Government House, Sydney

Government House is located in Sydney just south of the Sydney Opera House, and overlooks Sydney Harbour. It was the official residence and remains the official reception space of the Governor of New South Wales, Australia.

Early Government Houses in Sydney

Town House

The abode of the first Governor of New South Wales, Captain Arthur Phillip, was a structure made of canvas and timber brought from England by the First Fleet. Built after the Fleet's arrival in January 1788, a substantial "temporary" government house was located on the corner of what is now Bridge and Phillip streets in Sydney completed by 1789 using English bricks, native stone and a quantity of convict baked sandstock bricks from Sydney. It was extended and repaired by the following eight Governors, but was always in poor condition and was demolished in 1846. It was built according under the direction of James Bloodsworth, a convict builder responsible for the construction of most of the colony's buildings between 1788 and 1800. The house suffered as a result of the poor mortar (made from the lime of crushed sea shells) and white ant infestations and what appeared to be rising damp in later years. Despite these problems, the house was an architectural milestone for Australia, and the first proportionately classical building in the continent. It even included Australia's first staircase. The building adapted quickly to the Australian climate. A verandah was added by Governor King circa 1800 and a drawing room was added in a side wing in the same year. By 1816 Francis Greenway was commissioned to construct a substantial extension and ballroom by Governor Macquarie, transforming Phillip's house into an italianate cottage. The stables commissioned for the house by Macquarie in 1816 still stand in the Botanic Gardens and form a facade for the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. This building is best described as a small castle and retains many of its original features and nostalgic battlements and towers. Much of the "Governor's Domain" to the east of the original house has survived today as the adjacent areas of parkland known as The Domain, the Royal Botanic Gardens, and also the gardens of today's Government House, adjacent to the Sydney Opera House. [http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/web/common.nsf/key/ResourcesSystemTheGovernorofNewSouthWales#Section4] The foundations of this house were excavated by archaeologists in 1983, and they were incorporated into the new Museum of Sydney. [http://www.hht.net.au/museums/mos/main]

Major General Lachlan Macquarie (Governor 1810-1821) was responsible for prompting the construction of many of the colony's first permanent public buildings, and he attempted to build a replacement for the original Sydney Government House. Work was started by the convict architect Francis Greenway, but the project was not approved by the British government, and only the castle-like stables were ever finished. This building now is the nucleus of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. [http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/web/common.nsf/key/ResourcesSystemTheGovernorofNewSouthWales#Section4]

Country House

The desperate search for farmland suitable to sustain crops to feed the new colony led to the establishment of the township of Parramatta and, in 1790, Governor Arthur Phillip built a second residence for himself there. This cottage, as with many of the settlement's earliest structures, was not robustly constructed and fell into disrepair [http://camwest.pps.com.au/heritage/route_sites/site_29.html] ; it was demolished by 1799. However, a precedent for a "country residence" for the Governor had been set.

Other country residences of the Governor included a cottage constructed at Windsor overlooking the Hawkesbury River (circa 1790) and a residence at Port Macquarie (circa 1821) of which the ruins are still visible.

Old Government House (Parramatta)

The poor quality of the original Sydney Government House, as well as crime and unsanitary conditions in the growing Sydney settlement [http://www.nsw.nationaltrust.org.au/properties/ogh/default.asp] convinced successive Governors of the desirability of a rural residence. In 1799 the second Governor, John Hunter, had the remains of Arthur Phillip's cottage cleared away, and a more permanent building erected on the same site.

Later, starting in 1815, Governor Lachlan Macquarie and Mrs Macquarie added extensively to Hunter's structure and by 1818 their principal residence had acquired the appearance which it retains today (the building's Palladian style extensions were designed by Macquarie's aide, Lieutenant John Watts). [http://www.nsw.nationaltrust.org.au/properties/ogh/default.asp]

Out buildings in the Governor's Domain include a mutilated Bath House attributed to Francis Greenway (1822), some stones from an Observatory built for Governor Thomas Brisbane (1821) and a small farm house built by George Salter in 1798 - 1806 and acquired and extended by Governor Lachlan Maquarie in 1816 for use as a dairy.

