My Australian History Journey: Government House, Sydney – The Domain and Royal Botanic Garden – Blore's Gothic Castle, Its Thirteen Bedrooms, the Governors Who Lived There and Governor Margaret Beazley

Sunday, November 1, 2026

Government House, Sydney – The Domain and Royal Botanic Garden – Blore's Gothic Castle, Its Thirteen Bedrooms, the Governors Who Lived There and Governor Margaret Beazley – 1845 to Today

Drive in past the Conservatorium, through the gates off Macquarie Street, and there it is: a sandstone castle with turrets, battlements and Gothic windows, on a lawn above Farm Cove with the Opera House just beyond the trees. This is Government House, home of the Governors of New South Wales since 1845. Here's its story: how it came to be built, how it's laid out inside, how many bedrooms it has, who has lived there, and who lives there now.

Government House, Sydney, from the drive, 2015. Image: Maksym Kozlenko, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Before the Castle: Phillip's House on Bridge Street

NSW Parliament's history page says the first governor's residence was a canvas and timber structure that Arthur Phillip brought out on the First Fleet in 1788. A more permanent house followed that same year on what is now the corner of Bridge and Phillip Streets, where the Museum of Sydney stands. It was "extended and patched up over the years by successive governors but was always in poor condition", and governors much preferred their country house at Parramatta. The Governor's own website says that after nearly fifty years the Bridge Street house "had become worn and dilapidated".

The first Government House on Bridge Street, about 1809, by John William Lewin. Image: John William Lewin (1770-1819), via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

The old Government House and its grounds in 1819, by Joseph Lycett. Image: Joseph Lycett, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

First Government House in 1833, near the end of its life. Image: unknown artist, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

Macquarie's Castle That Never Was

Governor Macquarie wanted a grand new residence and had his convict architect Francis Greenway design one, a Gothic castle. London refused to pay. Parliament's history says that "only the stables, designed by convict architect Francis Greenway, were erected". That "castle-like structure" is now the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. The Governor's site says the stables, finished in 1821, influenced both where the new house went and what style it was built in. I've written about the stables in Sydney Conservatorium of Music – The Old Government House Horse Stables.

Greenway's castellated Government House stables, painted by Conrad Martens in 1842. Image: Conrad Martens, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

Edward Blore's Design

In 1835 the British government finally agreed that a new Government House was essential (NSW Parliament). The commission went to Edward Blore, "at the time Special Architect to William IV, and responsible for completing parts of John Nash's design of Buckingham Palace", in the Governor's own words. Blore never came to Australia. He drew the plans in London, and the colony built them.

Edward Blore (1787–1879), the London architect who designed Government House, Sydney, without ever setting foot in the colony. Image: Georg Koberwein (1820–1876), via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

The Australian Heritage Database explains that the local architect "had the responsibility of altering the plans to suit local conditions". By the time Governor Bourke left in December 1837 the design had been modified, tenders let and some foundations laid. Official approval from London arrived 15 to 18 months after work had started. The man in charge was the Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis, with William Moir as Clerk of Works. Colonel George Barney of the Royal Engineers also helped, according to Parliament and the Dictionary of Sydney.

Building It, 1837–1845 (or 1847)

Sources disagree slightly on the dates. The Governor's website says construction "finally began" in 1836. NSW Parliament and the Dictionary of Sydney say 1837. The Heritage Register gives construction years of 1837–1847. Parliament says the materials were local: sandstone from Sydney quarries, cedar from the Shoalhaven and Hunter districts, and marble from inland NSW. A Queen's Birthday Ball was held in the unfinished house in 1843. Governor Sir George Gipps and his wife moved in in June 1845. The Dictionary of Sydney adds that the house "was ready for occupation in 1845 but was not completed until two years later". Old Government House on Bridge Street was demolished.

The new Government House rising behind the stables tower in 1841, painted by Conrad Martens. Image: Conrad Martens, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

Government House in 1857–58, photographed by Matthew Fortescue Moresby (Royal Australian Historical Society). Image: Royal Australian Historical Society, via Wikimedia Commons (no known copyright restrictions).

