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Embassy of Australia, Washington, D.C.

Coordinates: 38°54′18″N 77°02′17″W / 38.9051°N 77.0381°W / 38.9051; -77.0381
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Embassy of Australia, Washington, D.C.
Current building hosting the Embassy of Australia
Map
LocationWashington, D.C.
Address1145 17th St, N.W.
Coordinates38°54′18″N 77°02′17″W / 38.9051°N 77.0381°W / 38.9051; -77.0381
AmbassadorArthur Sinodinos
Websitehttp://usa.embassy.gov.au/

The Embassy of Australia in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of the Commonwealth of Australia to the United States. The chancery is temporarily located in the National Geographic Building at 1145 17th Street NW. This temporary location will serves as the embassy for the next three years while the one on Scott Circle is demolished to make way for a brand new chancery to be unveiled in 2022.[1]

The current ambassador of Australia to the United States is Arthur Sinodinos, Australian diplomat and former politician, who succeeded Joe Hockey in 2020. He resides at the Australian ambassador's residence located at 3120 Cleveland Avenue, NW.[2][3] The current Deputy Head of Mission is Paul Myler.[4] In addition to the embassy, Australian consulates are located in New York City, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.[5]

Chancery

See also: List of ambassadors of Australia to the United States

The chancery has featured Australian wine tastings, exhibitions of ceramics by Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, sketches of World War II soldiers by Louis Kahan, paintings of Aboriginal women, and paintings of the Outback by Ben Shearer. A gallery located inside the embassy is open from 10am until 2pm on weekdays.[6][7][8][9][10]

In January 2015 it was reported that the chancery's condition was deteriorating, and that scaffolding and cladding had been erected to prevent parts of the façade from injuring people if they dislodged from the building. At this time the Government was considering options to repair it.[11] A decision was made in 2015 to demolish the chancery and replace it with a new building at a cost of $A236.9 million. Work on the project is scheduled to commence in 2019 with the building being completed in late 2021.[12]

Bakers Creek Memorial

Main article: Bakers Creek air crash

Previously located behind the chancery building was a memorial to the World War II United States Army soldiers who died during the Bakers Creek air crash, the deadliest air disaster in Australian history.[13] Because host countries typically exercise limited jurisdiction over embassies, the Bakers Creek Memorial Association petitioned American politicians to relocate the memorial to Arlington National Cemetery.

Senators Arlen Specter and Bob Casey, Jr. of Pennsylvania inserted language into the 2008 defense authorization bill to relocate the memorial.[13][14][15] On June 11, 2009, a dedication ceremony took place at the memorial's new home in Fort Myer, Virginia, near the Selfridge Gate to Arlington National Cemetery.[16][15][17]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Australia - Country Specific Information". United States Department of State. 2008-03-25. Archived from the original on 2008-06-23. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  2. ^ "His Excellency - Dennis Richardson". The Washington Diplomat. Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  3. ^ "Additional Embassy Work". Monarc Construction Inc. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  4. ^ "DEPUTY HEAD OF MISSION". Australia in the USA. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Embassy, Consulates & Trade Commissions". Embassy of Australia - United States of America. Archived from the original on 2008-07-19. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  6. ^ "From Australia, the Pitcher of Cool Simplicity". The Washington Post. 2006-11-25. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  7. ^ Dawson, Jessica (2006-07-22). "Painting a New Visual Vocabulary". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  8. ^ Dawson, Jessica (2004-11-18). "'Bells' That Don't Ring True". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2016-01-24. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  9. ^ Richard, Paul (2005-04-30). "Louis Kahan, Making Servicemen Look Like Stars". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  10. ^ "To Do". The Washington Post. 2004-05-12. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  11. ^ Millar, Lisa (12 January 2015). "Australian embassy in Washington faces uncertain future as it falls into disrepair". ABC News. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
  12. ^ McIlroy, Tom. "New design unveiled for Australian embassy in Washington DC". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  13. ^ a b Hefling, Kimberly (2007-09-25). "Crash Memorial Without Permanent Home". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  14. ^ Coate, Trish (2009-05-24). "Memorial to WWII crash of plane awaits new home". San Angelo Standard-Times. Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  15. ^ a b "Defense Department News". www.defense.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  16. ^ "Bakers Creek Memorial ceremony pays tribute to War veterans on Army birthday". www.army.mil. Archived from the original on 2020-06-04. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  17. ^ Vogel, Steve (2009-06-12). "40 Killed in 1943 Crash Receive U.S. Memorial". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
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