Parliament House, Hobart

Parliament House, Hobart has been the meeting place of the Government of Tasmania since 1841. The building was originally designed as a customs house, and from 1841 until 1904 when the customs offices were relocated, the building served both purposes.It is located on Salamanca Place in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is the home of the Parliament of Tasmania, which is a bicameral parliament consisting of the Tasmanian Legislative Council (Upper House) and the Tasmanian House of Assembly (Lower House).

Establishment of Parliament

The island of Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land was claimed and subsequently settled by Great Britain in 1803. Initially, it was administered by the Governor of New South Wales, as part of that British Colony. In 1825 Tasmania became an independent British colony, administered separately from New South Wales, and the Legislative Council was formed as an appointed six man body to advise the Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land who had sole governance of the colony. The council initially held their meetings in a room adjacent to the old Government House that was located near to the present site of Franklin Square, but by 1841 they relocated their meetings to the 'Long Room' (now the Members' Lounge) in the Customs House.

In 1850 the British Parliament enacted the Australian Colonies Government Act, which gave Van Diemen's Land the right to elect its first representative government....
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