The Architecture: A Romantic Gothic Castle

NSW Parliament describes the style as "a romantic Gothic revival style – castellated, crenellated, turreted and bedecked with the coats of arms of its occupants over time". The Governor's site calls it "Tudor-Gothic … an imposing box-like form with castellated walls and towers". An older version of the same site, archived in 2013, calls it "the most sophisticated example of Gothic Revival architecture in the colony". The Heritage Register describes "a Gothic Revival two storey building with crenellated battlements, turrets, detailed interiors, extensive cellars and a porte cochere at the entrance". It's built of stone, with a slate roof, timber floors, unpainted cedar joinery and a stone-flagged verandah.

Government House from the north-east, 1872, photographed by Charles Percy Pickering. Image: Charles Percy Pickering, NSW Government Printer, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

The entrance porch, photographed by Pickering in 1872, a year before the new portico was added. Image: Charles Percy Pickering, NSW Government Printer, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

A stereograph of Government House from the early 1860s (Powerhouse Museum). Image: Powerhouse Museum from Sydney, Australia, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

Additions

Parliament lists the main additions: "a front portico in 1873, an eastern verandah in 1879 and extensions to the ballroom and Governor's study in 1900–01". The Heritage Register credits the portico and the arcade, the open cloister on the east side, to Colonial Architect James Barnet. It says this cloister "forms a verandah room which is supported by Gothic arches and forms an open balcony above". Other buildings in the grounds include the Lodge of about 1846, "a copy of a guard house at Windsor Castle", the Chalet of about 1890 by W. L. Vernon, and a 1937 brick gatehouse.

Government House across Farm Cove from Fort Macquarie, about 1880 (Australian National Maritime Museum). Image: Australian National Maritime Museum on The Commons, via Wikimedia Commons (no known copyright restrictions).

The house and its terrace about 1900 (Powerhouse Museum). Image: Powerhouse Museum, Tyrrell Collection, via Wikimedia Commons (no known copyright restrictions).

The Lyon, Cottier Interiors

The house's great treasure is inside. Museums of History NSW says that in 1879 Barnet "commissioned the firm Lyon, Cottier & Co to decorate the state room interiors of Government House", partly to welcome the incoming governor Lord Augustus Loftus. The work shows the influence of the Aesthetic Movement. The drawing-room ceiling has "hand-painted medallions of pre-Raphaelite style allegorical portraits of the four seasons and night and day", set among stencilled flowers and vases. The friezes and dados borrow from "neo-Egyptian, neo-Grecian and Anglo-Japanese" ornament. The Australian Heritage Database says the Lyon and Cottier state rooms are "one of the finest examples of high art, interior design in Australia", and that the house's colonial furniture and portrait collections are "of national importance".

Lady Honor and Lady Morvyth Ward, daughters of Governor-General Lord Dudley, reading in a room at Government House, about 1908–11. Photograph by A. J. Perier. Image: Perier, A. J. (Albert James), via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

How Many Bedrooms?

Two official sources give the same figure: thirteen bedrooms. The Heritage Register says "the ground floor contains twelve rooms and the first floor contains thirteen bedrooms", with "extensive staff offices and quarters" as well. NSW Parliament's page also says 12 rooms, "mostly for official purposes", on the ground floor and 13 bedrooms, but it puts them "on the second floor". The building is two storeys, so the Heritage Register's "first floor" is the better description. The Australian Heritage Database lists the twelve ground-floor rooms, including "an inner, outer and main hall, study, dining room, ante room, drawing room and ballroom". The count has changed over time. The Heritage Register says that for Prince Charles and Princess Diana's Bicentenary visit in 1988, "Bedrooms 4 and 5 were linked with a new door way", making the three-room Windsor Suite. I couldn't find a published count for the staff bedrooms in the service wings, or for the Chalet and the cottages in the grounds. In 1989 the potting shed was turned into a two-bedroom staff cottage.

