Parliament House, Melbourne. Grand Colonial Victorian Government Building

by Garran, Andrew

Melbourne Parliament House, the grandest building in Australia at the time it was built.

Heritage Editions reproduction print from a hand-coloured wood engraving by Henry Miller after a sketch by American topographical illustrator, and much awarded artist, William Thomas Smedley (1858-1920) for Picturesque Atlas of Australasia published in Sydney between 1886 and 1888 to commemorate 100 years of settlement since the First Fleet arrived in Sydney in 1788, by providing a graphic summary of Australia’s development.

A practical design for Melbourne Parliament House by Colonial Engineer, Charles Pasley, was much altered and improved over forty years by architect Peter Kerr. Building of the Legislative Chambers began in 1856, with the first Parliament meeting ten months later. A planned dome was not constructed when the land boom collapsed and the depression followed from 1891.

Approximate size 16 x 28 cm (6.5 x 11 inches).