Today is the 25th anniversary of the opening of Canberra’s New Parliament House on May 9, 1988.
The building was opened by the Queen. At the time, the Prime Minister was Bob Hawke and the Opposition Leader was John Howard.
The building was opened in Australia’s bicentenary year. May 9 was also the date of the first sitting of the new Commonwealth Parliament in Melbourne in 1901, as well as the date in 1927 when the provisional Parliament House was opened by the Queen’s father, then the Duke of York.
Six videos of the opening of Parliament House are available by clicking on this link. They include speeches by then Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Opposition Leader John Howard, House Speaker Joan Child and Senate President Kerry Sibraa. There is also an interview with former Whitlam government minister Fred Daly.
- Videos from the 1988 opening of Parliament House
- Museum of Australian Democracy (previously Old Parliament House)
- Parliament House
