and refurbishment. The parliamentarians had their first session in the renovated building in February 1996.
The intention of the Liberal Government had been for the design to be implemented in stages, eventually resulting in a coherent architectural setting. Instead, as
Heritage New Zealand
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...
remarks, the setting that has been achieved "has little aesthetic or architectural coherence", especially through the construction of the
Beehive
A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...
instead of completion of Parliament House.
Visiting and tours
Parliament is open to the public every day apart from some key
public holidays
A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year.
Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history, ...
; entry is subject to security screening.
Free one-hour tours are offered between 10 am and 4 pm on the full hour.
Access to the public galleries above the debating chamber is not part of the tour, is only possible on days the house is sitting, and a dress code applies. Parliament House has a visitor centre, with opening hours slightly longer than the times during which tours are offered.
Photo gallery
File:1907 fire at Parliament Buildings, Wellington.jpg, 1907 fire
File:Seddon Statue, Wellington, New Zealand (94).JPG, Statue of Richard Seddon
Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the List of prime ministers of New Zealand, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. ...
(1845–1906)
File:Parliament House, Wellington, New Zealand (81).JPG, Main entrance
File:Parliament House, Wellington, New Zealand (84).JPG, Royal coat of arms above entrance
File:Parliament House, Wellington, New Zealand (86).JPG, Columns lining the front facade
File:Parliament House, Wellington, New Zealand (78).JPG, View of the north end
File:BackofNZParliament.JPG, West end (rear entrance)
References
External links
Virtual tourof the Parliament Buildings
Parliament Houseentry at
Heritage New Zealand
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...
{{Parliament of NZ
Buildings and structures in Wellington City
Government buildings completed in 1922
NZHPT Category I listings in the Wellington Region
Politics of New Zealand
Tourist attractions in Wellington City
1920s architecture in New Zealand
Neoclassical architecture in New Zealand
John Campbell (architect) buildings