George McCrae - New South Wales Colonial Architect - Sydney Municipality Building

Sydney Municipality Building

This Building Waa Designed By The colonial architect George McCrae And Was Built In 1896. He Had Been Appointed As The Head Colonial Architect For The City Of Sydney During The Golden Era Of the Victorian Era. 

George McCrae Was Also The Architect behind The Design Of The queen Victoria Building. & Would You believe  He Wet as Far As Designing Four Different Styles For The "Queen Victoria Markets" Which We Now Call The Queen Victoria Building 
George McCrae Did A Gothic Revival, Queen Anne Style,  Renaissance & Romanesque. I wonder where His Other versions  Of The Queen Victoria Building Are Ok If They've Ever Seen the Light When The  Romanesque Style Was Decided Upon. 

Sydney Centennial - 1888 - A Coming Of Age

1888 was The Summer Of The Height Of The Victorian Era In Old Sudney Town As It Came Into It's Own. 

It Was. A Year Of Celebrations For Sydney As It reached Is First Milestone Of 100 Years Of Settlement From The Furst Fleet Arriving With Captain Arthur Phillip In 1788. 

All The Builders Were Making Every Human Effort To Have Their Buildings Finished In That Year So Those Maguc numerals of 1888 Could Be Carved Iver Doorways, And Carved Into The Centrepiece Stones Of Their Magnificent Achievements. 

By The End Of The Centennial Year 1888, Sydney City Had Grown To 2,645 Acres, Amd There was Scarcely Any Building Left That Was Made Out Of Timber 

Waterloo Congregational Church

The Waterloo Comgregational  Church 

103 Botany Road.....  Waterloo 

This Is What The Building Looked Like In1865.  ItS No Longer A. Congregational Church 

Sydney Garden Palace after The Fire

Sydney GARDEN PALACE 

The Most Significant & Magnificent Building Ever In Australia. Then And There Is Nothing Now That Could Conpete With The Magnificent Roman 

The Sydney Garden Palace Gates were part of the entrance to the Sydney Garden Palace, a magnificent structure that once stood in the Royal Botanic Garden of Sydney, Australia. The gates are a remnant of the Garden Palace, which was a grand exhibition building that showcased the technological and cultural achievements of the late 19th century. Here's more information about the Sydney Garden Palace Gates:

The Garden Palace:

• The Sydney Garden Palace was a vast exhibition building constructed for the Sydney International Exhibition of 1879. The building was designed by colonial architect James Barnet and was situated within the Royal Botanic Garden.
• The Garden Palace was an impressive structure made of glass and iron, and it covered an enormous area. It housed a wide variety of exhibits, including displays of art, industry, science, and technology.

Gates and Entrance:

• The entrance to the Sydney Garden Palace was marked by grand gates that led visitors into the exhibition building.
• These gates were an integral part of the overall design, serving as an introduction to the opulent architecture and cultural treasures within the Garden Palace.

Destruction and Legacy:

• Tragically, the Sydney Garden Palace was destroyed by a fire on September 22, 1882, just a few years after the exhibition. The fire was a devastating loss, as the Garden Palace housed numerous irreplaceable artifacts and exhibits.
• The only remaining physical remnant of the Garden Palace is the sandstone and iron gates that once welcomed visitors into the grand exhibition building.

Current Location:

• The surviving gates were removed from their original location at the site of the Garden Palace's entrance and repositioned elsewhere in the Royal Botanic Garden.
• The gates serve as a historical artifact and a reminder of the grandeur that once existed on the grounds. They are an enduring link to a significant event in Sydney's history.

Cultural Significance:

• The Sydney Garden Palace and its gates hold cultural and historical importance, representing a brief yet impactful moment in Sydney's past.
• The gates symbolize the aspirations, achievements, and ultimately the loss associated with the Garden Palace and the exhibition it hosted.

Heritage Preservation:

• The surviving gates are carefully preserved to ensure their historical significance is not lost. They serve as a tangible connection to an event that showcased the global ambitions of a growing colonial city.

