Barton (postcode: 2600) is a suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. At the , Barton had a population of 1,946 people. Barton is adjacent to Capital Hill. It contains the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Attorney-General's Department, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and several other Commonwealth government departments. On Kings Avenue is the controversial Edmund Barton Building, which was made a heritage listed building in 2005, but its modernist design has often been criticized. The boundary of Barton runs along Telopea Park East in the south east. On the east side it surrounds the East Basin of Lake Burley Griffin. In the north east the boundary is Morshead Drive. The boundary continues along Kings Avenue all the way to State Circle. State Circle forms the boundary with Capital Hill to the west. The boundary then extends along the centre of Sydney Avenue, and finally along New South Wales Crescent back to Telopea Park. History Settlement of Barton began in 1922. The first stage of the heritage-listed Barton Housing Precinct began in 1926 and 1927. It was named after Sir Edmund Barton, the father of the White Australia Policy, in 1928. Streets in Barton are named after Governors. The following areas are heritage listed: The Barton Housing Precinct, bounded by Macquarie and Darling streets and Telopea Park, Batman and Currong streets, excluding Brassey Hotel (separately listed), which was built part of John Sulman's "initial city" at Kingston prior to the construction of the current city centre. The first houses were constructed between 1926 and 1927 to meet the urgent need for housing for public servants for the opening of the new Parliament House in Canberra in 1927. The precinct also contains privately built houses designed by early local architects Mitchell, Sproule and Oliphant. The Brassey Hotel, which was completed in 1927 by the Federal Capital Commission in an American Colonial Revival style. The Heritage Council states that "with its garden setting and axial placement at the end of Belmore Gardens," it makes a "major contribution to the urban environment" of the area. The Hotel Kurrajong, which was designed by John Smith Murdoch in the garden pavilion style. It often provided housed politicians, especially from the ALP, for half a century and is particularly noted for being the place of Ben Chifley's death. Telopea Park School, which was designed by John Smith Murdoch in 1922 and opened on 11