Australia House And Its Hidden 900 Year Old well

Australia House is one of the buildings I have talked about for years now on my Hidden Strand: Power, Wealth and Empire tour. I had never however been lucky enough to see inside, until very recently. 

It is the Australian High Commission, i.e. the Australian diplomatic mission in the UK. It is not an embassy, because Australia is part of the Commonwealth, so they have a high commissioner, not an ambassador. Australians living in London will possibly be familiar with Australia House as the place for passport administration and voting in Australian elections. 

It also has a spectacular interior and conceals a 900 year old sacred well…

Remnants Of Old London

Australia House can be found on the corner of Strand and Aldywch, its prow, if you like, pointing to the East.

The name Strand comes from the old English for ‘beach’, as it followed the curving foreshore of the Thames. It was, for centuries, part of the royal processional route through London, from Westminster to the City. 

Prior to the late 19th century, where Aldwych and Kingsway can be found today, was a network of old medieval lanes, alleyways and courtyards. It was a surviving pocket of medieval London really, with some of the last remaining pre-Great Fire of London housing in the city. The name ‘Aldwych’, by the way, comes from the Old English for ‘Old town’, because this was where the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Lundenwic was located from the 7th-9th centuries.

The area also had a slightly seedy reputation in the Victorian period. There was a road called Holywell Street, which was a bookseller’s row, but also, was apparently infamous as a location for acquiring pornographic material. ‘All manner of indecent publications and prints’ could be acquired there. The adjacent Wych Street was narrow, crowded and known for its rough taverns. Maintained and restored, these streets would no doubt be incredibly picturesque if they still survived today.

Out With The Old

This pocket of old London was not seen as worthy of the Imperial city that London had become. The Wych Street area was therefore chosen as the location of a new, deliberate dramatic street plan. Inspired by the grand street planning in Paris or Barcelona, for example, they wanted to create a processional route worthy, as they saw it, of the city’s place in the world and to have it as a way of displaying the might of the British Empire at the time. Part of the site was used for the building of the Royal Courts of Justice, finished in 1882. The rest was swept away for the laying out of Aldwych and Kingsway from 1902-1904.

The route then from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square and down the Strand to St Paul’s Cathedral was to be the focus of a host of new embassies and high commissions. Australia House was the first to be constructed, but this was followed by the establishment of Canada House on Trafalgar Square in 1925, South Africa House in 1931 on the corner of Trafalgar Square and India House on the opposite end of the crescent of Aldwych.

A ‘Lasting Monument’

The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 with the federation of its six colonies. It became then a self-governing dominion within the British Empire. Full legislative autonomy and the severing of the final legal ties from the UK was only finally achieved with the Australia Act of 1986. Although the King is still the head of state, his constitutional authority (basically entirely ceremonial and symbolic) is exercised through the Governor General in Australia. 

In 1906 the Federal Government sent its first Official Secretary to London to represent Australia and the Federal Government held an architectural competition for the design for its diplomatic mission. The submission that won was by A Marshall Mackensie and Son architects. The judging panel was led by Australian artists including Bertram Mackennal, John Longstaff and Arthur Streeton. The Mackensie design was described as “a lasting monument to the importance of the Commonwealth and a splendid addition to the architecture of London.” Australia’s chief architect of that period, J. S. Murdoch came to London also to work on the project. 

Constructing Australia House

The foundation stone was laid on 24 July 1913 by King George V. A crowd, mostly made up of Australians, gathered and there were apparently enthusiastic shouts of “Coo-ee”. The Daily Express reported “it started suddenly and drew into a long-drawn, plaintive cry, which swelled and died again and again, coming to Londoner’s ears with almost startling novelty.”

Construction was delayed with the outbreak of World War One but the building was finally completed in 1918. It was the first Australian diplomatic mission in the world and is today the longest continuously occupied diplomatic mission in London. 

Details To Spot On The Outside

Overlooking the building at the top is a dramatic bronze group of Apollo, the Ancient Greek god of the sun. He is depicted with the quadriga (four horses) rising out of the sea. This ensemble aims to represent the ‘rising sun’ and the birth of a new country. 

