IT WAS the home of Australian democracy for 61 years and renovation work has revealed the Old Parliament House was - like the representatives who graced its interior - in an almost constant state of change.
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From the explosion of ministers required to manage the nation during World War II to the population (and therefore House of Representatives) expansion that followed the peace, a scaffolding tour reveals a multi-generational parliament building.
Museum of Australian Democracy heritage manager Edwina Jans led the first of four booked-out tours on Saturday, with 16 guests donning hard hats, gloves and soft shoe-covering booties to take an unusual look at the walls and roof of the grand old building.
"The project is really a repainting of Old Parliament House but it has required a re-rendering in some places," Ms Jans said.
"As we take off the layers of paint, the bare bones are coming out - from that we can see how the differences of the building show different construction techniques."
Ms Jans said social change was reflected in the building's facilities. "Originally there were no women's toilets in the members or Senate area … new toilets were built in 1943 as Dorothy Tangney and Enid Lyons were elected," she said.
There were a combined 111 senators and members after the 1925 election. By 1987, there were 148 members alone.
Today's heritage-listed building can be broken up into six different construction periods, from the original work completed in 1927 to the addition of the Senate wing and larger prime minister's and upper house president's suites in the 1970s.
While 13 layers of paint were used in the founding, only four - promising to be breathable, not retaining any water - will be left after the latest work, scheduled for total completion next year.
