The High Commission of Australia in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

is the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It is located in Australia House, a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

building. It was Australia's first

and is the longest continuously occupied diplomatic mission in the United Kingdom.

History

A major landmark on the

Strand, London The Strand (commonly referred to with a leading "The", but formally without) is a major street in the City of Westminster, Central London. The street, which is part of London's West End Theatre, West End theatreland, runs just over from Tra ...

, construction on the building by the Dove Brothers commenced in 1913, but shipping problems caused by the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

delayed completion. It was officially opened by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

in a ceremony on 3 August 1918 attended by the Australian Prime Minister William Morris Hughes. The cost of the triangular shaped land was £379,756 (£ in ) when purchased by the

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of , making it the sixth-largest country in ...

in 1912 and building and other associated costs brought total expenditure to about £1 million. The building was designed by British architects,

Alexander Marshall Mackenzie Alexander Marshall MacKenzie (1 January 1848 – 4 May 1933) was a Scottish architect responsible for prestigious projects including the headquarters of the Isle of Man Banking Company in Douglas, and Australia House and the Waldorf Hotel in ...

and his son,

Alexander George Robertson Mackenzie Alexander George Robertson Mackenzie (12 March 1879 – 20 March 1963) was a Scottish architect. Early life Born in Aberdeen on 12 March 1879, AGR was the second son states "eldest son" while own article states "second son" of Marshall Mackenz ...

following an architectural competition, the judges of which included

Bertram Mackennal Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal (12 June 1863 – 10 October 1931), usually known as Bertram Mackennal, was an Australian sculptor and medallist, most famous for designing the coinage and stamps bearing the likeness of George V. He signed his work ...

John Longstaff Sir John Campbell Longstaff (10 March 1861 – 1 October 1941) was an Australian painter, war artist and a five-time winner of the Archibald Prize for portraiture. Longstaff was one of the most prolific portraitists of the Edwardian period, pain ...

George Washington Lambert George Washington Thomas Lambert (13 September 1873 – 29 May 1930) was an Australian artist, known principally for portrait painting and as a war artist during the First World War. Early life Lambert was born in St Petersburg, Russia, th ...

, Fred Leist and

Arthur Streeton Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (8 April 1867 – 1 September 1943) was an Australian landscape painter and a leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. Early life Streeton was born in Mount Moriac, Victoria ...

. The Commonwealth of Australia's chief architect, John Smith Murdoch, travelled to London to work with the Mackenzie firm on the building. Although an Official Secretary had been appointed to London as early as 1906, the High Commission to London was the first Australian diplomatic mission and one of the most prominent in London. The building itself was built over a 900-year-old sacred well drawing from the

River Fleet The River Fleet is the largest of Subterranean rivers of London, London's subterranean rivers, all of which today contain foul water for treatment. It has been used as a culverted sewer since the development of Joseph Bazalgette's London sewe ...

, a subterranean London river. The water in the well is clear and has been tested as safe to drink.

Construction

Much of the building materials used in its construction were imported from Australia. The building is of

Portland stone Portland stone is a limestone geological formation (formally named the Portland Stone Formation) dating to the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic that is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. The quarries are cut in beds of whi ...

on a base of Australian

trachyte Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava (or shallow intrus ...

. The marbles used include dove-coloured

Buchan Buchan is a coastal district in the north-east of Scotland, bounded by the Ythan and Deveron rivers. It was one of the original provinces of the Kingdom of Alba. It is now one of the six committee areas of Aberdeenshire. Etymology The ge ...

marble from Victoria, the light and dark Caleula from

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, and white Angaston marble from

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. The joinery and flooring timbers include timber varieties from all Australian States but the most prominent of these is black bean, a very hard and dense wood similar to English oak, used principally for panels of the first floor Downer Room where the carvings represent arts and sciences. This work is credited to Messrs Wylie & Lockhead of London and Glasgow.

Modern use

Government agencies within the High Commission include Austrade, Defence, Materiel (CONDMAT), National Library of Australia and Public Affairs/Media/Cultural. The building's grand interior was used as the setting of Gringotts Wizarding Bank in ''

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the first novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series and was Rowling's debut novel. It follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who disco ...

'', as well as scenes in 2017's ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

''.

Elections

Australia House is usually the single largest polling station in Australian federal elections, with more votes being cast at the London polling station than at any polling station in any of the Australian states or territories.

Gallery

File:High_Commission_of_Australia_in_London_1.jpg, The entrance to the High Commission File:澳洲大使館 (27335900807).jpg, Close-up of the entrance File:High_Commission_of_Australia_in_London_3.jpg, View from Aldwych File:High_Commission_of_Australia_in_London_4.jpg, View from Strand File:Australia House, London.jpg, The High Commission File:Phoebus Driving the Horses of the Sun, Australia House, London - 2022-09-10.jpg, ''Phoebus Driving the Horses of the Sun'' by

References

External links

Official website
{{Australia–United Kingdom relations 1918 establishments in England

Government buildings completed in 1918 Australia–United Kingdom relations Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster Aldwych Commonwealth Heritage List Strand, London Australian diaspora in the United Kingdom