The site of the first Government House
Standing on the land of the Gadigal people, Australia’s first Government House was a symbol of British authority, with all that that meant to different people, both then and now.
On 15 May 1788, on an elevated site overlooking Sydney Cove, Governor Arthur Phillip laid the foundation stone for what was intended as a temporary house until a more substantial residence could be built to the west. Instead, it became the heart of the home and office of the first nine governors of NSW – a venue for public and private entertaining, and the scene of significant decisions and events in our history. Successive governors repaired, altered and extended the house, even as they complained bitterly of its condition and unsuitability, and made plans for other accommodation.
After the present Government House was completed in 1845, the ‘old’ house was promptly demolished, but the core site remained largely undeveloped. In 1983, archaeologists uncovered the foundations of the first Government House, paving the way for today’s Museum of Sydney.
… I am building a small cottage on the east side of the cove, where I shall remain for the present with part of the convicts and an officer’s guard.
… the Old House … erected by Governor Philip [sic] … has been added to and altered by every Successive Governor … a New House suitable to the purpose is urgently required.
Stories from the first Government House
Browse all![[First Government House, Sydney] / watercolour drawing by John Eyre](https://api.mhnsw.au/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.slm.com.au%2Ffotoweb%2Fembed%2F2022%2F11%2F8b76679c68c649dbb0ab45cfb954e5fb.jpg&w=1920&h=400&fit=inside&format=webp)
Museum stories
First encounters
The Museum of Sydney is built on and around a site that links us to the very beginnings of modern Australia
Museum stories
Life at Government House in the Macquarie era
Historian Jane Kelso describes a busy schedule of social gatherings and official events at Sydney's Government House during the governorship of Lachlan Macquarie
After the first Government House
Remarkably, the site of the first Government House remained largely undeveloped for more than 140 years before the Museum of Sydney was built, despite numerous schemes for this valuable piece of CBD land
Modelling the first Government House
A beautifully crafted scale model shows, for the first time, the final form of Sydney's original government house, having grown from a basic six-room home to the rambling edifice, eventually demolished in 1845-1846
Lost gardens of Sydney
The stories of Sydney’s lost gardens are an entreaty for Sydney to cherish its heritage and to ensure the creation of new gardens that can provide pleasure and inspiration for generations to come
First Government House foundation plate
When the foundation plate was rediscovered in 1899 the site of first Government House was a distant memory
Governor Phillip Memorial at first Government House
In 2014 a sixty-year-old memorial to Governor Arthur Phillip was installed at the Museum of Sydney on the site of Australia’s first Government House
Museum stories
Demolished: first Government House
Built on a prominent rise overlooking Sydney Cove, first Government House served as the official residence and administrative office for the first nine governors of New South Wales
Archaeology of the first Government House
Archaeological excavations in the 1980s and 90s uncovered the foundations of Australia’s first Government House along with approximately 140,000 artefacts
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