The Provisional Parliament House, as it was originally known, became the ‘old’ one when the ‘permanent one’ on Capitol Hill was opened in 1988. Designed and built in three years (1924-27), Murdoch was dismissive of some of its charms, mostly because of the haste he felt, and yet has all the traits of his best architecture.
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In the midst of World War II, Sydney architect John Crust climbed Mount Ainslie to paint a watercolour of the newly built Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
It was not long before the official handover of the building he had dedicated years of his life to and which would become one of the most iconic in the country.
Lost and found: Drawings of the Australian War Memorial by one of its architects, John Crust.
Credit:Australian War Memorial
âThat was him saying goodbye to the Memorial,â his granddaughter Lucy King says.
âHe loved it, and he drew it several times; he put his blood, sweat and heart into it. I donât think he left any stone unturned, he gave it everything.â