The Intrepid Museum, its future resting place, held a small welcomeceremony for several hundred guests, who included Leonard Nimoy and Senator Charles Schumer.
The distinctive sound of the didgeridoo - part of a welcome to country ceremony performed in the presence of Aboriginal elders - marked the opening day of the new parliament.
For the athletes, the closing ceremony is traditionally a welcome chance to blow off the steam of the previous two weeks of dogged determination and competition at the highest level.