The National Library of Australia under construction, c. 1967, nla.obj-147040537
The National Library of Australia building located at Parkes Place, Canberra was opened on 15 August 1968 by Prime Minister John Gorton. When the building opened it was the first time since the Library moved to Canberra in 1927 that all of the collections and staff were located in one building.
Walter Bunning (1912-1977) of the architectural firm Bunning and Madden was the chief architect in association with T.E. O Mahony. The style of the building is Contemporary Classical ( Late-Twentieth Century Stripped Classical ), influenced by the work of American architect Edward Stone and the Parthenon in Greece. The building was planned to have the same amount of columns (17 x 8) but the National Capital Development Commission cut one row of columns (to 16 x 8) to save $250,000.