Between the columns over the entrance is the coat of arms of Australia, with the kangaroo and emu supporters.

Australia is the only country where kangaroos and emus exist naturally, so they are fitting emblems. There is also a story that those animals were picked because they cannot walk backwards and therefore represent Australia’s continuous progress, always moving forward. 

Either side of the main entranceway are two large pyramidal sculpture groups by a Queensland-raised sculptor called Harold Parker.

The sculpture on the right is called the ‘Awakening of Australia’. It depicts a woman, representing Australia, being woken up by English explorers (naturally, a very outdated, early 20th century, view of the ‘discovery’ of Australia). The one on the left is called the ‘Prosperity of Australia’, depicting a rams head and bushel of wheat. 

Along the side of Australia House you will see the flags of the Australian states, the Aboriginal flag and the flag of the Torres Strait Islands. The line-up currently also includes the Ukrainian flag.

A Magnificent Hall

The building was clearly designed to impress and you enter into the spectacular 160 foot exhibition hall. On display is 1,200 tonnes of Australian marble, crystal chandeliers and a glass-covered rotunda above. 

Harry Potter fans may well recognise it, as it was used as the interior of Gringotts Bank in the first film. It was recreated on a set for the last film. 

Two marble spiral staircases with brass handrails wind up through the six floors. I was told that these are the longest continuous brass handrails in London. 

The Boomerang Club and Ten Pound Poms

Below is the cinema room, used for various events and functions. Again, the three flags (Australian National Flag, Aboriginal Flag and Torres Strait Islands) are present. 

This was the room that hosted the Boomerang Club during World War Two. The Boomerang Club was for members of the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) personnel on leave in London. They could come here to play billiards, eat, have drinks and generally kick back and relax. 

It was also here that Brits would be signed up to be ‘Ten Pound Poms’. After the Second World War the Australian government ran the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme, which allowed travel to Australia from the UK for just £10 (I have just booked a flight to Australia to see my family there and it cost be rather more than that, I can tell you. Mind you the journey took them generally 5-7 weeks by ship, so I can’t complain). They would then be obligated to stay in Australia for at least two years and many stayed forever. 

The Downer Room

The Downer Room is named after Sir Alexander Downer, High Commissioner from 1964-1972. His son (also Alexander Downer) is also a prominent Australian politician serving as Foreign Minister from 1996-2007 and High Commissioner from 2014-2018, following in his father’s footsteps. 

The wood panels are made from Australian Black Bean from Queensland and New South Wales and the marble is Caleula Marble from NSW. The tapestry at the end of the room is Flemish and dates from the 16th century.

It was gifted to Australia House in 1970 by the family of the architect of Australia House, Alexander Mackenzie. It is currently being professionally cleaned and restored before it is rehung and has temporarily been replaced with a tapestry created by a group of 17 female artists from the Aboriginal Kiwirrkurra community in Western Australia. You can see the new tapestry here.

A Hidden 900 Year Old Well

When Australia House was constructed, an ancient well was uncovered. It is estimated to be at least 900 years old and was once thought to have sacred and healing properties. Medieval Londoners possibly gathered at the well here for centuries.

In fact, you can see it marked on the Ordnance Survey Map of 1894.

The well naturally gave its name to Holywell Street, mentioned previously. There are a few natural springs in this area of the city, probably fed by the, now subterranean, River Fleet, one of London’s ‘lost’ rivers. There is another underneath the Royal Courts of Justice carpark and I wrote recently about the natural spring that feeds the nearby Strand Lane ‘Roman Bath’. 

In 2016 scientific testing determined that the water from the well was clean enough to drink. 

The Roof

From the bottom right to the top, I was also lucky enough to be taken up onto the roof of the building. It is always fun to get different perspectives of these areas of London.

Visiting Australia House 

Australia House is not regularly open to the public. I was shown around by two very lovely members of staff, including, as you have seen some restricted areas. 

It opened this year (2025) for the Open House festival. It is well worth keeping an eye out for the festival next September to see if they open again. You can sign up here. That is probably your best bet for seeing the inside of this amazing building.

Thank you very much for reading, more of London’s amazing historical spots below.