Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I know that I am not the first person to speak in this place about the Elgin marbles, also known as the Parthenon marbles, an issue of great concern for Greek people in my electorate of Cowan and Australia generally. The marbles are a collection of classical Greek marble sculptures and other artworks that were originally fixed to the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. I have never been to Greece but I have been to Rome, and I have seen the ruins of Roman temples and buildings in various parts of the UK and Europe. When you look at these ruins you try to imagine what they were like some 2,000 years earlier. You wish that they were preserved to look just like they were in the years following their construction.

Unlike many of the Roman buildings, the temples and buildings on the Acropolis survived fairly well for a long time after the decline of the Athenian city-state. The buildings of the Acropolis survived well until the 350-year rule of the Ottoman Empire. During that period, in 1687, the Venetians bombarded the Acropolis. That bombardment caused even more damage because the Ottomans had used the Parthenon as a munitions store and the building was damaged with an explosion. In subsequent conflicts further damage was done. There is no doubt that the misuse of the Acropolis by the Ottomans was responsible for significant damage to the building during their 350-year rule over Greece.

In 1801 Athens was still controlled by the Ottoman Empire, and the British Ambassador was Thomas Bruce, or Lord Elgin. Although Lord Elgin was the ambassador from 1799 to 1803, between 1801 and 1812 he or his representatives removed half of the remaining sculptures of the Parthenon, the propylaea and the Erechtheum. The items taken included 247 feet of a total frieze of 524 feet, 15 of the 92 metopes and 17 pedimental figures. There is no doubt that great damage was done to the buildings of the Acropolis in the conflicts leading up to 1801. In spite of the damage caused by the conflicts, many parts of the frieze, statues and other artwork remained fixed to the buildings. The better preserved pieces as well as the damaged pieces all interested Lord Elgin. After receiving a form of authority from the Ottomans, he had much of the marble artwork hacked and sawn off the buildings of the Acropolis. The majesty of what remained became the loot of Lord Elgin and was transported back to England between 1801 and 1812 to be onsold to the British Museum in 1816 for just ₤35,000.

For many years I have been concerned about the presence of the marbles in the British Museum. It is a matter I have discussed with my Greek friends Vic Tountounzis, Savvas Pappasavvas, Paul Afkos, George Georgiou and, most recently, George Chatzopoulos. They have further impressed on me the feelings Greek people have for the marbles. Over the last 200 years there has been a lot of discussion about whether the Ottoman Turks gave permission for the artefacts to be taken away or just taken down for examination. In any case the facts are that, as a result of Lord Elgin’s actions, the British Museum has the sculptures, the statues and the artwork collectively known as the Parthenon marbles. We should never forget that the marbles were created by Greek sculptors more than 2,000 years ago as religious artefacts for the Athenian Acropolis. It should also be stated that the United Kingdom has no cultural link or claim to the marbles.

These are the facts, and the simple yet accurate assessment of the matter is that the Parthenon marbles are cultural artefacts created by the Greek civilisation. The Greek people have always called the Athenian Acropolis ‘home’ regardless of occupation and past oppression. The Parthenon marbles must be sent home. They must be returned to the place where they were created and where they belong. This is my personal opinion. I appreciate that this is a matter between the governments of Greece and the United Kingdom. I also appreciate that both sides of politics here in Australia have an official view, a policy view. But I believe the marbles should be returned to their rightful owners, the people of Greece.