Old Parliament House is historically very significant as the focus for colonial and democratic government in South Australia in the period 1854 to 1939. The site is also of significance because it contains the remains of the earlier Legislative Council Chamber of 1843. The building is architecturally significant as an example of the Victorian Exotic style which is influenced by Dutch architecture. In this way the Old Parliament Building is a precursor to the Federation Anglo-Dutch Revival style. The building is also important as an indication of the early scale of North Terrace and as a contributing element to the streetscape of public buildings along North Terrace.

The Old Parliament House building has a long and varied history. The basic shape of the building as it is now dates from 1875, but the current building was built over an earlier 1843 Legislative Council Building and the remains of this earlier building exist below the current building. The existing building was constructed in 1854-55 to the designs of W. Bennet Hayes, the Colonial architect, and was intended to replace the original Legislative Council Chamber of 1843. Almost immediately however, South Australia was granted self-government so that a building for a parliament of two houses was required. The House of Assembly took over the new wing and a new chamber for the Legislative Council was hurriedly constructed. Parliament occupied the building until 1889 when the western part of the present parliament house was completed on the site next door. The upper house however, continued to use the old building until 1939, after which it became a wartime recruiting centre, then the state land tax office and finally a railway social club. In 1978 the Constitutional Museum Trust was established to oversee the conservation of the building. This work was undertaken by the state Public Works Department and the Museum opened in August 1980. In February 1986 the Museum building was renamed the Old Parliament House Museum. The two-storey rubble stone building features rusticated brick quoins and dressings, Dutch gables and semi-circular ground floor archways balanced on the upper floor by semi-circular window openings.

 

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