The Government Domain - Next To The Royal Botanical Gardens - Macquarie Street - Sydney - NSW

The Domain is a large public park located in Sydney, New South Wales, situated to the east of the Sydney Central Business District (CBD) and adjacent to the Royal Botanic Garden. It has a rich history and has played various roles over the years. Here's an overview of the history of the Domain:

1. Early Land Use: The land on which the Domain now stands was originally part of the traditional lands of the Gadigal people, the indigenous inhabitants of the Sydney area. After European colonization, the land was initially used for farming and as a source of food for the early settlers.

2. Colonial Government Farm: In the early 19th century, the Domain was designated as a government farm by Governor Lachlan Macquarie. It was used for growing crops, including corn and vegetables, to help feed the growing colony. However, its proximity to the Governor's Residence (now Government House) and its scenic location soon led to its development as a public space.

3. Transformation into a Public Park: In 1816, Governor Macquarie decided to transform the Domain into a public park, making it one of the earliest public parks in Australia. This decision was part of Macquarie's vision for Sydney as a civilized and attractive city. The park was laid out with tree-lined avenues and open spaces for recreation.

4. Historical Landmarks: Over the years, several historical landmarks were established within the Domain, including the Obelisk (built in 1857), which served as a timekeeping device, and the Captain Cook statue (erected in 1879), which commemorates the explorer James Cook's discovery of the eastern coast of Australia.

5. Protest and Rally Site: The Domain has been a site for political protests and rallies throughout its history. It has been a place where Australians have gathered to advocate for various causes and express their views on important issues. One of the most significant gatherings was the 1970 Vietnam Moratorium Campaign, which drew large crowds to protest against the Vietnam War.

6. Cultural Events: The Domain has also been a venue for cultural events and entertainment, including outdoor concerts and performances. Its central location and large open spaces make it an ideal venue for hosting such events.

7. Contemporary Use: Today, the Domain is a popular recreational area for residents and visitors alike. It features expansive lawns, walking paths, and stunning views of Sydney Harbor and the city skyline. It continues to be used for cultural events, including the annual Symphony in The Domain concert, which is a highlight of the Sydney Festival.

8. Conservation and Preservation: Efforts have been made to preserve and maintain the natural beauty and historical significance of the Domain. Conservation initiatives aim to protect the park's flora and fauna, as well as its cultural heritage.

The Domain is not only a green oasis in the heart of Sydney but also a place with a rich history that reflects the city's growth and development over the centuries. It remains an essential part of Sydney's public life and culture

Sydney Garden Palace - Part 1 - Macquarie Street - Sydney - New South Wales

 

Sydney Garden Palace - Macquarie Street - Sydney - New South Wales 

The Sydney Garden Palace was a grand exhibition building that once stood in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Here's everything you need to know about the Sydney Garden Palace:

1. Construction and Purpose: The Sydney Garden Palace was constructed in 1879-1882 as the centerpiece for the Sydney International Exhibition, showcasing the achievements of industry and culture from around the world. It was designed by architect James Barnet in the Victorian architectural style and built in the Sydney Royal Botanic Garden.

2. Architecture and Features: The Garden Palace was an impressive structure, covering an area of approximately five acres (two hectares) and standing over 210 feet (64 meters) tall. It featured a combination of Romanesque and Byzantine architectural elements, with grand arches, domes, and intricate ornamentation.

3. Exhibition: The Sydney International Exhibition, held from September 1879 to April 1880, was a significant event in Sydney's history. The Garden Palace housed a vast array of exhibits, including industrial products, fine arts, agricultural displays, machinery, and cultural artifacts from various countries. It attracted visitors from Australia and around the world.

4. Destruction: Tragically, on September 22, 1882, just two years after the exhibition, the Garden Palace was destroyed by a massive fire. The fire, believed to have started in the basement, rapidly spread and consumed the entire building. The destruction of the palace was a significant loss to Sydney's architectural heritage.

5. Loss of Archives: The Garden Palace housed important collections and archives, including valuable Aboriginal artifacts, scientific specimens, historical records, and the New South Wales state library. Unfortunately, the fire resulted in the loss of much of this cultural heritage, making it a great tragedy for Australia's history and memory.

6. Legacy: Despite its short existence, the Sydney Garden Palace left a lasting impact on Sydney's cultural and architectural history. Its destruction highlighted the need for fire safety regulations and disaster prevention measures in public buildings. The loss of the archives and artifacts also underscored the importance of preserving and safeguarding historical and cultural treasures.

7. Commemoration: Today, the site where the Garden Palace once stood is marked by a monument known as the Garden Palace Ruins. The monument consists of a series of sandstone steps leading to a bronze plaque, commemorating the site and its historical significance.

The Sydney Garden Palace remains an intriguing part of Sydney's past, evoking the grandeur and cultural significance of the Sydney International Exhibition. While the physical structure is no longer standing, its memory serves as a reminder of the importance of preserving and cherishing cultural heritage

There Are Very Few Photos Of The Sydney Garden Palace, Located Within The Royal Botanic Gardens & The Government Domain. Located At The Royal Botanic Gardens. 

The Sydney Garden Palace Was Built To Hold The World Exhibition In September 1878. It Was The Most Magnificent Building In Sydney For The Time, Far Outweighing The Queen Victoria Building

The Palace Was Composed Almost Entirely Of Iron, Glass, With Wood Used Only In The Fittings & Floorboards. 

