NZ Parliament and a Beer

Today was a lovely day weather wise so we took the train into Wellington again. We walked from the train station to Parliament House and found there was a free tour so at the last minute decided to join it. On the tour we saw the three buildings that comprise the New Zealand Parliament. First up was the Executive Building (commonly known as The Beehive) where the day to day work gets done. I guess you can see why they call it The Beehive!

                            

              

Next to it is Parliament House which was finished in 1922, beautifully made of local marble. We went into the Chamber where the House of Representatives sits and like most Parliaments, it's very grand. As they only just had an election last Saturday, there were many new Parliamentarians being taken around on tours and learning the processes.

                            

                            

The third building was the Parliamentary Library, my favourite. Completed in 1899, the interiors were exquisite! Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside any of the buildings.

                            

There is quite a bit of history of fires and earthquakes involved with these buildings but the future looks brighter as back in 1992-1995 the buildings were placed on more than 400 rubber bearings using base isolation techniques. Basically it means that when an earthquake hits, the buildings have the ability to move sideways. Quite an amazing invention, we were taken underneath the buildings to see for ourselves how it was done. After all this history, it was time for a beer and some lunch and The Thistle Inn established in 1840 was just the place. Cheers!