Just in time for this year's budget, Parliament House has marked 35 years since its official opening on Tuesday.
The date of May 9 is a pivotal day in the history of Australian democracy, with Australia's first Commonwealth Parliament also opening on the day in 1901, and the Provisional Parliament House creating a tradition by opening its doors on the same day in 1927.
"New" Parliament House was opened in 1988 by Queen Elizabeth II, following years of debate and planning about many aspects of its build.
She described the building as "both the living expression of ... Federation and the embodiment of the democratic principles of freedom, equality and justice".
The location was a contentious issue, with debates lasting from the 1950s to the 1970s before the decision of Capital Hill was made in 1974 via the creation of the Parliament Act 1974.
By 1978, support from both then prime minister Malcolm Fraser and opposition leader Bill Hayden led to the establishment of fund allocation to the project, officially setting things in motion.
A competition spanning the globe eventually chose the design of the building, with more than 300 entries from all over the world being shrunk down to one from a firm in New York, Mitchell/Giurgola & Thorpe.
The design was reportedly congratulated for its firm geometry, and how it was "sensitively" designed against the surroundings.
Parliament House consists of 4500 rooms on 240,000 square metres of enclosed space, making it one of the largest buildings in the southern hemisphere. The flag mast measures just over 81 metres, making it one of the tallest stainless-steel structures in the world, too.
Approximately 10,000 workers helped with its build, with about 3000 on site at one time.
About one million cubic metres of earth and rock was removed at the hill to fit the building, with some placed back on top once the building was complete to recreate the original shape.
This was designed to represent that people will remain above the government.
The eventual cost for the building came to be much more than initial estimates of $220 million when the design was chosen in 1978.
At its peak, it was reported that $30 million was spent per month. The final cost for the building was $1.1 billion in 1989.
A lot of controversy emerged as a result of the expenditure, which was blamed on inflation at the time, as well as additions required that were only realised mid-build.
The building was designed to last up to 200 years, with approximately one million visitors each year, and 5000 people working within the building when Parliament meets.
