Page 512 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 19 February 2020

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(e) designing several buildings across Australia, such as the Capitol Theatre in Melbourne and numerous residential estates along the Sydney Harbour headlands; and

(f) influencing the field of architecture, such as being credited as one of the first designers to incorporate the idea of a carport into a residential design;

(2) notes that after leaving Canberra, Walter Burley Griffin:

(a) moved to India to design several new buildings, including a library for the University of Lucknow; and

(b) passed away on the 11th of February 1937 in Lucknow, India, where his gravesite continues to stand;

(3) further notes the existing efforts to commemorate his contribution to Canberra, including:

(a) the naming of Lake Burley Griffin;

(b) the viewing area on top of Mount Ainslie was renamed Marion Mahony Griffin View in 2013;

(d) the Australian Government’s National Capital Plan is the strategic plan for Canberra and the Territory and it ensures (amongst other things) “respect for the key elements of the Griffins’ formally adopted plan for Canberra”;

(e) numerous architectural drawings held in the National Library of Australia; and

(f) numerous archival materials held in the National Archives of Australia; and

(4) calls on the ACT Government to:

(a) acknowledge the significant contribution to our capital and consider naming future public places, for example, street names after Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin; and

(b) investigate how we can see further recognition of Walter Burley Griffin’s gravesite in Lucknow.

Today I stand to discuss the lives and significant impact of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, and how we endeavour to recognise them in the future. The contribution they have made to Canberra, our surrounding regions and the field of architecture has been immense. Despite existing efforts to commemorate this impact, I believe there is more that could be done to commemorate their lives in the ACT and to respect Mr Griffin’s final resting places in Lucknow, India.

As everyone in this chamber would know, Mr Griffin played a crucial role in the final design of our beautiful city. Following an international design competition launched by the Australian government in 1911, Griffin submitted designs and beat 136 other entrants to win the competition. His success led him to move to Canberra permanently and take on the role of federal capital director of design and construction. In this role,

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