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The High Commission of Australia in London is the diplomatic mission of Australia in the United Kingdom. It is both Australia’s first diplomatic mission and the longest continuously occupied diplomatic mission in the United Kingdom. The Bluey phenomenon sees the show currently air in over 60 countries and is the most-watched children’s programme on U.S. streaming services 1(second only to Suits overall), with a soaring viewership of 43.9 billion minutes in 2023. The beloved animated series is also the number 1 kids show on Australian broadcast television and the most-watched series ever on ABC iview, and the number 1 show on CBeebies in the UK. The hit brand also has 5.7 billion lifetime views on its official Bluey YouTube channel. The grand, classical-style Australia House was one of the first buildings to be erected on the then vacant parcel of land between Aldwych and the Strand, the critical connecting road between the Parliament at Westminster and the City of London.
Gift from the King
This is most evident in the lavishly decorated Downer room, the hall named in honour of Mr Downer’s father, who also served as a High Commissioner. This crucial nation-building mission can still be seen today in physical form, literally built into the floors and walls of the unique semi-gothic looking design. But these modern dalliances with popular culture are far from the most interesting events that have defined the fascinating history of the oldest continuously occupied diplomatic mission in London. The Australian String Quartet practices for a concert hosted by the agent-general of South Australia; cultural outreach is another task performed by diplomatic missions overseas. The Exhibition Hall features nine chandeliers of Empire design, made in Milan using hand-cut Bohemian crystal.
London Landmark Building
The keen eye will also spot other flora and fauna indicative of the country, including grapes and pearls, not to mention the kangaroo and emu, which appear on the Australian coat of arms. Indeed, Australian plants and animals are found poking out from behind almost every corner. By the time of the building’s completion and official opening in August 1918, the fledgling nation of Australia had voluntarily answered the call of ‘King and Country’. Having made huge sacrifices towards the Allied victory, Australia had proven its loyalty and Australia House stood as a grandiose emblem of its steadfast allegiance.
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The exterior of Australia House (Fig 3) is of Portland stone, on a base of light-grey trachyte from Mount Gibraltar in New South Wales. The tripartite division of rusticated lower section, rising through coupled giant-order columns, up to a strong entablature with projecting cornice, is topped with a mansard roof decorated with elaborately worked copper ridge caping and mouldings. As a whole, the ensemble makes for what was described in the architectural press at the time as a building ‘full of masculine strength and vitality’. The crux of the issue is the lack of international consistency in best practice around the display of human remains, Pitkin says.
India's Modi government operated 'nest of spies' in Australia before being disrupted by ASIO
Preparations for the construction of the building were soon underway, and the attempt to shape diverse aspirations into material form commenced. In August 1918, long before Parliament House opened in Canberra, Australia House stood proudly in the Strand. Accompanied by a flourish of trumpets, the King declared the stone ‘well and truly laid’ and, at Reid’s instigation, the crowd responded with cheers and a smattering of cooees. If a breach in court etiquette, the ardent applause and shouts were reportedly none the less welcome.
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Opening directly above the vestibule area, on the first storey, is a glass-covered rotunda (Fig 4), drawing the eye up almost immediately as one enters the building. Apart from shedding light deep into the space beneath, this rotunda acts as a transitionary zone between the High Commissioner’s office (Fig 2), at the very front of the building, and the library-cum-conference room above the exhibition hall. The latter of these two spaces, stately in appearance, is large and quadrangular in shape. As in the hall beneath, it is decorated with Caleula marble columns, only this time in pilaster form with gilt capitals (Fig 6). The public concourse — including vestibule, main stair (Fig 5) and hall — was illustrative of the abundance and fecundity of this resource-rich land.
We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. The award ceremony coincided with an unexpected extra episode of the show titled Surprise!. "Our beautiful country is a character in the show just as much as any of the dogs, so to have brought it into the living rooms of the whole world, encouraging people to come and visit is something I'll always be proud of," he said in a statement. As Bluey appeared out of Australia's oldest diplomatic mission, the beloved character was greeted to loud cheers and applause. Prior to the 1909 merger of the two non-Labor parties, a three-party system existed in the chamber, with a two-party system in place since. Select committees, which are temporary committees, established in order to deal with particular issues.
Proof Australia's housing market has gone mad: The awkward detail in this photo of a house that sold for $3mil - Daily Mail
Proof Australia's housing market has gone mad: The awkward detail in this photo of a house that sold for $3mil.
Posted: Sat, 20 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
According to the Constitution, the powers of both Houses are nearly equal, with the consent of both Houses needed to pass legislation.[13] The difference mostly relates to taxation legislation. In practice, by convention, the person who can control a majority of votes in the lower house is invited by the governor-general to form the government. Bills appropriating money (supply bills) can only be introduced or amended in the lower house[13] and thus only the party with a majority in the lower house can govern. In the current Australian party system, this ensures that virtually all contentious votes are along party lines, and the government party usually has a majority in those votes in the lower house.
