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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Friday, 14 May 2004) . . Page.. 2101 ..

of the antiquities; however, the parliament subsequently agreed, 82 votes to 30, to purchase them from him in 1816 for a payment of £35,000.

While the House of Commons ultimately voted in favour of the acquisition of the marbles, many members expressed concern at the manner in which Elgin had used his office to obtain the sculptures. Mr Preston opposed the motion and went on to say at the time “… if ambassadors were encouraged to make these speculations, many might return home in the character of merchants …”. Another member, Mr Bankes, noted that Elgin had “… availed himself of his character as an English Ambassador to facilitate the acquisition ...”.

The Parthenon marbles remain to this day in the British Museum, having been held there for more than 150 years. The Parthenon marbles are priceless antiquities removed without permission and there is no justifiable reason for them to be retained by a foreign government. While what we now regard as cultural pillage was once quite common, it is well and truly time for the British government to make amends to the government and people of Greece and return the Parthenon marbles. In recent years the campaign to return the Parthenon marbles has gained momentum worldwide. I agree with Mr Evangelos Venizelos, the former Greek Minister of Culture, that this is not a Greek heritage issue as much as it is a world heritage issue. Indeed, it is one of the ancient world’s most significant artworks. Mr Venizelos said:

The request for the restitution of the Parthenon Marbles is not made by the Greek government in the name of the Greek nation or of Greek history. It is made in the name of the cultural heritage of the world and with the voice of the mutilated monument itself, that cries out for its marbles to be returned.

The Parthenon has been awarded the status of the UNESCO world heritage site and is recognised as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Parthenon is of immense importance to world heritage and it is vital for the future study and preservation of the monument that all its artefacts be returned.

The Parthenon marbles are almost equally divided—with the surviving sculptures located in two countries 2,400 kilometres apart. For the past two centuries of the Parthenon’s 2,500 years of existence the situation of the sculptural decoration has been: of the 97 surviving blocks of the Parthenon frieze, 56 are in Britain and 40 in Athens; of the 64 surviving metopes, 48 are in Athens and 15 in the British Museum; and, of the 28 preserved figures of the pediments, 19 are in London and nine in Athens. Today, in many cases, one half of a sculpture is in Athens and the other half in London.

During the two centuries of the marbles’ exile, the intelligentsia and leading figures of Britain and all Europe have condemned and continue to condemn Elgin’s disgraceful actions as a desecration. My appeal to the British government to right this wrong is particularly significant, given that Greece, Australia and Great Britain are united in political, military and economic alliances. Our nations are also strongly bound by the ties of friendship. There is also a special poignancy at this time, in the lead-up to the Olympic Games in Athens, attaching to the continuing desecration of this magnificent building.

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