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Aboriginal Tent Embassy

1972 establishments in Australia1972 protestsBuildings and structures completed in 1972Buildings and structures in CanberraHistory of Australia (1945–present)
History of Indigenous AustraliansIndigenous Australian politicsOrganisations serving Indigenous AustraliansProtests in AustraliaSeparatism in AustraliaSquatting in AustraliaUse Australian English from March 2018
First day of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, outside Parliament House, Canberra, 27 January 1972. Left to right Billy Craigie, Bert Williams, Michael Anderson and Tony Coorey. (38934424564) (cropped)
First day of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, outside Parliament House, Canberra, 27 January 1972. Left to right Billy Craigie, Bert Williams, Michael Anderson and Tony Coorey. (38934424564) (cropped)

The Aboriginal Tent Embassy is a permanent protest occupation site as a focus for representing the political rights of Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people. Established on 26 January (Australia Day) 1972, and celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022, it is the longest continuous protest for Indigenous land rights in the world. First established in 1972 under a beach umbrella as a protest against the McMahon government's approach to Indigenous Australian land rights, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy is made up of signs and tents. Since 1992 it has been located on the lawn opposite Old Parliament House in Canberra, the Australian capital. It is not considered an official embassy by the Australian Government. The Embassy has been a site of protest and support for grassroots campaigns for the recognition of Indigenous land rights in Australia, Aboriginal deaths in custody, self-determination, and Indigenous sovereignty.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Aboriginal Tent Embassy (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Aboriginal Tent Embassy
King George Terrace, Canberra Parkes

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N -35.301111111111 ° E 149.13 °
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King George V memorial

King George Terrace
2600 Canberra, Parkes
Australia
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First day of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, outside Parliament House, Canberra, 27 January 1972. Left to right Billy Craigie, Bert Williams, Michael Anderson and Tony Coorey. (38934424564) (cropped)
First day of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, outside Parliament House, Canberra, 27 January 1972. Left to right Billy Craigie, Bert Williams, Michael Anderson and Tony Coorey. (38934424564) (cropped)
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Old Parliament House, Canberra
Old Parliament House, Canberra

Old Parliament House, formerly known as the Provisional Parliament House, was the seat of the Parliament of Australia from 1927 to 1988. The building began operation on 9 May 1927 after Parliament's relocation from Melbourne to the new capital, Canberra. In 1988, the Commonwealth Parliament transferred to the new Parliament House on Capital Hill. It also serves as a venue for temporary exhibitions, lectures and concerts. The Old Parliament is in front of New Parliament Canberra On 2 May 2008 it was made an Executive Agency of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. On 9 May 2009, the Executive Agency was renamed the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, reporting to the Special Minister of State. Designed by John Smith Murdoch and a team of assistants from the Department of Works and Railways, the building was intended to be neither temporary nor permanent—only to be a "provisional" building that would serve the needs of Parliament for a maximum of 50 years. The design extended from the building itself to include its gardens, décor and furnishings. The building is in the Simplified or "Stripped" Classical Style, commonly used for Australian government buildings constructed in Canberra during the 1920s and 1930s. It does not include such classical architectural elements as columns, entablatures or pediments, but does have the orderliness and symmetry associated with neoclassical architecture.[1]

Parliamentary Triangle, Canberra
Parliamentary Triangle, Canberra

The National Triangle, which is referred to as the Parliamentary Triangle, is the ceremonial precinct of Canberra, containing some of Australia's most significant buildings. The National Triangle is formed by Commonwealth, Kings and Constitution Avenues. Buildings within the National Triangle have been located and designed intentionally for visual effect, and those of national significance are popular tourist attractions. The National Triangle was a significant feature of Walter Burley Griffin's Plan for Canberra. The apices of the triangle are Parliament House, the seat of government; the Defence Headquarters at Russell; and City Hill, representing the civilian part of Canberra. Griffin planned the city around two axes which converge in the centre of the National Triangle. The land axis connects Mount Ainslie, Capital Hill and Red Hill and extends off towards Mount Bimberi the Australian Capital Territory's highest mountain. The water axis runs at right angles to the land axis along the length of Lake Burley Griffin. The southern shore of Lake Burley Griffin bisects the National Triangle forming a smaller Triangle known as the Parliamentary Zone bounded by Kings and Commonwealth Avenues. Consistent with Walter Burley Griffin's Garden City design, the National Triangle is characterised by streets lined with large deciduous trees, and buildings set in expanses of grassed parkland. Consequently, it has a very open feel and buildings are located several minutes walk away from one another. It was Griffin's original intention for more grand government buildings to be located within the precinct, but these have not eventuated as yet. Development within the National Triangle is strictly controlled by the National Capital Authority, an agency of the Commonwealth Government (not the ACT Government) within the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications.

John Gorton Building
John Gorton Building

The John Gorton Building, also referred to as the Gorton Building and formerly the Administrative Building, is a heritage listed government office located within the Parliamentary Triangle in Canberra, Australia. The office building is the administrative headquarters of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Planned in 1924, designed in 1946 and completed in 1956, the Administrative Building is significant as a good Canberra example of the Inter-war Stripped Classical style. Key features of this style displayed by the building include: the symmetrical facades; the division of the elevations into vertical bays; the occasional use of correct Classical details; the use of a basic Classical column form; the expressed portico; the simple surface treatments; and subdued spandrels between the storeys which emphasise verticality. Design elements which retain a high level of integrity include the exterior, foyers, lift lobbies and central corridors. The Administrative Building is also part of the significant cultural landscape of the Parliamentary triangle. It occupies a prominent and strategic location flanking the land axis in accordance with the 1916 Griffin plan. Together with the later Treasury Building balancing its mass across the central lawns of the land axis, the Administrative Building contributes to the planned aesthetic qualities of the Parliamentary triangle. The building was listed on the Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.