First Government House - Bridge Street & Phillip Street - NSW

First Government House

Bridge Street And Phillip Street South Western Corner




33° 51’49”S
151° 12’ 41”E

Where The Museum Of Sydneyis Now, Is Where The Frst And Original Government

House Stood....

It's The House That Governor Bligh Was Supposedly Hiding Under the Bed When a The Red coats Of The New South Wales Army Corp Were Going to Put Him

under House Arrest. 

Construction Of The First Government House  Was Commenced On This Site On May 15 1788, And Governor Phillip Moved In Shortly Before June 4th 1789. It Was The Residence Of All Governors Until 1845 

Captain Collins Worte That A Gang If Labourers Was Put

under The Direction Of A Stonemason, And On The 15th May The First Stone Of The  Building Intended For The Residence Of The Governor Until Government House Could Be Erected  Was Laid On The East Side Of The Cove. 

On the 7th March 1899 Robert John McCann, While Excavating A Telegraph Tunnel, Discovetrd The Cornerstone Of The Building

Said McCann " I Came Across 2 Flat Stones, One On Top Of Another, And On Clearing The Earth I Saw A Piece Of Copper Lying Between Them, I Took Care Not To Injure The Copper Plate, Because I Thought It May Be Of Some value, As There Was Writing On It. It's Only Blemish When Found 111 Years After Its Embedment Was Discoloration From Dampness And A Hole

made With A Workman's PickAxe"

This Historic Copper Pate Is Now In The Dixson Gallery, Sydney

The First Government House Was Completed On The 4th June 1789, In Time To Celebrate The Birthday of Goerge III. Governor Phillip Threw AParty  There In Honour Of His Illustrious Master. 

The Buiding In Bridge Street, About The Corner Of Phillip Street Stood About 56 Feet AboveThe High Water Mark. There "By Sinking A Well About Fifteen Feet In The Rock, An Excellent Sprring Of pure Water" Was Obtained. 

The House Included Australia’s First Staircase

It is 170ft Long And 40 And A Half Feet High. The Ballroom

Measures 150 Ft In Length And 28Ft Width. 

The Present Government House Stands In A Portion Of The Domain, On The Shores of Farm Cove, And Was First Occupied By Governor Gipps in 1845. Joseph Fowles, In Sydney 1848 Described It As An Elegant Sandstone Ediface In Tudor Gothic"

Governor Arthur Phillips Garden - Macquarie Place - Near South Western Corner - NSW

Governor Phillip's Garden

Macquarie Place, Near South Western Corner 

David Collins Remarked "Some Ground Having Been Prepared Near His Excellency's House On The Eat Side, The Plants From Rio De Janeiro And The Cape Of Good Hope Were safely Brought To Shore In A Few Days; And We Soon Had The Satisfaction Of Seeing The Grape, The Fig, The Orange, The Pear And The Apple, taking Root And Establishing Themselves In Our New World" 

Surgeon General John White in His Journal Of A Voyage To New South Wales Wrote About The Sick Suffering From Dysentry And Scurvy. 

"His Excellency, Seeing The State These Poor Objects Were In, ordered A Piece Of Ground To Be Inclosed, For The Purpose Of Raising Vegetables For Them. The Seeds That Were Sown Upon This Occassion, on first Appearing Above The Ground, Looked Promising And Well, Which Was Not Indeed Wxtraordinary, As They Were Not Sown At A Proper Season Of The Year."

In May 1788 Governor Phillip Gloomily

Commented "From The Great Labour Which Attended The Clearing Of The Ground, It Proved Impracticable To Sow More Than Eight To Ten Acres With Wheat And Barley; And It Was Feared That Even This Crop Would Suffer From The Depredations Of Ants And Field

nice. 

Two Bunches Of Grapes Were Plucked On The 24th January 1791, Three years Later. And 

"It Was Predicted In The Vehemence Of Expectation That Their Juice Will Hereafter Furnish An Indisputable Article Of Luxury At European Tables."

Lieutenant P.G. King on 29th January Noted In Their Journal: - "Some Convicts Digging Up The Ground for A Garden."

Surgeon General John White Travelled On The Transport Charlotte to Botany Bay With The First Fleet, And Remained In New South Wales Until December 1794, After Which He Returned To England.  While In England's Newest Colony, The Peppery Doctor, Besides Collecting Material On The Fauna And Flora Of The Colony, Fought A Duel With His Assistant, Dr William Balmain. White's Book - Journal Of A Voyage To New South Wales, Published In 1790 Carried - Sixty Five Illustrations Of Non Descript Animals, Birds, Lizards, Serpents, Curious Cones Of Trees And Other Natural Productions."

John White Died In Sussex, England in 1832.

First Government House - Corner Of Bridge Street & Phillip Street - South Western Corner - Sydney - New South Wales

 First Government House - Bridge Street And Phillip Street -  South Western Corner - Sydney - NSW

Where The Museum Of Sydneyis Now, Is Where The Frst And Original Government

House Stood....

It's The House That Governor Bligh Was Supposedly Hiding Under the Bed When a The Red coats Of The New South Wales Army Corp Were Going to Put Him

under House Arrest. 

Where The Museum Of Sydneyis Now, Is Where The Frst And Original Government
House Stood....

It's The House That Governor Bligh Was Supposedly Hiding Under the Bed When a The Red coats Of The New South Wales Army Corp Were Going to Put Him
under House Arrest. 

5. First Government 

Bridge Street And Phillip Street South Western Corner.

Sydney's First Government House was built in 1789 for Governor Arthur Phillip. In November 1789, 2 Aboriginal men, Bennelong & Colebee, were captured at Manly under Phillip's orders & were held at Government House. 

After they escaped, Bennelong maintained cordial ties with Phillip. He often dined at Government House with his wife Barangaroo, & a number of Aboriginal people wwre buried within the gardens at his behest. In 1995 The Museum of Sydney opened on the site. A A Forest of pillars made of timber, stone & steel stands adhjacent to the Museum entrance.