Planning The Parliament of Queensland first met on 22 May 1860 in the former convict barracks on
Queen Street. The building was not considered a suitable meeting place for Parliament in the long-term, but the government was preoccupied with the construction of
Government House, and plans for a new legislative facility were not made until after its completion. In November 1863 a commission chose the site for the new parliamentary building on the corner of Alice and George Street. In October 1864, a design by
William Henry Ellerker was recommended by the Parliamentary Commissioners. However, in November 1865, the commissioners withdrew their recommendation and resigned, following criticism by
James Cowlishaw who claimed none of the submissions was satisfactory. In December 1864, Ellerker wrote a public complaint about the process, but ultimately plans by
Charles Tiffin, the
Queensland Colonial Architect, were selected. Amid controversy and allegations of undue influence on the outcome of the competition, Tiffin donated his prize money for the design to the
Ipswich Grammar School.
Construction On 14 July 1865 the foundation stone for the building was laid by Sir
George Bowen.
20th century Prince Alfred visited Parliament House in 1922 and on 29 February 1922 planted two trees at the entrance. In March 1939, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
George Pollock committed suicide at his office in Parliament House by shooting himself with a shotgun. Led by
George Gray, in August 1939 members of the League for Social Justice marched on Parliament House to protest unemployment, "armed with batons, coils of barbed wire and hammers". They interrupted a meeting of the ALP caucus in the old Legislative Council chambers. Gray and 36 others were charged with unlawful assembly, but were acquitted by a sympathetic jury. In 1969 the Government began to investigate the feasibility and cost of an extension to Parliament House. Three years later the State Works Department and Parliamentary Buildings Committee began planning the building, and designed a
brutalist extension called the Parliamentary Annexe.
Tenders for the Annexe were called in August 1975, and construction began soon after. The Annexe was completed in March 1979 at a cost of $20,000,000. The building is linked to Parliament House, forming a square like the one in Tiffin's original 1864 plan. The square has become known as Speaker's Green and is used for ceremonial purposes. It previously also included a penthouse suite built for then premier Sir
Joh Bjelke-Petersen with a Jacuzzi. ==Design==