The Construction Used 

2,300 Cast Iron Girders 

358 Wrought Iron Trusses To Support The Roof

3230 Hollow Cast Iron Columns, Which, As Well As Being The Primary Supporting Infrastructure, Served As Water Pipes To Carry Off Rainwater...
From The 54.7km Of Guttering. 

325 Kilometres Of Sash Bars Supporting Glass Weighing More Than 406 Tonnes

The Final Structure Was 563m Long & 124m Wide With A Central Transept 22m Wide & Rising To 32.9m, 

Specially Designed To Enclose Within The Building A Grove Of Tall Elms That Public Opinion Would Not Allow To Be Cut Down.

The Garden Palace Covered Over 7 Hectares And Covered 934,560 Cubic Metres, While Galleries Added Another 2 Hectares To The Floor Area.

Opening Day Was A Sensation.... 

Visitors Came To The Exhibition In Numbers That First Alarmed, Then Surprised, & Finally Delighted The Organisers....

Other Statistics Add To The Legend Of The Exhibition. It Attracted Far More Than 6 Million Visitors During The 141 Days It Was Open To The Public

The Exhibition Also Achieved Some Other Firsts For Australia.....  Including 

£1769 To The Overall Profit Of £186,000

£2 Million 

It's Hard To Believe When Walking Through The Wrought Iron Gates At The Royal Botanical Gardens, That One Of The Grandest Buildings In Australia Once Stood There. 

& The Following Weeks Exceeded All Expectations. 
Men, Women & Children Came...
They Came Singly....
They Came In Families...
They Came....
In The End in Droves. 
On One Day In October Over 109,915 People Were Admitted Into The Exhibition. .
- Many From Overseas.....
An Incredible Number Considering A Population Much Lower.... & Poorer Than Today
And Limited Transport Options
There Were No International Flights Or Bus Tours 
The First Public Toilets.... Which Brought A Contribution Of  
The Total Value Of The Exhibits Was Estimated At About 
Not Including The Koh-i-Noor (Mountain of Light) Diamond.

Not Surprisingly The Phenominal Success Encouraged International Emulation & The Rest Of The World Quickly Followed Suit.


Built On A Hill Which Was Originally Used As A Run For The Governor's Livestock, The Garden Palace Stood Proudly Along Macquarie Street, Above The City, It Stood As A Symbol Of Sydney & The Colonies Encouraging Growth & Maturity As A Nation. 

The Palace Was Designed By James Barnet For The Sydney International Exhibition Of 1879 - 1880. 
He Had Little Time To Waste & Had Less Than 10 Months To Erect What Was Originally Planned As A Temporary Building. 
Over 3,000 Labourers Were Employed On The Construction Site. Special Carbon Arc Electric Lighting Was Imported From England To Light Up The Site At Night, Allowing Work To Continue Around The Clock. 
The Only Hitch In His Rush Job Was A Strike That Occurred Following The Death Of A Worker. 
Most Of The Carpenters Walked Off The Job Demanding Higher Wages, but Returned A Few Days Later When They Realised The Government Wasn't Going To Give In To Their Demands. 

The Garden Palace Was Completed One Week Before The Exhibition Began. 

Sydney Garden Palace Photos

Sydney Garden Palace

If you mention fireworks at midnight on New Year’s Eve, or the 2000 Olympics, most people would agree that Sydney knows how to host a party.  But back in 1879, when it was decided to hold an international exhibition, we were not quite so sure of ourselves.

The fashion for holding exhibitions, where countries could show off their industrial and manufacturing might, as well as their agricultural riches and artistic skills, began in 1851 with the London exhibition.

It was housed in the purpose-built Crystal Palace. Exhibitions followed,  & other  European cities, & in Philadelphia in the United States. Paris was particularly fond of holding them. In Sydney, a place not noted for its advanced industrial sector, and very far away from other places that were, decided to have a go.

A PALACE IN THE GARDENS 

A fine set of gates leading into the botanical Gardens on Macquarie Street announces the venue, the garden palace, home of the international exhibition. Beyond the gates, a circular garden bed recalls the former location of the time of the palace building. Everything about this building was flamboyant. Viewed from farm Cove and measured against today’s landmarks, the building stretched from the Conservatorium of music, across to cahill Expressway and in front of the State library.

It’s four towers & spectacular wooden central Dane dominated the skyline, dwarfing all other buildings. 

One of the great attractions of the exhibition was to attend to the North Tower in City‘s first hydraulic lift to enjoy rare elevated views of the harbour.

Part of the gardens & most of the domain became a vast Fairground covered with machinery, halls, an art gallery, temporary buildings for livestock, band stands, stalls & eateries.

Approximately 49 acres & 20 ha of the gardens were handed over for the exhibition, was 600 ha covered in buildings. This was not what was originally intended.

DIFFICULT BEGINNINGS

When members of the agricultural society decided to stage ab exhibition in 1877, perhaps as much because Melbourne was organising one as for any other reason, they had no idea what they were letting themselves in for.

The societies exhibition building in Prince Alfred Park was picked to be the venue, and previous annual agricultural exhibitions would be the model. The colonial government agreed to the idea, and provided that no pecuniary liability was to be incurred by them.

But when the proposal was made public, there was far more interested and had been anticipated. The society got cold feet. Clearly their vision has not been large enough, and neither of their funds know their building would be adequate. A rift developed in between those supporting societies real Charter and what was now being branded as a Sydney exhibition. Fearing bankruptcy, they cancelled the whole thing, only to have the governor, so Hercules Robinson, step in and assist that it must go ahead, with a public subscription to fund it. The money did not pouring in the colonial government voted against the Subcity.

