Parliament House, Melbourne: oblique view of entrance front and side

NOTES: In the early 1850s an unsuccessful competition was held for a design for the Parliament House and, instead, the government architect, Charles Pasley, prepared a design which was accepted. This design was handed over to two architects working in his office, Peter Kerr with John George Knight. Kerr adapted and improved the design and construction began but continued in stages very slowly between 1856 and 1929 - in fact, the full design for the Parliament House has never been completed. The chambers for the Victorian Legislative Assembly and the Victorian Legislative Council were finished in 1856; the library in 1860, and the Great Hall (now Queen's Hall) and the vestibule in 1879. In the 1880s a classical colonnade and portico facing Spring Street was added and was completed in 1892 with the monumental steps and lamps. The north wing was completed in 1893 and refreshment rooms at the back of the building were added in 1929.