Statement of values

This Cabinet room chair is significant through its association with Cabinet meetings and the Cabinet room itself. Many of the decisions made sitting at the Cabinet table still have an effect upon all Australians, our democratic society, and our relationship with the rest of the world. The Cabinet room chair is significant through its association with important people in Australian political history: all Prime Ministers from 1927 to 1972 and their Cabinet Ministers.

This Cabinet room chair is significant as a component of the Heritage Collection, which comprises those pieces of furniture which were used in the Provisional Parliament House between 1924 and 1988. The collection has associations with the process of government, the ceremonial, administrative, promotional and recreational functions conducted within the building, and with the individuals who governed Australia between 1927 and 1988. The building is a primary example of the Inter War Stripped Classical style of architecture prominent in Canberra’s government architecture of the 1920s to 1940s. The characteristic expression of the building’s style is due to the design work of the Commonwealth’s first government architect, John Smith Murdoch. The Old Parliament House building has a richness of internal fabric and collections, which include the purpose designed furniture and furnishings, that convey the way in which parliamentary functions were conducted, the everyday use of the building, and the hierarchical nature of parliamentary staffing practices. This furniture is significant as it has remained within the building for which it was designed.