Who Lived There

From Gipps in 1845 the house was home to the governors of New South Wales. At Federation it also became home to the Governor-General. The Australian Heritage Database explains that rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne meant both Government Houses were made official residences "of equal status". The first five Governors-General used the Sydney house until 1912, when the NSW Government "sparked a major controversy by effectively evicting the Governor-General". The same source lists the house's place in big events, including "the formation of the first Federal ministry; the first Federal Executive Council meeting … the sacking of Premier Lang". That was Governor Sir Philip Game's dismissal of Jack Lang in May 1932.

A garden party at Government House on 9 May 1935, photographed by Sam Hood. Image: Sam Hood, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

Government House in 1938 (Royal Australian Historical Society). Image: Royal Australian Historical Society, via Wikimedia Commons (no known copyright restrictions).

The royal garden party at Government House during the Queen's 1963 visit. Image: State Archives and Records NSW, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

The gardens grew with the governors and their wives. The Heritage Register mentions Governor Denison's five-acre vegetable garden, the 1869 Eastern Terrace with its fountain, the Countess of Belmore's palm grove of the 1870s, and Lady Game's "Spring Walk" of the 1930s. The Western Terrace, from 1836–45, is the oldest part of the garden.

The Eastern Terrace, laid out in 1869, looking towards the harbour. Image: Wpcpey, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The garden front and terrace, 2024. Image: Paora, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).

1996: The Governor Moves Out

In 1996 Premier Bob Carr decided the new governor, Gordon Samuels, would not live at Government House. The Heritage Register says Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair "was the last NSW Governor to reside at Government House" before the change. In March 1996 the Historic Houses Trust of NSW, now Sydney Living Museums, took over staffing and management, and the house and grounds were opened to the public. The Governor's office moved to the Chief Secretary's Building in Macquarie Street. The Daily Telegraph later called Carr "an ardent republican" and said the move was "criticised at the time as an attempt to downgrade the governor's role". Under the Trust, the Heritage Register says, "almost 2 million people" visited by 2011.

Government House with the city skyline behind, 2017. Image: Sardaka, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

2011–2014: The Governors Come Home

On 7 October 2011, ABC News reported that Premier Barry O'Farrell would reverse Carr's decision and that Governor Marie Bashir and her husband, Sir Nicholas Shehadie, would move back. They were to live first in "the chalet, which adjoins the main Government House structure" while the main house was refurbished. The public would keep its access. Sources give different years for when the governor was fully back. The Heritage Register says that in December 2013 the house "resumed its role as the official Residence". NSW Parliament says "in 2013 the Governor resumed occupancy". Management passed from Sydney Living Museums back to the Office of the Governor at that time. General David Hurley, who took over in October 2014, told the Guardian he would live at Government House. Each governor since has lived there.

Government House seen from above, between the city and the harbour, 2024. Image: Paora, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).

The Governor Today

I checked the Governor's official website on 1 November 2026. It describes Government House as "the Official Residence and Office of Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley 39th Governor of New South Wales and Mr Dennis Wilson". She is "the 28th Governor to occupy this Government House and has held the position since 2 May 2019". Her vice-regal program shows her receiving visitors and presiding at the Executive Council at Government House in the last week of October 2026. Thousands of people still come every year for open days, investitures, receptions and charity events.

The western side of the house, 2024. Image: Paora, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).

The forecourt and flagpoles at the entrance, 2024. Image: Paora, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).

Government House on an open day in January 2024. Image: Paora, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).

The gates of Government House, 2023. Image: Lachlan Andrews, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

References

Governor of New South Wales, "History" (governor.nsw.gov.au/government-house/history), and the Vice-Regal Program, fetched 1 November 2026.
Parliament of NSW, "Government House".
Heritage NSW, State Heritage Register, "Government House, Movable Heritage Collection and Gardens".
Australian Heritage Database, "Government House, Sydney" (Place ID 102246) and Register of the National Estate entry (Place ID 1866).
Dictionary of Sydney, "Government House".
Museums of History NSW, "The red drawing room at Government House".
ABC News, "NSW Governor returns to harbour-side house", 7 October 2011; Daily Telegraph, 7 October 2011; The Guardian, 5 June 2014.

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