Board members and friends of the centre gathered at the site in Barton on Friday 6 July to mark the commencement of the first stage of the building program.

The project is supported by the Federal Government’s Federation Fund and Charles Sturt University.

The sod was turned by Sir John Overall, known as the man who built Canberra. A keen supporter of the Centre, Sir John was Commissioner of the National Capital Development Commission during the 1960s and a member of the Parliament House Construction Authority. 

The first stage of the building, which is due to open at the start of 2002, includes a chapel, prayer room, hospitality area, landscaping and a “Pilgrim Walk”. The “Pilgrim Poles” and the “Tent of Meeting” currently on the site will be moved and refurbished as part of the first stage.

The Prime Minister John Howard will be inducted as the First Pilgrim when the “Pilgrim Walk” is inaugurated on Wednesday 26 September.

The original vision for the centre was released in November 1996 by the former Governor General, Sir William Deane; former head of the Australian and Torres Strait Islanders Commission, Professor Lowitja O’Donoghue; and the Bishop of the Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn, The Right Reverend Bishop George Browning.