When people say “Macquarie Street” in a political story, they usually mean this block: Parliament House, sitting in the northern wing of Governor Lachlan Macquaries “Rum Hospital,” completed in 1816. No Imperial cash for a permanent hospital, so Macquarie let the contractors import and sell spirits — hence the nickname that stuck. The colonnaded façade is among the oldest public building fabric still in continual governmental use in Australia. Further south, The Mint keeps the matching southern wing of the same hospital complex.
The Legislative Council of New South Wales — Australia’s first legislature — was created in 1823 and first met elsewhere, including Government House. From 1829 the Council used rooms in the hospital’s northern Surgeon’s Quarters; a session on 21 August 1829 marks the start of continuous parliamentary occupation of this site. As membership grew, Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis added a new chamber (1843). Responsible government in 1856 created a bicameral parliament: the Legislative Assembly took the older chamber while the Legislative Council moved into a prefabricated iron building shipped from Melbourne and erected on the southern side of the precinct — still part of the complexs layered fabric.
Walk the colonnade today and you are standing in a Rum Hospital that outlasted Francis Greenway’s complaints about shoddy work. Public tours and education programs tell the journey from infirmary to modern parliament.
200 Years Of Australian Democracy
When people say “Macquarie Street” in a political story, they usually mean this block: Parliament House, sitting in the northern wing of Governor Lachlan Macquarie's “Rum Hospital,” completed in 1816. No Imperial cash for a permanent hospital, so Macquarie let the contractors import and sell spirits — hence the nickname that stuck. The heritage listing calls the colonnaded building the oldest public building in the City of Sydney. Further south, The Mint keeps the matching southern wing of the same hospital complex.
The Legislative Council of New South Wales — Australia’s first legislature — was created by the 1823 Act and first met on 25 August 1824, elsewhere, including Government House. From 1829 the Council used rooms in the hospital’s northern Surgeon’s Quarters; a session on 21 August 1829 marks the start of continuous parliamentary occupation of this site. As membership grew, Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis added a new chamber (1843). Responsible government in 1856 created a bicameral parliament: the Legislative Assembly took the older chamber while the Legislative Council moved into a prefabricated iron building, made in Scotland and shipped first to Melbourne and then to Sydney, and erected on the southern side of the precinct — still part of the complex's layered fabric.
Walk the colonnade today and you are standing in a Rum Hospital that outlasted Francis Greenway’s complaints about shoddy work. Public tours and education programs tell the journey from infirmary to modern parliament.
200 Years Of Australian Democracy
The Full Story of Parliament House
Here's the longer version. It runs from a hospital paid for with rum, through the first Legislative Council, the iron chamber that came up from Melbourne and the plans to knock the whole lot down, to the office tower out the back. Along the way there's a premier sacked by the Governor and the first woman to take a seat in the Assembly. There's a timeline and the full list of sources at the bottom.
A Hospital Built on Rum, 1810 to 1816
Governor Macquarie created Macquarie Street and set aside land in the Domain in 1810. He wanted a proper hospital, but London wouldn't pay for one. So he did a deal. On 6 November 1810 he signed a contract with a group of businessmen, Garnham Blaxcell, Alexander Riley and, a bit later, D'Arcy Wentworth, to build it. Wikipedia's Sydney Hospital article says that in return they could import 45,000 gallons of rum, later raised to 60,000, and sell it to the colonists. The State Heritage Register describes it as three years' exclusive rights to import rum. Building started in 1811 with convict labour.
By 1816 there were three two-storey colonnaded buildings. People called them "elegant and commodious", but Francis Greenway criticised both the design and the building work. He had a point. Defects from the builders' short cuts were still turning up in the 1980s. The first surgeon to live in the north wing's Surgeon's Quarters was D'Arcy Wentworth, one of the rum contractors himself. His son, William Charles Wentworth, went on to be called the "father of the constitution", and that constitution was argued over in the same building.
Only two of the three wings survive. The south wing is the Mint, and the north wing is Parliament House. The centre wing had been built on poor foundations. It was pulled down in 1879, and Sydney Hospital was built in its place, finished in 1894.
The Legislative Council Moves In, 1829
New South Wales' first legislature, the Legislative Council, was set up under the New South Wales Act of 1823. Wikipedia's Council article says it started meeting on 25 August 1824 as a five-member appointed body advising the Governor. It had no fixed home and met in places like the old Government House. In 1829 it grew from five members to 15. From 21 August that year it met in the downstairs northern room of the Surgeon's Quarters. That left the surgeon with just two rooms, and the clerk of the Councils and other officials took the other five. From 1831 to 1836 the clerk also looked after a small natural history collection, Australia's first museum and the start of what became the Australian Museum.
The State Heritage Register says the north wing was taken over because it was the largest public building in New South Wales at the time.
The 1843 Council and its New Chamber
The Electoral Act of 1843 expanded the Council to 36 members, 12 appointed by the Governor and 24 elected by eligible landholders. That made it the first partly elected parliament in Australia. The old room was far too small, so a new chamber was added at the northern end of the building. The Legislative Assembly still sits in that chamber today.
