Learn about Australia House

Another national day is upon us, for today is Australia Day, so let's examine Australia House on the Strand, the High Commission of Australia. When they were handing out High Commissions, Australia certainly lucked out, with a huge building begun by Dove Brothers in 1913, and finally opened by King George V, in the presence of the Australian Prime Minister, Mr W. M. Hughes, after the First World War Armistice, in summer 1918.


Designed by Scots architects, A. Marshal Mackenzie and Son, the building is certainly impressive, and apparently its interior has the dubious honour of having been used as the set for Gringotts Bank, in a children's film about a young wizard called Harry Potter.

Various Australian Agencies operate from the building, including the National Library of Australia, which has an office charged with collecting printed materials, documents, paintings and photographs relating to Australia. With voting in Australia compulsory, Australia House also sets up as a polling station for at election-time, and we are told that London's large expatriate Australian population means that more votes are cast here than at any polling station in Australia itself.

For more information, visit http://www.uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/History.html