Location Washington, D.C. Phone +1 202-797-3000 | Ambassador Joe Hockey Founded 19 July 1946 | |
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Address 1601 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA Hours Open today · 8AM–5PMThursday8AM–5PMFriday8AM–5PMSaturdayClosedSundayClosedMonday8AM–5PMTuesday8AM–5PMWednesday8AM–5PM Similar The White House, Embassy of Canada, Embassy of Ireland, Embassy of India, British Embassy Profiles | ||
The Embassy of Australia in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of the Commonwealth of Australia to the United States. The chancery is located on Embassy Row at 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, at Scott Circle in Washington, D.C.
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The current ambassador of Australia to the United States is Joe Hockey, former Treasurer of Australia, who succeeded Kim Beazley in 2016. He resides at the Australian ambassador's residence located at 3120 Cleveland Avenue, NW. The current Deputy Chief of Mission is Caroline Millar, a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In addition to the embassy, Australian consulates are located in New York City, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Embassy
The embassy 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.
In January 2015 it was reported that the condition of the embassy building 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 the building. A decision was made in 2015 to demolish the embassy 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.
Bakers Creek Memorial
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. 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. 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.