The Council grew again under the Electoral Act of 1851, to 54 members, 36 elected by men who met property requirements and 18 appointed.
Responsible Government and the Iron Chamber, 1856
Under the new constitution of 1856, New South Wales got a two-house parliament. The Legislative Assembly was fully elected and the Legislative Council fully appointed, and an elected government took over most of the Governor's law-making powers. The new parliament opened on 22 May 1856.
The Assembly took over the 1843 chamber, so the Council needed somewhere else, quickly. The answer was a prefabricated iron building. Robertson & Lister had made it in Scotland, and it had been shipped to Melbourne. New South Wales bought it for £1,835 and put it up at the southern end of the old hospital building. Erecting and furnishing it, along with new offices, cost another £4,475. It wasn't finished when the new parliament opened in it on 22 May 1856.
It was never a comfortable room. The walls were packing boards covered in hessian and plaster, and the curved iron roof caused trouble with the acoustics, lighting and ventilation. The roof was replaced with slate in 1959. In the 1920s the southern wall started to fail, and wooden props went up outside and inside the chamber to hold up the ceiling. The southern wall was rebuilt completely in the 1930s. Despite all that, the Council still sits in it. The vice-regal chair and the table both date from 1856, and the President's chair from 1886. All three are red cedar.
Bits Added, and Grand Plans that Never Happened
The building grew in bits and pieces. The Parliamentary Library moved into the original Council chamber in 1850. In 1892 and 1893 the façade was brought 3 metres closer to the street. The Jubilee Room was built in 1906 as a reading room for the library.
Meanwhile one government after another planned to replace the whole thing:
- 1861: William Henry Lynn won a competition for a Gothic Revival parliament. It was never built.
- 1888: A foundation stone was laid for a grand new building on land bought in 1879, where the State Library now stands. It never went ahead.
- 1897: Walter Liberty Vernon drew up a design stretching from Sydney Hospital to the Bourke statue.
- 1907: A new neoclassical front was planned. It fell through in 1908, when the government came up with only £74,051 of the £146,000 needed.
- 1935: A plan to knock down Parliament House, Sydney Hospital and the Mint for a new parliament facing Bridge Street was put off in 1936 because of the Depression.
- 1964: The Government Architect proposed moving Sydney Hospital away to make room for a monumental new Parliament House at the end of Martin Place. It slowed after the change of government in 1965.
It's lucky for us they all fell over.
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Federation and the Vote for Women
The State Heritage Register says two conventions on Federation and the drafting of the Australian Constitution were held at Parliament House in the 1890s. Between 1891 and 1901 several bills to give women the vote passed the Assembly but were defeated in the Council. New South Wales finally gave women the vote in July 1902.
For the full story of how the colonies came together, see my page Federation – 1 January 1901.
Women could vote, but it took a while before one sat in the chamber. In May 1925 Millicent Preston-Stanley won one of the Eastern Suburbs seats for the Nationalist Party and became the first woman in the Legislative Assembly. Her maiden speech on 26 August 1925 had a dig at members who thought women should be kept away from "the hurly-burly of politics". She said that attitude might do credit to the softness of their hearts, but was "prima facie evidence of a little softening in their heads." She died in Randwick in 1955.
Lang, the Governor and 1932
Jack Lang tried to abolish the Legislative Council in 1925, 1926 and 1929, and failed each time. During the Depression he refused to follow the Premiers' Plan and wouldn't pay interest to overseas bondholders. When the Lyons federal government passed the Financial Agreement Enforcement Act, Lang took the state's money out of government bank accounts and stored it at the Sydney Trades Hall. Governor Sir Philip Game warned him it was illegal. On 13 May 1932 Game sacked Lang and his government. Lang is still the only Australian state premier ever removed by a governor. The fight over the Council did bring reform, though. From 1933 a quarter of its members were elected every three years by the members of both houses, instead of being appointed by the Governor.
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The Council itself kept changing. Under the Wran government it became directly elected in 1978. Under the Greiner government in 1991 it was cut to 42 members, with half elected every four years. That's how it works today.
The Tower Out the Back
By 1970 much of Parliament House was below standard and a possible firetrap. Most members shared rooms, and the Leader of the Opposition worked above a hot, noisy boiler room. The Parliamentary Librarian, Dr Russell Cope, pushed for something better. The 1972 plan kept everything inside the existing site, and Parliament had to keep sitting the whole time. Premier Robert Askin even kept the swimming pool in after Treasury tried to cut it. In 1975 Premier Tom Lewis added an auditorium and a media centre. Works began that year with demolition and excavation, and the historic Richmond Villa was moved stone by stone to Kent Street, Millers Point. Hornibrook won the construction management contract.
The first stage, the 12-storey block facing the Domain, was finished in 1979. The second stage then linked it to the old Macquarie Street buildings. Fountain Court, with its fountain by Robert Woodward, opened in 1983. The last stage was finished in 1985, when both chambers were restored to how they looked in 1892. One photographer on Commons dates the new building to about 1980.
