Parliament House
Parliament House and Melbourne wedding photography have almost been seen as synonymous with each other in some quarters! Tradition, desire, the magnificent façade, perhaps notions of democracy, who knows what it is, but there would not have been a Melbourne wedding photographer alive who has not frequently climbed right up the grand flights of steps to photograph in the entirely grand and beloved surrounds of the portico of Parliament House. Year after year, decade after decade Parliament House never goes out of style.
At Serendipity Photography we appreciate the classic columns, the luxurious (and clean) marble mosaic floor, with Roman origins clearly flagged, even the high Victorian iron lights and the carved doors can’t quite shake off the sensation of being located the Forum (centre of the ancient city state and the known world.) If you listen closely perhaps the voices of the Imperial Senators might momentarily rise above Spring St traffic — certainly this was the vision of the young colony ambitiously reaching past the British Imperium to something altogether more important and fundamental. Even if today ancient seats of Roman and Greek democratic governments are also only a place of grass and broken stones and harried tourists; the real life of the Forum pulses here now– temple colonnades, porticos and pediments are but an architectural shorthand for the system of government bequeathed to us and embraced by us in all its traditional pomp, rude shortcomings and ancient glory.
Parliament House is one of Melbourne’s best known landmarks. Its history extends back to the colonial years of the Victorian state. In 1851, even before the colony of Victoria had acquired full parliamentary self-government, Governor Charles La Trobe instructed the colonial surveyor, Robert Hoddle, to select a site for the colony’s new parliament to meet. Hoddle selected a site on the eastern hill at the top of Bourke Street which at that time, when few buildings were more than two storeys high, commanded a view of the whole city.
Although a architectural competition was opened up to the public, Charles Pasley, the government architect, used his own design rather than the winning competiton entry by John Knight. Pasley’s Roman Revival architecture design, probably borrowing heavily from the eminent Leeds Town Hall, was later modified by Peter Kerr and then supervised by Knight. The proposed dome and reading room were never built in Spring St, but those ideas came to fruition in the State library.
Construction began in 1855, and was completed in 1927. The Victorian Goverment has met here since 1855, apart from the years 1901 to 1927 when Parliament House was home to the Commonwealth Government. Parliament House has seen many historic moments, including the foundings of both the Federal Labour and Liberal parties, and the first set of electrical bells to call members for divisions, installed in 1877.
Despite its protracted construction and evolution of the design, the building today feels very much a single entity. The flow of the rooms, particularly taken in context with the main façade leading to the Queen’s Hall and the parliamentary chambers, is both logical and visually impressive.
The Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council chambers were finished in 1856. The library was completed in 1860, and the Great Hall (now Queen’s Hall) and the vestibule in 1879. The impressive classical colonnade and portico were added at the height of the late 1880’s boom, being finished in 1892 and the north wing was completed in 1893 whilst refreshment rooms at the back of the building were added in 1929.
The warm golden tones of Parliament House’s exterior, and its abundant list of architectural features such as corinthian columns, hand carved sculpture reliefs, ornate balconies and the grand stone staircase, lend themselves spectacularly to classic and elegant wedding photos. The experienced staff at Serendipity look forward to capturing every subtle moment of your special day expertly, with the elegant style of Parliament House as a distinctive backdrop.