But were going out, and exhibitors were planning to come. According to the Sydney morning Herald,

The world was forced upon us and unexpected expansion.

We objected to this thing initially, but he’s gone too far.

We must take a favouring tied on the flow citation one

Building the palace

When our whole year has been lost in squabbling and the exhibition was due to open in August. The contract thought December might be possible. The government settled for September. Building begin before plans have been finalised, and the colonial architect, James Barnett, modified his drawings on the run, as the contract are, John Young, discovered what building materials would be available, and when.

No tenders were that, proper processes were ignored and as confirmation of entries came in from around the world, more more buildings were hastily added to the complex.

At the time of the building, there was a high unemployment rate in Sydney. As soon as approval for the building was given, men began together around the domain gates in the hope. i’ll finding work. There was no need to advertise for workers, although sometimes there were 2000 on site. They were employed around the clock, using electric light for the work for the first time in Sydney. New like you

In the early stages, the lightning the lighting flickered and cast shadows, and was widely considered unsafe. The unions protested at the long shift and dangerous work, but when the Carpenters struck for what amounted to danger money they were unsuccessful, with the Herald cheerfully reporting that;

The firm and commendable action of the government has completely disheartened the men, and crushed the spirit of rebellion in them

At least one man was killed on site and others were injured.

As preparations progressed, the newspapers were full of doubts. Where would the visitors stay? What is the cities water supply gave out, as it sometimes did?

What would they think of a crooked streets and I badly repaired Street pavements?

We didn’t even have a completed Townhall, what on earth did we think we were doing?

How would people get to the site?

The last problem was sold by five sold by fast tracking the installation of a line for a steam tram, another first for Sydney. Built in 16 weeks, it ran from Redfern terminus, along Elizabeth Street to Hunter Street. This expedient piece of urban infrastructure turned out to be one of the main attractions of the exhibition, with 1 million passengers riding the tram by the time the exhibition closed. It’s construction has been approved only on the basis that it was removed after the show was over, but Sydneysiders to Took it with enthusiasm, and it became the first permanent line of Sydneys ad hoc tram system.

But the two biggest worries were what if the buildings were not completed on time? And what if it rained? They weren’t, and it did.

The official opening had to be postponed, and despite the best efforts of Charleze more, the director of the gardens, the plantings drowned at the gardens of the garden palace were more correctly described as bugs in the opening weeks of the exhibition.

The exhibition

But everything everything eventually came together. There was ongoing criticism of exhibits not in place on time, of the entrance fee, of the quality of the food and salon. Yet Sydneysiders enjoyed the holiday atmosphere. And the many supporting musical events, and overall they were mightily impressed with the building. Of the grand opening, in the rain, one commentator said;-

Cigno yours they arrange the music, and able assisted by chorus of 700 voices, 50 instrumentalists and the ground organ, he succeeded in conducting the entire ceremony to a brilliant and most enjoyable conclusion to the platitudes of the assembled thousands.

Much of the ambivalence over the wisdom of staging the exhibition arose from the realisation that manufacturing industry was not really a local strength. The London Times understood this to, reporting that;-

The eyes of the. World sent it for once in Australia, and it sing a lively competition between American, European and British manufacturers.

Although they were fine local exhibits, it was clear to many that the local role was primarily to foot the bill.

There were 724 classes of goods and produce an exhibition, from huge pieces of machinery to find porcelain. When the idea of holding an exhibition was first proposed, one member of Parliament who complained that exhibitors would use it to voiced on Sydney the Richard rubbish they could not dispose of at Paris, but in the event there was a lot of interest in the new and exciting things on show.

Today one of the most valuable pieces in the Sydney town hall collection is a Severus vase, one of a pair that was exhibited in the French court at the exhibition. It was subsequently presented as a gift to the citizens of Sydney by the French Republic.

Because of the long distances involved, some of the exhibits had to be in the form of models, rather than the genuine article. Was it perhaps room for a little poetic license in the models of German turnips and beats sent by some London seat merchants in order to show the great size of the produce growing under their stock?

Poetry was the order of the day, and from the official Cantata written by Henry Kendall to the ravings of the more aesthetic scribblers to the daily newspapers, everyone expanded on the garden motive for all it was worth. There may have been a cultural cringe over how Sydney is a city would stand up to the worlds guys. But as a civilisation, there was no doubt to the British way of life that Sydney symbolised was making a fine contribution in the southern land, the wilderness a garden made that this garden was British, to Riverton if and useful to easily with most participants and the fact that they were astrological displays about the Australian aborigines, creating the illusion that they were not present, did not seem out of place – although any visitor to the exhibition had only to walk down McQuarrie Street beyond the palace to meet some of them.

The fire

When one in Susies pen the hope that the exhibition would lead to a universal brotherhood, to universal,’s,’s to better times, and better men, and things were going further than most, but if you want dissipated at the end would be quite as inflating deflating as it was.

At dawn on 22 September 1882, the garden palace spectacularly burnt down, with reports of black and die in peace is landing as far as Waze Rushcutters bay.

But this time the building was being used for occasional events and as an office space for the various government departments. Records including those of land occupations, the 1881 Sensis details, and railway surveys, all went up in flames. So did the 300 uninsured canvases from the art society‘s annual exhibition, the grand organ and the foundation collection of the technological and mining Museum.

