Thursday 8 October 2009

Centennial Park, Federation Pavilion

The Federation Pavilion along the Grand Drive in Centennial Park commemorates the inauguration of the Federation of Australia at this site on 1 January 1901, when it became the focus of the nation. The original Federation Pavilion was an octagonal, domed structure made of plaster of Paris, richly decorated with bas-relief castings of native flora, which had degraded by 1903 and was removed. A replacement timber pavilion built here was later moved to a park in the inner west suburb of Cabarita. This Federation Pavilion is a rotunda designed by Alexander Tzannes, erected in 1988, the Bicentennial year of European Settlement. It was constructed around the 'Commonwealth Stone' as a permanent monument to Federation and features a glass domed ceiling with a colourful design. An inscription around the pavilion is from a poem by Bernard O'Dowd that reads: "Mammon or Millennial Eden". The building was renovated and plaques were added to celebrate the Centenary of the Federation of Australia on 1 January 2001.

16 comments:

  1. Lovely picture of this magnificiant building!!

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  2. Wow! really neat pavilion. The ceiling is amazing, so colourful. I like the way they are protecting the stone.

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  3. Oh how beautiful pictures and interesting post!
    Thanks!
    :-)

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  4. Interesting building. The tiled ceiling is gorgeous!

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  5. Hello JBar. I am glad to have found your blog; beautiful pictures. Would love to come to Australia sometime, meanwhile I'll keep checking your blog for virtual travel. Thanks for sharing (and for visiting our blog). Glad to have found you.

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  6. WOW, the dome is just awesome. Great photos, thanks for sharing.

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  7. What a gorgeous ceiling! So Australia became a country (not a colony) in 1901?

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  8. That's right, EG Tour Guide. The British settled here from 1788 and there were a number of colonies across the continent. They became states and at federation came together to form the Commonwealth of Australia.

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  9. I like the sculptural quality of the building and the ceiling is lovely artistry.
    Nice shots!

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  10. Hello Jim,
    Beautiful picture of this magnificent building .All your posts are really interesting. Right now I am following your blog .

    Thank you for sharing !

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  11. Wonderful pictures, - a very impressive building. Love the tiled ceiling.

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  12. That is a magnificent music building and the skies are so blue.

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Thanks for visiting my blog. Please leave me a message. Jim.

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