Old Parliament House Fire Damaged Doors

Designed in 1924 by Commonwealth Chief Architect John Smith Murdoch, the doors were in place in 1927 for the official opening of the Provisional Parliament House by the Duke and Duchess of York and the first parliamentary sitting.

Western Australian jarrah was chosen for the doors due to its weather resistance. Jarrah’s density makes it naturally fire-resistant, a choice of wood that helped protect the building from being engulfed in flames during protest activity on 30 December 2021.

ICS conservators inspected the extensively damaged doors, and later removed them for transport from Canberra to Sydney.  Their assessment revealed that restoration was possible, despite serious damage to the top two layers of timber.  The majority of the wood and fittings was salvageable – great news as it was initially feared they had been burnt beyond repair.

Though initially thought lost forever, the brass doorknobs and push panels were excavated from the ashes. The doors will need new glass, new decorative finishing and a new top layer of wood. But the original jarrah core will remain.