Domestic committees, which are responsible for administering aspects of the House's own affairs. These include the Selection Committee that determines how the House will deal with particular pieces of legislation and private members business and the Privileges Committee that deals with matters of parliamentary privilege. Scottish architects designed the Australia House building after winning an architectural competition. Alexander Marshal Mackenzie and Son were awarded the project by leading Australian artists – Arthur Streeton, John Longstaff, Fred Leist, George Lambert and Bertram Mackennal. Mackennal, an Australian sculptor and medallist, famous for designing the coinage and stamps bearing the likeness of George V, was also a judge for the architectural competition.
“These materials were transported to London while our boys were fighting on the Western Front,” former High Commissioner Mike Rann told the Telegraph. While Australia House is celebrated today, at the time of its construction the project was viewed by many as a white elephant which had blown out of all proportion, costing about a million pounds in the money of the day. “I think it would have been the equivalent of spending about £500 million today, on building an embassy building during a war,” Mr Downer said. The symbolism also continues outside, with six colonnades on the Strand side of the building each representing the Australian states. A bronze sculpture over the entrance of the god Apollo driving the horses of the sun - echoing the Rising Sun emblem worn by Australian soldiers in World War 1 - was designed by Australian sculptor Bertram Mackennal. It is an architectural jewel, London’s finest example of the belle époque style which flourished here briefly in that short span of time between the end of the Gothic revival and the blight of modernism.
And while you can spend hours scouring home publications or Pinterest, home renovation and design platform Houzz has made it easy to do so, with its annual ‘Best Of’ awards, which recognises the best of the best in homes. You can see what furniture pieces and homewares they brought together, how they made use of a space and what the overall feeling is when you look at the home, all information and learnings you can then bring into your interior design. The 1910 election was the first to elect a majority government, with the Australian Labor Party also winning the first Senate majority.
She won plaudits for her stint as co-host of the Weekend Update segment, which she co-hosted with Fey. Named for its benefactor, the Chau Chak Wing is an amalgamation of Sydney’s University’s three previous museums, whose holdings included ancient Egyptian material and works of art. In addition to these display adjustments, the museum will rename its Mummy Room to remove popular culture connotations which have nothing to do with the serious study of ancient Egypt. A mummified head was also removed from the exhibition halls of the Chau Chak Wing Museum at Sydney University on the advice of the senior curator antiquities and archaeology, Melanie Pitkin. An unwrapped mummified foot in an old biscuit tin is among a small number of Ancient Egyptian body parts removed from display last month, as a Sydney museum grapples with the evolving ethics of museology.
An imposing home for the newly federated Commonwealth of Australia sought through its design and materials to celebrate themes of union with Britain and national self worth, as Prof G. A. Bremner explains. Vivid Sydney Presents - In Conversation with Amy Poehler will be held at the Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House. Following the event, a bespoke Inside Out 2 projection will light up Customs House at Circular Quay for a one-off, 30-minute projection. Nicole and Tom, who wed in 1990, adopted their second child just after his birth in January 1995. In 2008, Connor got a glimpse of the Hollywood spotlight when he starred alongside Will Smith in the drama Seven Pounds.
The pairing of British and Australian materials on the exterior is carried through inside. As visitors enter the building, they are greeted by a magnificent, elongated vestibule (Fig 7), beyond which lies a large space that once served as an exhibition hall (Fig 1). Both spaces are lavishly decked in 1,200 tons of veined and mottled Australian marbles from Buchan in Gippsland, Victoria, and Caleula in New South Wales. G. Jenkins & Sons of Torquay in the same, ebullient style of Classical architecture as the exterior. Its effect is marvellously enhanced through gilding and a considerable amount of bronze decoration in the form of metopes and rosettes, wreaths and trophies.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware this website contains images, voices and names of people who have died. As high commissioner, Reid was responsible for the construction of Australia’s first high commission. A dream of the newly federated Australian nation, it was expected to both promote the Australian Government’s aspirations and to confirm Australia’s place within London, the Empire and the world. Reid chose the name ‘Australia House’ because, he explained, ‘the word “House” carries with it the idea of a “home” for Australia in London’.
The government of the day and by extension the prime minister must achieve and maintain the confidence of this House in order to gain and remain in power. A trade agreement will be front and centre for Mr Downer’s replacement, former Australian attorney general George Brandis who is expected to take up the post before the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting on April 19. Since the opening of the mission, High Commissioners to London have traditionally been former cabinet members and prime ministers - a good indication of the post’s continued importance to Australia’s foreign relations objectives. The materials carefully selected and shipped across the world for the building include dove-coloured Buchan marble from Victoria, light and dark Caleula from New South Wales and white Angaston marble from South Australia. The timber in the joinery and flooring includes varieties from all Australian states, with the most prominent of these being black bean, a very hard and dense wood similar to English oak.
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