History
Tasmania’s Parliament House was originally Hobart’s customs house. It was designed in 1830 by skilled government architect John Lee Archer.
Stone for the building was quarried from the Queens Domain and Salamanca. Construction took place between 1835 and 1838. It opened for customs business on 1 September 1840.
The Tasmanian Parliament was unicameral at this time, consisting only of the Legislative Council. In 1841, the Legislative Council stopped using the chamber that adjoined the old Government House in Franklin Square, and started meeting in the customs house’s ‘Long Room’.
It was decided in 1854 that the Tasmanian Parliament should become bicameral, and that it should meet in the customs house. The Long Room was converted to the House of Assembly chamber, and a new chamber was built for the Legislative Council. The House of Assembly met for the first time on 2 December 1856.
The land in front of Parliament House was landscaped in 1901, just in time for a visit by the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George V and Queen Mary).
In 1904, customs staff moved to a new building in Davey Street that now forms part of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. The customs house has been Parliament House ever since.
Parliament House was renovated between 1938 and 1940. The current House of Assembly chamber was built, and the old one was converted into the Members’ Lounge. The Legislative Council section of the building was also extended.
More renovations to the building took place in the 1970s. More offices were provided for Members, and space was made for Hansard records, the library, and committee rooms.
The building has been subject to conservation works since 1998.
Parliament House today
Apart from the two chambers, Parliament House contains:
- offices for Members and their staff*;
- a library;
- a museum;
- dining rooms and reception areas; and
- offices and interview rooms for the media.
*Members also have offices in their electorates, away from Parliament House.
Parliament House today
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Tas That Was is a column that includes:
- anecdotes of life in Tasmania in the past;
- historical photographs of locations in Tasmania; and/or
- documentaries about locations in Tasmania.
If you have an anecdote or photograph you’d like to share with us, please send it to [email protected].