No one was have a charged, although arson was generally suspected. Mini more and the lost of the building, and a fresh outpouring of eulogistic poems appeared in the press, along with a new round of self-criticism over the waist of it all. And more than a few people expressed some satisfaction that at least the people of Sydney now had the botanical Gardens back.

References

Government House From The Botanic Gardens

Sydney Garden Palace - Part 5

Sydney Garden Palace

Construction Of The Sydney Garden Palace

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SYDNEY GARDEN PALACE

JANUARY 13th 1878 - SEPTEMBER 23rd 1878

The Building was Finally Finished Less than 3 weeks Before the Grand Opening Of The International Exhibition Which Would Showcase Colonies To The World.

The Previous International Exhibition Had Been Held In Paris and The Eiffel Tower Had Been
Built As The Modern Wonder Of It’s Time. Sydney Had To Outdo The Eiffel Tower And So It Had Been Decided That The Grandest Palace Should Be Built At The Botanical Gardens.

Every Suburb In SYDNEY Could See The Palace No
matter What Suburb You Were in. It Was The Tallest Building
Ever Built In SYdney And It Is Definately The Grandest Building
Ever Built In Australia:

There Is No Other Building That Has Been Built In This
Country Or Attenpted To Be Built.

It Was Truly The Envy Of  The Modern World


Over 1.6 Million People Sailed To SYDNEY From September 1878 Till December 1878

 

The First Sod Was Turned on The 13th January 1878 For The Construction Of The SYDNEY GARDEN PALACE.


6,000 Tradesmen Worked 24 Hours A Day 7 Days A Week For 8 Months. It Was The First Time Electricty Had Been Used In Australia to Light up the Botanical Gardens To get The Work Done.

- 4 And A Half Million Feet Of Timber - 25 Million Bricks - 400 Tonnes Of Glass - 54km Of Roof Guttering- The Palace Was The very First Building To Have Electricity In Australia. - It Was The First Building In Australia To Have A Hydraulic Lift. - The Central Dome Was The 6th Biggest In The World- 2,300 Cast Iron Girders- 358 Wrought Iron Trusses- 325km Of Sash Bars- 563 Metres Long And 124 Metres Wide 

On the morning of September 22, 1882, Sydney awoke to a grand and terrible spectacle. Its most flamboyant building, the garden palace was burning to the ground

The heat was so intense at 6:05 am, Windows at Macquarie Street cracked & firefighters could do little more than watch the building turn into cinders.

The fire was a magnificent as a pallet its self-thunderous crashes rivers of lead and when the walls fell away a terrible vision of flames and golf in the towering bronze statue of Queen Victoria

By 9 am it was all over and the building had that had dominated the city skyline for three years was gone.

Despite being One of the most captivating buildings Sydney has ever seen, the garden palace is largely absent from popular history of my Sydneysiders have never heard of it.

Because building is stretching from the State library to the Conservatorium of music in the botanic Gardens, it’s towers and 65 meter high dome would have dwarfed the buildings around it.

The site is difficult for most people to conceive and the fact that it was the length of two football fields and in the botanic Gardens of all places  within the city of this size was such a luxury.

Modelled on London’s Crystal Palace, it was purpose-built for the 1879 Sydney international exhibition & was designed by colonial architect James Barnett.

It was responsible for bringing the world to Sydney at a time when the colony was prosperous & growing &  at full potential. It encouraged authorities to improve the city services and facilities

International exhibition was groundbreaking in so far as it was the first of its kind to be held in the southern hemisphere.

The Victorian equivalent of the world expo, exhibitions in Welfare‘s were at the height of fashion at the time

The feeling  in the city would’ve been similar to that of the Olympics in 2000. It was very positive thing for Sydney and New South Wales, & an event to be celebrated. The city would’ve been buzzing in a hive of activity

For seven months, more than 1 million people pulled into the sprawling complex to marvel at the buildings of city prosperity

But 20 ha of the botanic Gardens became a Fairground filled with band stands, stalls, entertainment, eateries &  small exhibition buildings.

The garden palace was a centrepiece & inside, all manners of inventions, technology, art & ideologies were displayed by local and international exhibitors.

Sydney had pulled out all stops to build a palace & had raced against time to beat Melbourne, which was also staging an exhibition.

Over 2000 men worked on on the site night &  day, using electric light for the first time, to complete the building in just eight months.

The city was plagued with insecurities in the lead up to the event, with concerns about whether it’s public transport, accommodation & water supply would be adequate for all visitors travelling to the infant city.

It was forced to install a line for steam a tram, a first for Sydney and an unpopular idea at the time after previous tram efforts resulted in the death of prominent position in 1864 

The steam power Tramway was installed to public transport exhibition goes around the city. After the exhibition, the Tramway network was expanded and by 1905 - 1906 the trams were converted to electric traction

Despite several accidents, it was a great success & the system expanded rapidly through the city and in the suburbs. It became one of the main attractions of the exhibition.

After the exhibition, the palace continued to play a central role in Sydney social life. Balls, lectures, exhibitions and entertainment were hosted in its auditorium; an art gallery and the first technological museum, the forerunner to the powerhouse Museum were on the list. 

Government departments also set up office and important records were stored in the basement, the wisdom of which would later be questioned.  That’s because unlike Barnett’s other sturdy designs such as the GPO, the colonial secretaries office and the lands department building which still stand today, the palace was primarily made of timber, which insured its complete destruction when it was engolfed by fire.

