The Parliament House Embroidery hangs in the gallery above the Great Hall in Parliament House, Canberra. This stunning 16-metre long and 0.65-metre high embroidery was instigated by ACT Guild member Dorothy Hyslop, designed by Kay Lawrence and worked by 500 Guild members from all States and Territories in Australia.
The embroidery is worked in eight sections, one for each State and Territory. It begins with a landscape as the Aborigines knew it, goes on to show how the land has been altered and, in some instances disrupted, by European settlement and ends on a more optimistic note with a final landscape showing reaffirmation of the land.
The panels are worked on Glenshee linen twill, using Appletons crewel wool and various other threads.
The project was a huge undertaking that began in 1980 and finished in 1988. It involved many meetings between the Parliament House Art Advisory Committee, the architects Mitchell, Giurgola and Thorp, the designer and the State and Territory Guilds and their supervisors.
The Parliament House Embroidery was funded by the Embroiderers' Guilds of Australia and was presented to the presiding officers of the Parliament in May 1988 as a gift to the nation.
Early in 1980, the ACT Embroiderers' Guild, at the instigation of Guild member Dorothy Hyslop, proposed the production of a major embroidery. The new Parliament House Joint Standing Committee was delighted to accept this offer.
By 1981 all of the embroidery guilds in the States and Territories had agreed to be involved. Detailed research commenced into fabric and threads to be used.
In 1982, Josephine Carter of the Australian National Gallery began to assist with conservation details. an outline of the project's management and likely cost was determined and presented to the Parliament House Construction Authority.
This authority, in 1983, agreed in principle for the embroidery project to proceed and provided funds for a competition to select an appropriate design. The first floor of the Reception Hall was selected as the location of the Embroidery. Six artists, who were not embroiderers, were each invited to submit a design.
Kay Lawrence from South Australia was announced as the design competition winner in 1984.
During 1985 the process of producing the embroidery begain: linen fabric was bought, threads selected, samplers produced and assessed, and the linen prepared for the final embroidery pieces to be commenced. Anne Richards from Melbourne was appointed National Coordinator.
Early in 1986 Kay Lawrence and anne Richards each State and Territory to assess and approve the second round of samplers. The stitching of the embroidery was commenced. The embroidery stitching was completed in 1987, and all embroidery panels were sent to Canberra where they were prepared to be included in the embroidery. The task of joining the panels was commenced.
The joining of the embroidery was finished in 1988. The embroidery was then mounted in its case for display and finally handed over to the Presiding Officers of the Parliament. On 25 May 1988 the embroidery was officially presented to the people of Australia at a function at the new Parliament House.
(prepared by Louis Evans, ACT Panel Supervisor, and Betty Bourke, ACT Panel Section Leader, Parliament House Embroidery)
A detailed explanation of the development of the new Parliament House Embroidery can be found in the book entitled The Parliament House Embroidery: a work of many hands written by the Parliament House Embroidery Committee. The book can be purchased at the new Parliament House bookshop.