From 1901 to 1927, when Canberra was finally ready for occupation, Melbourne served as the nation's capital. Many government departments stayed on after the majority of the federal public service relocated to its new home. The Defence department was based in Melbourne through both World Wars and stayed at Victoria Barracks until 1960. The department of Dept Employment & Industrial Relations was probably the last to leave its offices at the Tivoli Court building in Bourke Street where it had been from 1975-1978. Most of the buildings occupied by the Commonwealth were leased premises, or transferred temporarily from the State Government. Some however were purpose built, and these buildings, largely the work of the first Commonwealth architect, John Smith Murdoch, still grace Melbourne's streets.