While arson was generally suspected, the cause of the fire was never determined and remains a mystery to this day.

The blaze, which began before 6 am, became almost immediately uncontrollable and thousands lined the streets to witness the calamity.

Very quiet and orderly the thousands looked on - wrote one reporter in the evening news

Many will lamenting &regretting the inevitable destruction of what’s given them so much pleasure, and have carried the name and doings of the people of this country into the empires and other countries.

The wind carried ash, cinders and fragments of the building far into the suburbs and a house in Potts point caught fire.

Almost everything inside went up in flames. The fire destroyed the 1881 census, the land occupation records, railway surveys, aboriginal artefacts, artworks & the foundation collection of the technological & mining Museum.

A new map of the colony which took years of work was also lost.

Conspiracy theories from dynamite plots, masked man and trains of gunpowder were banded around afterwards. Wealthy folk with lame for trying to restore harbour views, destroy convict Ancestry or simply get their gardens back.

Whatever the cause thousands came to view the ruins & the police were on site to keep order.

To leave such a beautiful building that was such a positivity to the city and one that was so new as well would’ve been quite shocking

Some items and artefacts are irreplaceable, however we do know that insure trade Australian spirit almost before the Coles cool Joseph maiden, first curator of the technological museum, said about forming another collection of artefacts by approaching people who had donated items in the original museum collection.

Today, all that is left of the palace other than sandstone gates and the wrought iron gates on the Maxquarie Street entrance to the gardens

In 1940s or something garden in Fountain featuring statue of Cupid Marks the former location of the palace is Dome

