Carlton Gardens
Formal Victorian-era gardens with tree-lined avenues and fountains, framing a grand nineteenth-century exhibition hall.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Carlton Gardens in Melbourne opens on the third of September 1901, when a countess unfurled an enormous flag atop the great gilded dome that architect Joseph Reed built in under two years. It traces the exhibition hall's role as the birthplace of the Commonwealth Parliament, which first met here in May 1901 under a freshly painted ceiling, and follows the building's slide into decades of neglect once Parliament moved to Canberra. By 1948 its future was up for a council vote.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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