Up to 17 private courtyards are scattered across Parliament House. Photo: Parliament House.
Catherine Roach celebrates 10 years working at Parliament House this year, and with the “public programs team”, is providing tours of the building to the public.
In that time, she’s well and truly learnt that late April and early May is her favourite time of year. Not because of the election, although that’s “exciting and important” and all. But because of the trees.
Tucked away throughout the wings of Parliament House are 17 immaculately landscaped and manicured private courtyards, decorated with a variety of deciduous trees.
Chances are you’ve seen at least one of the trees each year on TV: a red maple dubbed ‘Budget Tree’ because of how it almost always forms the colourful backdrop to the annual budget media conference.
But on 9 and 10 May, Catherine is throwing many of the courtyards open to the public in a series of guided ‘Autumn Tours’.
“Some of the trees are personal friends now,” she says.
“It’s just lovely to see the seasons change and the courtyards with them. It’s just a beautifully landscaped place, and it’s a delight to just go for a walk at lunchtime.”
Most of the courtyards are normally off-limits to the public. Photo: Australian Parliament House.
Catherine’s team has run these courtyard tours each autumn and spring for a few years now, but only for a couple of days each time.
“It is a really unique opportunity, and we love to welcome as many people into this part of the gardens that you can sort of see from the public areas, but this allows you to actually walk around them on the ground, following the lovely red path.”
That said, unlike many of the deciduous trees currently lighting up streets all over Canberra, these do tend to stay colourful for longer.
“The leaves are always falling off as soon as there’s a bit of a breeze or rain, but the nice thing about the courtyards is that they’re quite sheltered,” Catherine says.
Some areas will remain out of bounds, designed with only parliamentarians in mind from the outset (like the Prime Minister’s courtyard).
“But I think this has been one of those wonderful, gradual processes that allows us … to bring the public in to take a moment to see what parliamentarians can actually see.
“It also allows you to see the building from a different angle, a different side, and actually just take in the glorious architecture, the glorious landscape, and just feel like you work here.”
The tours will be held at 10 am, 11 am and noon on Friday 9, and Saturday 10 May, and are open to a maximum of 20 people each.
The tours are held over two days. Photo: Parliament House.
For the first time, however, the middle one on Friday has been designed with “maximum accessibility” in mind.
“We’d like to welcome guests who use wheelchairs, mobility devices, or who actually just prefer a tour at a slower pace, so the experience is much more relaxed movement,” Catherine says.
There’s also the option to add a scone and hot drink from the Queen’s Terrace cafe for an extra $10 on the booking price.
Book a place in an autumn tour through the Australian Parliament House website.
Original Article published by James Coleman on Region Canberra.