Sydney Garden Palace - Part 3

HISTORY
For nightwatchman F. Kirchen of the Insurance Brigade, the early morning of 22 September 1882 had proceeded with little incident. At 3.00 a.m. and 5.30 a.m. senior police constables had visited the Garden Palace in Sydney's Inner Domain to pay their customary calls. At 5.35 a.m. Kirchen walked to the Domain roadway entrance to meet his replacement, J. McKnight. The man chatted for a few minutes. Shortly afterwards, they noticed smoke coming from under the dome of the Palace.
They ran to the small watchmen's entrance set in the larger entrance doors of the west tower. Kirchen unlocked the door. Inside was a great pall of smoke. A burst of flame leapt from the basement to ring the great statue of Queen Victoria that stood beneath the central dome. The fire spread rapidly, feeding along the dry wooden framework. From high overhead the stained glass of the skylight dropped like molten rain.
A telephone connected the building with No. 2Volunteer Fire Brigade Station. The men raised the alarm then fled the building. Kirchen braved the flames to return and rescue his pet dog. But there was nothing Kirchen, McKnight or the fire brigade, when it arrived minutes later, could do except watch helplessly as fire consumed the once magnificent building.
To the citizens of New South Wales, it was a day of incomparable disaster. The grandest building in Australia had burnt to the ground, barely three years after its construction. The blaze was visible for miles, a huge glowing pyre in the predawn darkness. With morning came the crowds, hundreds of the curious who flocked to the Macquarie Street gates and silently watched the smouldering ruins. 
Once the Garden Palace had been the pride of New South Wales and the envy of other colonies. Now all that remained were a labyrinth of brick foundations and the tottering remains of the entrance towers .The Sydney Morning Herald, summing up the fire and its aftermath, commented succinctly that "the scene was the most imposing, as it was the most pitiful, ever seen in the colonies".
Built on a ridge of high ground in what is now the Royal Botanic Gardens, the Garden Palace dominated the city. From the ground to the tip of the dome, it measured 64 metres and it was this dramatic sight that greeted travellers as they sailed up the harbour towards Farm Cove. It was a rich evocation of the Victorian era, typifying the period's obsession with overstated style and grandeur. 
The Garden Palace came into being as "a temple of the industrial arts" for the Sydney International Exhibition of 1879-80. The building was a symbol of New South Wales' emerging maturity and the colony's hopes of becoming a respected elder son of the British Empire. The centenary of New South Wales was still some years distant but the exhibition, and its most conspicuous manifestation, the Garden Palace, sought to prove a point. The year 1879, the Australian Building and Engineering News testified,
will be looked back to by posterity with pride as the yearn which the parent colony first drew together the peoples of the earth to witness the rapid strides the colony handmade in the van of progress amongst nations of the arts, sciences and manufacturing industries . . . [The exhibition is] an undertaking which has long been looked forward to by some of its ardent patriots as a means of attracting the attention of the various nations of the world to its immense importance, and it is now, figuratively speaking, about to claim a sort of public admission tithe society of nations. 
The exhibition was a success. The technology of the world wagon display. The United States, Great Britain, the leading countries of Europe and all the Australian colonies mounted extensive exhibits. Over a million people passed the entrance gates in the 185 days of the exhibition, a remarkable figure ima country whose population barely exceeded 2.2 million. The increase in trade was astounding as Australian markets opened to the technological products of more advanced nations. The Garden Palace sprawled across the Inner Domain, occupying the area between what is now the State Library of New South Wales and the Conservatorium of Music. It was cruciform in design, much like the layout of a cathedral. Thematic. thrust of the building, the nave, was 244 metres in length and the transepts or intersecting arms, 152 metres. The nave and the transepts terminated in four stone entrance towers 20metres high, increased by the decorative wooden superstructures to 36 metres. Exhibition space on the ground floor exceeded two hectares. Above it a gallery, over five metres from the ground floor, ringed the building. 
There was additional exhibition space in the basement and on two floors of the four entrance towers. The centre of the building was dominated by a massive dome, 30 metres in diameter, reaching its apex 47 metres above the ground floor. It was topped by a 12 metre lantern and further extended by a finial, an ornamental finishing piece. The dome was a thirty-six-sided polygon sheathed in galvanised iron. It was a source of immense pride that the dome was the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and the sixth largest in the world only slightly smaller than the domes of St Peter's, Rome, or St Paul's, London. The framework of the dome, and indeed of most of the Garden Palace, was made of wood. Twelve principal ribs, each weighing over five tonnes, were strengthened by twenty four intermediate ribs. Bolts and iron straps held the framework together. It was, as a journal of the period quaintly observed,” unique of its kind in construction”. 
The Garden Palace was an architectural and engineering marvel, but it was the dome itself that attracted the most attention. It provided light to the interior of the pavilion by way of twenty-six oval windows, each measuring 3 metres by 2 metres, set into the drum of the dome, as well as the skylight under the lantern. The interior was tinted pale blue and dotted with gold stars; the woodwork was buff picked out with red and gold. On a cornice at the base of the dome was inscribed Psalm7, Verse 24: "The Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the World, and they that dwell therein”. Under the dome, on the ground floor, was an opening 9 metres in diameter, which illuminated the basement area. Rising from the opening was a pedestal, on which stood a bronze statue of Queen Victoria. 
Fashioned by English sculptor, Marshall Wood, it towered 7 metres above the ground floor. From the railing around the base of the statue were views of the basement, where, amidst elegant fountains, the cream of society came to take refreshments.138Entry to the basement was by four stairways from the main floor, at points near the statue, and a main entrance athel east tower. The eastern side of the building, the main facade, had wide balconies along the basement and ground floors. 
The view from these balconies, across the Botanic Gardens to Farm Cove and W Woolloomooloo and taking in the expanse of the harbour, was nothing short of breathtaking. From the eastern and southern entrances to the Garden Palace the entire Exhibition grounds could be seen, comprising much of the Botanic Gardenias well as the southern half of the Domain. 
At this southern extremity, bordered by the carriage drives (now Hospital Road and Art Gallery Road) were machinery halls, the agricultural hall, horse and cattle stalls and the livestock parade ground. Theine Arts Gallery, forerunner of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, was also in the area. Thousands flocked daily to the entrance gates, purchasing day tickets at one shilling each or leather-cased season tickets priced at three guineas. 
There were miles of pathways through beautifully maintained gardens dotted with statues and such exhibits as the Maori House, restaurants including Compagnoni's, Cripp's and Emerson's Oyster Saloon, and the products of the world's industrial achievement crammed into little more than 14 hectares. But it was the Garden Palace itself that commanded the most attention, that drew the crowds like magnet to its majestic bulk. The Garden Palace was designed by James Johnstone Barnet, colonial architect of New South Wales. 
That it was the grandest of Barnet's 12, 000-odd projects in his years in the position there is little doubt, but there are sufficient reminders of his work, both in Sydney and throughout New South Wales, to give some idea of the ability of this architect. His General Post Office (1866- 85), Lands Department (1876-92) and Chief Secretary’s Department (1878) in Sydney, and the Bathurst(1878) and Goulburn (1885 - 87) courthouses are outstanding examples of Renaissance-influenced Neoclassical architecture. It was Barnet who almost single-handedly created Sydney's High Victorian character. Initially the Sydney International Exhibition was to have been housed in the exhibition buildings at Prince Alfred Park and run by the Agricultural Society of New South Wales. 
The society had held a number of successful exhibitions including the Intercolonial Exhibition of 1870, which celebrated the centenary of Cook's discovery of the east coast of Australia. New South Wales had sent exhibits to the London International Exhibitions in 1851 , 1862 and 1873, to the Paris Exposition Universale of 1855, 1867 and 1878, and to the massive Philadelphia Exhibition of 1876. Returning from the United States, officials were fired with enthusiasm and it was to be The Garden Palace from Fort Denison in January 1880expected that moves would be made to organise the first Australian international exhibition. 
Early in 1878 a proclamation appeared in the Government Gazette serving notice that the Agricultural Society of New South Wales intended mounting an international exhibition in Sydney. As invitations were extended to the nations of Europe, to America, Japan and the colonies of the British Empire, the enormity of the project soon became evident. Within months the society's facilities and its meagre resources were stretched to the limit; by October it appeared as if its plans would have to be abandoned. 
The success of such an exhibition was of paramount importance. Australia in general, and New South Wales in particular, would be on show to the world. The politicians in Macquarie Street were beginning to voice their doubt that any private organization, even one as respected as the Agricultural Society, could mount such an event. No-one was so aware of this as the premier, Sir Henry Parkes. 
It was realised that the best way to ensure that the exhibition be mounted in the most acceptable fashion- in a way best calculated to ensure the most glowing success-was to have the project under complete control of the government. But how to wrest it away from the Agricultural Society? In a deft piece of political manoeuvring, Parkes waited until the society was closest to terminating the project, until the commissioners came, hats in hand, to Macquarie Street, and then generously offered to take control. In November 1878 the government accepted the responsibility of planning and carrying out the Sydney International Exhibition. 
