Elaborate classic plans for new parliament house in Adelaide modified to a west wing only from 1889 to 1930s
The 1874 design for South Australia's new parliament house, with domes and towers, was gradually scaled down because of cost that meant only the west wing was completed in 1886 and remained until the late 1930s.
South Australia’s parliament house, on the prominent North Terrace-King William Street corner, was a project embroiled in bitter debate, especially over cost – to the extent that it stayed only half built until 1939.
The cost factor had forced delays in replacing the original old parliament house, first opened in 1855, that was constantly inadequate. This became more pressing when House of Assembly members increased by 10 in 1872.
Government architect-in-chief E. John Woods (of Adelaide town hall, general post office etc fame) was commissioned to oversee more additions to the old building.
Meanwhile, a commission set up in 1874 judged a design competition for a new building. The winner was prominent Adelaide architect Edmund Wright (who had worked with Woods on the town hall, GPO projects) and his partner Lloyd Tayler, with input from Woods. The classically-inspired design featured Corinthian columns, impressive towers and a grand dome. Lack of funds saw the towers and dome removed from the plans modified by Woods.
Arguments over the site and designs from 1872 went on until 1886 after Woods had started supervising construction from 1883 by the Kapunda Marble and Building Company, using marble from Kapunda for walls and granite from West Island near Victor Harbor for the base. Woods’s adapted design including his innovative ventilation system in the Assembly chamber. The building also was wired for the future use of electricity.
Another disagreement caused a temporary halt to construction and led to J. Shaw and Company completing the first stage, the west wing, at a cost of £165,404 and opened on June 5, 1889. The west wing only accommodated the House of Assembly and associated offices.
Economic depression in the 1890s delayed the building’s completion and plans for the east wing were not detailed until 1913. World War I again delayed construction. The Legislative Council continued in the old parliament house next door until 1939.
