Former Labor Party favourite the Hotel Kurrajong sells for $7.65 million
Labor Party favourite, the Art Deco-inspired Hotel Kurrajong in Canberra’s Parliamentary precinct, has sold at auction for $7.65 million to Toga Hotels and the NRMA.
The hotel, which has one of its rooms named after Australia’s 16th Prime Minister, Ben Chifley, will retain its name and art deco elegance, Toga Hotels has confirmed.Now heritage listed, the building situated only one kilometre from Capital Hill was constructed in 1926 and designed by the Commonwealth’s chief architect, John Smith Murdoch, also responsible for designing Parliament House and the Hotel Canberra (now the Park Hyatt).
It stands at 8 National Circuit in Barton.
The sales campaign was led by Michael Heather and Paul Powderly of Collier Internation on behalf of the ACT government's Land Development Agency (LDA).
Faced with closure in the Great Depression, the hotel managed to endure under manageress Isabelle Southwell, and over the years has retained most of its historical architectural features, despite being modernised in 1964 and entirely refurbished in 1995.
The property which sits on a 16,426 square metre block provides 117 rooms with both executive and budget rooms available and additionally comes with a brassiere style restaurant, bar and several conference and function rooms.
As one of the first hotels built to accommodate government staff and officials transferring from Melbourne to Canberra for the new federal parliament, Kurrajong quickly became the hotel of choice for the Australian Labor Party (ALP).
One of the most notable guests was Australia’s 16th Prime Minister, Ben Chifley who preferred to reside at Kurrajong rather than The Lodge during his four year tenure in government. The hotel remained his primary place of residence up until his death in 1951 from a heart attack and the room now known as the Chifley room, has become a major drawcard for guests.
Briefly closing down in 1976 and 1978 due to declining patronage the hotel served as offices for parliamentary staff until the ACT Government secured a 50-year lease re-opening it in 1995 as a four star boutique hotel.