Parkes moved with lightning speed. He instructed James Barnet to prepare plans for a pavilion to house the majority of the exhibits. The overwhelming prerequisite was that the building should befit such a momentous event. Asthe Illustrated Sydney News later pointed out: "It is satisfactory tolearn that the building to be erected by the government will beworthy of the occasion and the colony. The colony can afford to carry out this undertaking in a liberal and handsome manner;140but we may doubt whether it can afford to carry out the [project]shabbily".
A site was chosen on high ground adjacent to Macquarie Street in the Inner Domain, which at that time was used as a run for the governor's livestock. Barnet produced his finest work in the Garden Palace, a task that was made more remarkable by the constraints upon him. The government had less than ten months before the advertised opening date. The building had to be erected quickly but be as grand and luxurious as possible, even though it was initially envisaged as a temporary structure. The site was laid out on 2 January 1879, two days before Barnet's plans were formally approved. On 13 January construction commenced and just one month later a foundation stone was laid at the dome's eastern pier by Lady Robinson,the wife of Governor Sir Hercules Robinson. 
To mark the occasion the governor read a speech before an official party including Parkes and Barnet: The distinctive feature of this great show is this, that whereas in all former exhibitions the colonies have, asit were, been brought into competition with each other, in this case the Australian colonies, as a whole, will enter into friendly rivalry in the arts of peace with the outside world ... [the exhibition will] serve to show the ready identity of all Australian interests and hasten the day when these Australian provinces will occupy a proud position before the world as a united federal dominion. It is easy to imagine a self-satisfied smile crossing the lips of Sir Henry Parkes at the mention of federation and perhaps a half murmured "Here, Here".By May over 3000 labourers were employed on the construction and allied work, most of them on the Garden Palace itself. 
The builder, John Young, had installed a number of large carbon-arc electric lights, which were among the first to be seen in Australia. They floodlit the site and allowed work to continue around the clock. There were only minor interruptions to the rapidprogress. On the night of 22 April, a twenty-four-year-old labourer, Samuel Allan, was killed when he fell from the framework. The next day a strike was called by the majority of the site's 650 carpenters. The demand was for increased wages, from ten shillings to twelve shillings a day, supposedly to offset the danger of working high above the ground . The government held firm against the demands and the strike collapsed within four days.
The Garden Palace was completed on schedule, just weeks before the official opening. Tradesmen worked feverishly to complete the interior and exterior decorations, even while the exhibits were being laid out. Over 18,000 people crammed the grounds for the official opening. While previous days had seen heavy rain, the morning of 17 September was clear and bright, a perfect spring day on which to launch the Sydney International Exhibition.. The official party and invited guests congregated in the north transept. 
Towering above the crowd was an organ built by Gray and Davison of London in the 1820s and purchased for the exhibition by Sir Daniel Cooper. The opening ceremonycommenced with a performance of the official cantata, with words composed by Henry Kenqall and music by Paolo Giorza. A large number of musicians and a chorus of 700, including many schoolchildren, gave a splendid reci(al.The exhibits of Great Britain (with a single Irishexhibitor), Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Japan a~d the United States attracted considerable attention as did the displays from India, Ceylon, Fiji and the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Penang and Malacca).Considerable space had been reserved for the Australian colonies and New Zealand. There was Japanese porcelain, Florentine mosaics,French tapestries and bronze. In the basement, an English firm displayed iron piping claimed to be immune from rust. In the afternoon hundreds assembled to watch the first demonstration of a new washing machine. 
Operated by a thirteen-year-old girl, the machine washed a selection of dirty work clothes, borrowed from engineers in the machinery shacks. In the northern tower the Whittier Machine Company of America had installed the first passenger elevator in Australia. The wooden elevator car was made of highly polished ash and fitted with carpets and seats. It sat on top of a shaft which, powered by a steam engine, rose from a pit sunk into the foundations of the building.
The social life of Sydney was just as exciting as the exhibition itself. Dozens of official receptions and balls were held to honour visiting dignitaries. In October 1879 a ball was held aboard the French man-of-war, Le Rhin, presided over byCaptain Adolphe Fran<;ois Mathieu, Commissioner-General for France. The vessel , moored in Farm Cove, was lit by hundredsof candles mounted on the gunwhales. The following month a garden party for 500 guests was held at Rosemont, Woollahra, the home of merchant and politician Alexander Campbell. Guests entered the estate to the strains of a Highland piper. 
A German band played between two revolving fountains and refreshments were served at the upper end of the garden where it was possible to look across to the city where the dome of the Garden Palace glinted in the afternoon sunlight. Although the exhibition did not officially close until late April 1880, by March many of the principal exhibits had been dismantled for shipment to Victoria and the Melbourne International Exhibition. By the time of the closing ceremonies, approximately1.1 million visitors had passed through the gates. There had been14,000 exhibits in the Garden Palace alone and a total of 7 500awards were made, the result of deliberations by 220 judges who had worked for several months evaluating the merits of the exhibits.
The Sydney International Exhibition had been a success and although the Garden Palace had started life as a temporary structure, the fame it had brought New South Wales was not repaid with demolition. The only question was how best to use the building, a problem that attracted considerable attention. The Illustrated Sydney News suggested that the "basement of the Exhibition building could be easily converted into what would be the largest aquarium in the world ... The manner in which the whole of the basement is lighted suggests its suitability for the formation of a collection of marine life".
The Garden Palace, far from having bass and bream in the basement, became a warren of government offices and archives for the next two and a half years. The Linnean Society had offices on the ground floor and parts of their enclave became a museum. Also in the building was the Technological and Sanitary Museum, forerunner of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. Government bodies included the Trial Surveys Branch of the Railway Department, branch offices of the Department of Mines, the Fisheries Commission, the Census Office and the Harbours and Rivers Department. Some areas were also hired out for concerts and balls. Its destruction, when it came, was sudden and spectacular. 
As the Sydney Morning Herald reported, "To describe the progress of the fire is to analyse the events of a few minutes". The fire, on bursting through the dome, swept along the nave and transepts. Then, with a great roar of expelled air, the dome fell inwards. The updraft swept pieces of iron and clouds of burning material for' miles . Cinders ignited the roof of a house in Potts Point. Sheets 0f iron fell in the grounds of William Macleay's Elizabeth Bay House. The Herald commented that"the sun was seen behind the ·burning Palace through the haze of smoke raising above the horizon its crimson disc".
For those living in Macquarie Street opposite the Garden Palace, the scene presented a spectacle that many would find difficult to forget. Miss Ethel Pockley was fourteen years old and a student of Miss Flowers' Sydney Ladies College at 161Macquarie Street. In a letter to her brother, Frank, dated 22September 1882, she gave a vivid account of the fire, of the windows of their school cracking with the heat and the paint blistering from the exterior walls and doors .You could hear crash after crash and the flames seemed to reach enormous heights. The sun rose and was of course quite blood colour with the fire and seemed to be' spinning round and round . Every now and then through all the smoke and dust and flames we could seethe reflection on the sea beyond and it was lovely. 
Tower after tower fell and when the glass was all burnt and broken we could see the flames inside and the statue of the Queen on the fountain stood such a long time with the flames all round and above it. It blazed for about an hour and a half and now all that remains are skeletons of the four towers (north, south, east and west) and a huge heap of smouldering, smoking black rubbish. Inquiries proceeded, vainly as it turned out, to find the cause of the blaze. Everything in the Palace had been destroyed. The Technological and Sanitary Museum and the collections of the Linnean Society were lost, as were over 300 paintings and various objets d'art for the annual exhibition of the Art Society of New South Wales. All documents relating to the colony's census of 1881 were burnt, as were irreplaceable papers belonging to the various government departments. 
In addition, the curator of the Botanic Gardens estimated that between 20,000and 30,000 plants had been destroyed .An official inquiry could find no explanation for the fire, although it was noted that "the authorities are deserving of censure in not having provided more efficient supervision over such a valuable property". There was conflicting testimony from witnesses as to where the fire was first sighted. The evidence was inconclusive. Rumours circulated that the fire had been deliberately lit, although this remained unproved.
Today, apart from the ornate commemorative gates fronting Macquarie Street, there is little to suggest that the Garden Palace ever existed . Further into the Royal Botanic Gardens is the Pioneer's Memorial Garden. Opened in 1938 to commemorate Australia's earliest settlers, it stands on the spot where the statue of Queen Victoria once towered over her subjects. A simple bronze plaque, inconspicuously placed, marks the site of the Garden Palace.
Source
Lost Glories: A Memorial to Forgotten Australian Buildings
David Latta, Angus & Robertson, 1986

