John McEwen House

John McEwen House
View of the front of the building
Alternative namesNational Party Headquarters, McEwen House
General information
LocationBarton, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
Address7 National Circuit, Barton, ACT 2600
Named forJohn McEwen
Opened4 November 1968; 56 years ago (1968-11-04)
Cost$262,000 (equivalent to $3,645,088 in 2022)
OwnerISPT Pty Ltd[1][2]
Technical details
Floor area12,000 sq. ft[3]

The John McEwen House, or National Party Headquarters, is the head-office, or headquarters, of the Federal National Party.[4] It was officially opened by Prime Minister John Gorton on 4 November 1968.[5] Unlike the Liberal Party Headquarters, the National Party HQ was built in honour of former Prime Minister and National Party Leader John McEwen whom was Deputy Prime Minister (alive) at the time. Whereas the Liberal Party HQ was renamed in honour of Robert Menzies posthumously.[6] The total cost of the building was A$262,000, over $200k of which being donated for the project.[7] As well as being the head-office for the National Party it also serves offices of other organisations,[7] including the Argentine embassy,[8] and the National Party think tank: the Page Research Centre.[9]

John McEwen House was sold to superannuation fund ISPT Pty Ltd in April 2020 for approximately $15 million, with the Nationals remaining as tenants under a leaseback arrangement.[10]

  1. ^ "John McEwen House – 7 National Circuit, Barton ACT". trinitylaw.com.au. Trinity Law. 28 May 2020.
  2. ^ "John McEwen House". ispt.net.au. ISPT Super Property.
  3. ^ "Country Party Headquarters". The Canberra Times. 14 June 1968.
  4. ^ "National Party – Contact". nationals.org.au. National Party.
  5. ^ "OPENING OF JOHN McEWEN HOUSECANBERRA, A.C.T. – Speech by the Prime Minister, Mr John Gorton" (PDF). Prime Minister Transcripts. 4 November 1968.
  6. ^ Peake, Ross (22 June 1994). "Libs to unveil revamped HQ". The Canberra Times.
  7. ^ a b "McEwen House Opened". The Canberra Times. 22 November 1968.
  8. ^ "EMBAJADA EN AUSTRALIA". eaust.cancilleria.gob.ar. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship.
  9. ^ "Page Research Centre – Connect". page.org.au.
  10. ^ Fuary-Wagner, Ingrid (29 April 2020). "ISPT bulks up in Canberra as Sydney deal crumbles". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 7 April 2023.