If you're after the paintings and busts inside, I've done a separate page on the artworks housed in NSW Parliament House.
Heritage
Parliament House went on the State Heritage Register on 19 April 2002. The listing calls it the oldest public building in the City of Sydney, part of Sydney's oldest surviving group of public buildings, and a fine example of old colonial Georgian architecture. It also calls it a rare example of a building that has been a working place continuously. Wikipedia points out that, unlike the parliaments in other capitals, ours isn't grand at all. To my mind that's half its charm.
Timeline
- 1810: Macquarie creates Macquarie Street. The rum contract is signed on 6 November.
- 1811: Building of the General (Rum) Hospital begins.
- 1816: The three colonnaded wings are finished.
- 1823: The New South Wales Act establishes the Legislative Council.
- 25 August 1824: The five-member Council first meets.
- 21 August 1829: The Council, now 15 members, starts meeting in the Surgeon's Quarters.
- 1831 to 1836: Australia's first museum collection is kept here.
- 1843: The partly elected Council of 36 needs a new chamber at the north end (1842 in the heritage listing).
- 1850: The Parliamentary Library moves into the old Council chamber.
- 1851: The Council is enlarged to 54.
- 22 May 1856: The bicameral parliament opens. The Council meets in the iron chamber.
- 1861: Lynn's Gothic Revival plan, never built.
- 1879: The hospital's centre wing is demolished.
- 1888: Foundation stone laid for a new parliament, never built.
- 1891 to 1901: Women's suffrage bills are defeated in the Council.
- 1890s: Federation conventions held here.
- 1892 to 1893: The façade is moved 3 metres towards the street.
- 1894: The new Sydney Hospital is finished.
- 1897: Vernon's design, never built.
- July 1902: NSW women get the vote.
- 1906: The Jubilee Room is built.
- May 1925: Millicent Preston-Stanley is elected, the first woman in the Assembly.
- 1925, 1926 and 1929: Lang tries to abolish the Council.
- 13 May 1932: Governor Game dismisses Lang.
- 1933: Council members are now elected by both houses.
- 1930s: The Council chamber's southern wall is rebuilt.
- 1959: The Council chamber gets a slate roof.
- 1975: Works on the new building begin.
- 1978: The Council becomes directly elected.
- 1979: The 12-storey Domain block is finished.
- 1983: Fountain Court is completed.
- 1985: Rebuilding finished. The chambers are restored to their 1892 look.
- 1991: The Council is cut to 42 members.
- 19 April 2002: Added to the State Heritage Register.
Where the Sources Disagree
- When the Council started. The Legislative Council article says it was established by the 1823 Act and first met on 25 August 1824. The Parliament House article says it "was formed in 1824". My own text above says created in 1823.
- The new chamber. The Parliament House article ties it to the 1843 constitution. The heritage listing says it was built in 1842 for a council set up under "the new constitution of 1842". The Council article says the Electoral Act of 1843.
- The rum deal. The Sydney Hospital article says 45,000 gallons, later 60,000. The heritage listing says three years' exclusive import rights. The Sydney Hospital article also says Wentworth joined the contract "later". The heritage listing just says three businessmen.
- Where the iron chamber came from. One part of the Wikipedia article says it was made in Scotland by Robertson & Lister and shipped to Melbourne. The heritage text says it was shipped to Melbourne "from Glasgow". Both agree it came to Sydney from Melbourne.
- The tower block. Wikipedia says the Domain block was finished in 1979 and the whole rebuild in 1985. One Commons photographer dates it to about 1980. Wikipedia's opening calls it a 1970s building.
- Preston-Stanley. Wikipedia calls her the first female member of the NSW Legislative Assembly, and also "the second woman to enter government in Australia". I've gone with the first, narrower claim.
My Earlier Posts
- Artworks Housed in NSW Parliament House
- The Sydney Mint, Macquarie Street
- Sydney Hospital, Macquarie Street (February 2015)
- Sydney Hospital, Macquarie Street (June 2015)
- Sydney Hospital, August 2021
- Macquarie Street and Associated Landmarks
- The Colonial Secretary's Building
- Treasury and Audit Office
- State Library of NSW, Mitchell Wing
- History House, 133 Macquarie Street
- Government House
- Burdekin House
- Queens Square
- Federation – 1 January 1901 – From Parkes at Tenterfield to the First Parliament
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Parliament House, Sydney", including NSW State Heritage Register entry 1615 (CC BY 4.0)
- Wikipedia, "Sydney Hospital"
- Wikipedia, "New South Wales Legislative Council"
- Wikipedia, "Parliament of New South Wales"
- Wikipedia, "Millicent Preston-Stanley"
- Wikipedia, "1932 New South Wales constitutional crisis"
- Wikimedia Commons, for the images and their descriptions (State Library of NSW, Powerhouse Museum, ANMM and individual photographers)