Hotel Kurrajong Canberra History

Located on the National Circuit in Barton, only a short walk from the new Parliament House, the Hotel Kurrajong is an iconic heritage boutique hotel whose origins go back to the birth of Canberra as the nation’s capital and whose corridors are steeped in Canberra’s political history.

Designed in 1924 by the Commonwealth’s Chief Architect, John Smith Murdoch, who also designed Parliament House and the Hotel Canberra (now the Park Hyatt), the Hotel Kurrajong is a fine example of early Commonwealth architecture, influenced by the Prairie style of architects Frank Lloyd Wright and visionary planner of Canberra Walter Burley Griffin.

The hotel has retained many of its finest historic architectural features including the pavilions, deep verandahs and radiating courtyards typical of John Murdoch’s designs, and has also recreated authentic design features such as the Cubist frieze in the lobby copied from original wallpaper discovered during renovations.

Constructed during 1925-26, the Kurrajong was one of the hotels built to accommodate the army of administrative staff and officials transferred from Melbourne to Canberra for the new national capital’s parliament. In May 1927 the hotel hosted officials, guests and press for the official opening ceremony of Parliament and continued as a residence for members of parliament, their families, public servants and casual guests and visitors.

The hotel quickly became the preferred accommodation of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and witness to generations of well-known ALP politicians in its corridors such as wartime Prime Minister John Curtin, his deputy and brief successor as PM Frank Forde, Arthur Dedman, Fred Daly, Eddie Ward, Arthur Calwell, Frank Crean, Bill Hayden, and even a young bachelor MP Paul Keating. These ALP figures rubbed shoulders with politicians from other parties including Paul Hasluk, John McEwen, Jim Killen, Billy Snedden and Larry Anthony.

The Hotel Kurrajong is most famously associated with Ben Chifley who called the hotel his home away home as a Labor MP from 1928 to 1931 and again from 1940 to 1951. As prime minister from 1945 to 1949, he preferred to live at the hotel rather than move into the Lodge. It was here in 1951 while Leader of the Opposition that Chifley that suffered a fatal heart attack.

Faced with closure in the Great Depression, the Hotel Kurrajong survived and flourished under its respected manageress Isabelle Southwell. To meet continued demand for housing in Canberra, two new pavilions were added in 1936, and in 1954 a porch was added to the front entrance.

In 1964 Commonwealth Hostels Ltd undertook a major modernisation of the hotel, including the installation of central heating and ensuites in the bedrooms. With declining patronage, the hotel closed in 1976 and in 1978 became offices for parliamentary staff.

But in 1993 the ACT Government secured a 50-year lease on the Hotel Kurrajong and gave the property a whole new lease of life, re-opening in 1995 as a fully refurbished boutique hotel and the premises of the Australian International Hotel School (AIHS), operated in affiliation with the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University.

In September 2005 the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School (BMIHMS) P/L acquired operation of the AIHS and a 10-year lease on the Hotel Kurrajong.

The hotel continues today as an iconic four-star Canberra hotel as well as a training facility for ambitious hotel management students from all over the world. The hotel’s historic legacy is reflected in its architecture and the names of Chifley’s Restaurant, Isabella’s Cafe and Bar, and the Chifley Room, which has been kept in near-original condition to when it was occupied by its famous guest.

The Hotel Kurrajong will shortly be installing four history panels in the lobby and other areas: The Early Years; Isabelle Southwell and Life at the Kurrajong; Ben Chifley and the ALP at the Kurrajong; and A New Face for the Kurrajong. The front office will also be offering guests a selection of interesting history books for sale.