Sydney's forgotten palaceRichard Macey September 15, 2007 NO ONE knows how the Garden Palace fire of 1882 started. One theory was that wealthy Macquarie Street residents, upset their harbour views had been stolen by the giant building, lit the blaze. Another was that it was burnt to destroy the census of 1881. Stored in the palace, the records apparently exposed embarrassing secrets about the convict and squatter origins of many leading families. Or possibility it was an accident. What ever the cause, the loss of Sydney's grandest building on September 22, 1882 was a disaster for the infant city. The Herald reported it as news "the whole colony - indeed the whole of the Australian colonies, and we might add, the whole of the civilised world - will hear with deep regret". Built from timber and galvanised iron in a corner of the Botanic Gardens for Sydney's International Exhibition of 1879, it housed displays of manufactured and agricultural products, including crystal glass, tobacco, maize and even electric light. It was huge, but most people have never heard of it," one guide, Heather Branch, said yesterday. "It was several times bigger than the Queen Victoria Building."Directly under its 64-metre-high central dome was a fountain and a colossal statue of Queen Victoria. There were restaurants, an oyster bar and tea rooms. The Herald's account of the fire described how witnesses saw smoke, "then an immense burst of fire" beneath the dome. "The roar of the flames leaping up from the basement through the circular aperture for the fountain sounded, the men said, like an explosion. "Flames wreathed round the great bronze statue of Her Majesty the Queen …" and went "rushing up in long tongues to the dome". "The stained glass of the skylight dropped in a molten rain …Volumes of black smoke rolled up, and with a crash like a peal of thunder the mighty dome fell in." Falling cinders set fire to a house in Potts Point and the heat cracked Macquarie Street windows. Today little remains in the gardens, except for some entrance steps and a statue of a huntsman and his two dogs. A graphite elephant is held in the Powerhouse Museum. Where Queen Victoria's statue once stood is now a statue of Eros, erected decades after the blaze. The executive director of the Botanic Gardens Trust, Dr Tim Entwisle, admitted the destruction of the massive building wasn't all bad. "It left us with a lot more space." ------------ There are a few major differences between Sydney's Garden Palace and Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building. The Sydney building had less time to prepare, so timber was the most practical option. The Melbourne structure had more stone used in its construction, although time is used in beams supporting the roof.  In terms of these buildings being a white elephant, much of Melbourne's REB has been demolished. It was far, far bigger in 1880. (this picture shows an entire Northern Wing behind the current building that stands today)