Hundreds of people have taken what may be their last opportunity to roll down the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra before a proposed security fence blocks access to the lawn.
A Canberra man urged his fellow citizens to descend on Parliament House and roll down its iconic green hills one last time before fencing is installed as part of controversial security upgrades.
Lester Yao came up with the idea last weekend when, as part of a city tour for his visiting cousin, he took her for a roll down the hill.
He put the call out on Facebook late on Monday night, expecting no more than 20 people to join him for a tumble on Saturday morning.
By Wednesday afternoon, more than 1500 people had expressed interest and 272 were going.
"I find it amazing because it's touched so many people who've got their own experiences and thoughts on what it's supposed to be - rolling down the hill, they've had picnics," Mr Yao told AAP.
"We are all proud of what it is and what it represents, the democracy we have.
"For all that to happen on parliament grounds is great and to see it will be going away is a bit of a sad thing."
A raft of proposed security upgrades to the building including new perimeter fencing and more CCTV cameras were approved by both houses of parliament earlier this month, sparking controversy that it would destroy the symbolism of the building by preventing people from walking over the top of their elected representatives.
Mr Yao, an architecture graduate from the University of Canberra, says he met the building's architect Romaldo Giurgola several times and was sad the intention of his design would be destroyed out of fear.
Mr Yao says he's disappointed there's been no consultation with the community about the changes.
But he wants the event to be about having fun and creating memories - "afterwards they can make up their own mind about what should be happening to it".
With AAP
