The Parliament House that sits proudly on Capital Hill had not yet been built on this day in 1981, as The Canberra Times reported work on the new building was to commence the following week.
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This would be just the beginning of a seven-year construction plan to build the $220 million building.
The first major contract for work on the project was announced by the Minister for the Capital Territory, Mr Hodgman. He said the contract, which was expected to be completed in 41 weeks, was primarily for the excavation and movement of material on the site to create a platform for the new building.
Work was initially intended to commence before Christmas, but after there had been several delays in the letting of tenders, the Parliament House Construction Authority called for fresh tenders on December 2, announcing that they had not received acceptable tenders.
The authority and the project architect, Mr Richard Thorp, made the decision to raise the base of the building by 2.5 metres, requiring a change of quantity of the earth to be moved in the contract.
It was understood that this decision would save up to $1 million in the cost of earthworks alone.
