The Lodge (Australia)
| The Lodge | |
|---|---|
 |
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Inter-War, Georgian Revival |
| Address | 5 Adelaide Avenue, Deakin, Australian Capital Territory, Australia |
| Coordinates | 35°18′39″S 149°07′00″E / 35.310818°S 149.116547°ECoordinates: 35°18′39″S 149°07′00″E / 35.310818°S 149.116547°E |
| Current tenants | Malcolm Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia and Lucy Turnbull |
| Construction started | 1926 |
| Completed | 1927 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Percy A. Oakley and Stanley T. Parkes |
The Lodge is the primary official residence of the Prime Minister of Australia, and is situated in the national capital, Canberra. It is located at 5 Adelaide Avenue, Deakin. It is one of two official prime ministerial residences, the secondary official residence being Kirribilli House in Sydney.
The Lodge is a 40-room Georgian revival style mansion, located on 18,000 square metres (4.4 acres) of landscaped grounds. The origin of its name is unknown. It was built as a temporary measure, to be occupied by whoever was the Prime Minister "until such time as a monumental Prime Minister's residence is constructed, and thereafter to be used for other purposes". The original "Prime Minister's cottage" was built in 1926–1927 at a base cost of £25,000 and an eventual total of "£28,319, including the landscaping of 2.8 hectares of grounds, construction of a tennis court and croquet lawn, and furnishing and interior decoration". The architects were Percy A. Oakley and Stanley T. Parkes of Melbourne; the builder was J. G. Taylor of Sydney. Ruth Lane Poole of Melbourne was responsible for interior design and furnishing, as she had been for the Governor-General's residence, Government House. The Lodge was intended as one of a set of three official residences, the others to be for the presiding officers of the Parliament of Australia (the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate), but the others were never built.
The first Prime Minister to live in The Lodge was Stanley Bruce. He and his wife Ethel (they had no children) moved in on 4 May 1927, five days before the official opening of the then Parliament House on 9 May. When he was Leader of the Opposition, Bruce's successor James Scullin (1929–32) had objected to the cost of running The Lodge and, true to his word, he and his wife lived at the Hotel Canberra (now the Hyatt Hotel) during his premiership. However the next Prime Minister, Joseph Lyons, chose The Lodge, and all subsequent Prime Ministers have used it as their primary place of residence, except for:
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