"Old Government House" is furnished in the style of the early 1820s and is open to visitors. It is situated at Parramatta on convert|260|acre|km2 of parkland overlooking the Parramatta River, and is Australia's oldest public building. The grounds are of particular interest as they are a relatively undisturbed colonial-era reserve surrounded by what is now Australia's largest urban area. The practice of "firestick" land management conducted by the aboriginal Darug tribe, which once dwelt in the area, is evident from certain scars to be seen on trees still standing (their bark being removed to build canoes). Also, shells used to strengthen the mortar used in the House's construction have been found to originate from aboriginal middens. [http://www.nsw.nationaltrust.org.au/properties/ogh/default.asp]

Old Government House and Government Domain were included in the Australian National Heritage List on 1 August 2007.

Government House (Sydney)

In 1835 the British government agreed that a new Government House in Sydney had become a necessity, and the Royal Architect, Edward Blore, was instructed to draw up plans. Construction commenced in 1837 and was supervised by Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis, and Colonel Barney of the Royal Engineers. [http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/web/common.nsf/key/ResourcesSystemTheGovernorofNewSouthWales#Section4] Stone, cedar and marble for the construction were obtained from various areas of New South Wales. A ball in honour of the birthday of Queen Victoria was held in the new building in 1843, although construction was not complete. The first resident, Governor George Gipps, did not move in until 1845. [http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/web/common.nsf/key/ResourcesSystemTheGovernorofNewSouthWales#Section4]

Government House, with its setting on Sydney Harbour, has a garden area of 5 hectares and is located south of the Sydney Opera House, overlooking Farm Cove. It was designed in a romantic Gothic revival style – castellated, crenellated, turreted and is decorated with oil portraits and the coats of arms of its successive occupants. Additions have included a front portico in 1873, an eastern verandah in 1879 and extensions to the ballroom and Governor's study in 1900-01.

From 1845 until 1996 it served as the Governor's residence, office and official reception space. However, since 1996 the Governor, at the direction of the Premiers since Bob Carr, has not used it as a residence, and the Governor's day office has been relocated to the historic Chief Secretary’s Office building nearby, at 121 Macquarie Street. [ [http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/web/common.nsf/key/ResourcesSystemTheGovernorofNewSouthWales#Section5 Resources - The Governor of NSW ] ] This move generated controversy: as the proclaimed cost savings of over $2 million never materialised, the Auditor-General found it cost $600,000 more to maintain the building without a resident Governor; and public attendance decreased (resident Governors had maintained public access during their tenures). This lead the group Australians for Constitutional Monarchy to organise a protest, resulting in one of the largest marches in Sydney history, which blocked Macquarie Street - a major road in Sydney's central business district and the road on which State Parliament House is situated. [ [http://www.norepublic.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=805&Itemid=38 Flint, David; Australians for Constitutional Monarchy: "Why Bob Carr Evicted Our Governors from Government House"; February 8, 2007] ]

Government House is open to the public, although it remains the Governor's official reception space and is frequently used for Vice regal purposes.

Government House was a key meeting venue of APEC Australia 2007 in September, 2007 at which time the political leaders of the 21 member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation met.

ee also

*Government Houses of Australia
* Government Houses in the Commonwealth
*Governors of New South Wales

References

External links

* [http://www.hht.net.au/museums/gh/government_house Official Government House website] (Historic Houses Trust)
* [http://www.nsw.nationaltrust.org.au/properties/ogh/default.asp Official Old Government House website] (NSW National Trust)
* [http://www.nsw.nationaltrust.org.au/sp2005/oghschoolspro05.htm School excursion information - Old Government House]
* [http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national/old-government-house/index.html Australian National Heritage listing for Old Government House and Government Domain]
* [http://camwest.pps.com.au/heritage/route_sites/site_29.html Pictures of Old Government House, Parramatta]