The Sydney Garden Palace Gates stand as a poignant reminder of an ambitious project that sought to celebrate progress and innovation. While the grand exhibition building itself was lost to fire, these gates endure as a lasting testament to the cultural, technological, and architectural aspirations of 19th-century Sydney.

Governor Darling Announces 19 Counties - 1829

  It Was In 1829, That Governor Darling Announced 19 Counties Within New South Wales 

Sydney Garden Palace - Part 2

Sydney Garden Palace - Part 2 

The Pictures Show Here Are From

the Great Exhibition... The Expo Of 1888. You May Recall That Exactly 100 Years Later In 1988 The World Expo Was Held In Brisbane Queensland. 

It Would've Been A Grand Event To See

The Sydney Crystal Garden Palace and The Great Exhibition of 1851


There are a few photos of the Crystal palace Located at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney Australia. This magnificent structure was built to hole the World Expo in the 1880's. Unfortunately within a couple years of it being built, it burnt down.
It appears to be one of the most magnificent buildings in Sydney for the time, far outweighing the Queen Victroria building etc and other buildings in Sydney of that era. There are only a few photos left.


the Palace was composed almost entirely of iron and glass with wood used only in the fittings and floorboards. The construction used 2300 cast-iron girders, 358 wrought-iron trusses to support the roof, 325 kilometres of sash bars supporting glass weighing more than 406 tonnes and 3230 hollow cast-iron columns which, as well as being the primary supporting infrastructure, served as water pipes to carry off rainwater from the 54.7 kilometres of guttering.

The final structure was an impressive 563 metres long and 124 metres wide with a central transept 22 metres wide and rising to 32.9 metres, specially designed to enclose within the building a grove of tall elms that public opinion would not allow to be cut down. The structure covered over seven hectares of ground and enclosed 934 560 cubic metres of space while galleries added another two hectares to the floor area.

If opening day was a sensation the following weeks exceeded all expectations. Carried from the Midlands and the North by the newly inaugurated popular excursion trains and coastal steamers, visitors to the Exhibition came in numbers that first alarmed, then surprised and finally delighted the organisers. Men, women and children came, they came singly, they came in families, they came, in the end, in droves. On one day in October 109 915 people were admitted to the Exhibition.

Other statistics add to the legend of the Exhibition. It attracted no fewer than six million visitors during the 141 days it was open to the public—many from overseas; an incredible number considering a population much lower, and poorer, than today, and limited transport options—no international flights or coach tours! The Exhibition also achieved several other firsts, including the first public toilets—which brought in a substantial contribution of £1769 to the overall profit of £186 000—and it was the first, and possibly the last, to actually make a profit, part of which was used to provide London with a cultural and educational centre, including the famous Victoria and Albert Museum. The total value of the exhibits was estimated at about £2 million—not including the fantastic Koh-i-Noor (Mountain of Light) diamond, now part of the British crown jewels, and which was considered too difficult to value. The figures clearly show the Great Exhibition in its spectacular Palace was a resounding triumph.

Not surprisingly, the phenomenal success encouraged international emulation and the rest of the world quickly followed suit. Australia’s first international trade exhibition opened in Sydney in 1879. It was housed in a specially constructed large and ornate building called the Garden Palace on land now included in the Botanic Gardens. Unhappily it was destroyed by fire in 1882

This Photo Was Taken On The 27th January 1880

This Last PhotoOf The Palace Was Taken From "Pinchgut Island", which Is Of A Distance Of 1520 Yards 

The Palace Is 

800 Hundred  Feet Long

500 Hundred Feet Broad

Covers 5 & A Quarter Acres In Floorspace 

Arthur Phillip - First Fleet - King George III's Instructions

Arthur Phillip Had Been Given A Royal Commission By King George III Before He Left Portsmouth In May 1787, Appointing HiM Liuetanant General, Or Commander In Chief Over The New Colony .

After Phillip And The Marines Had Finally Got All The Women Convicts Ashore At Circular Quay On February 6th 1788, A Mass Orgy Between the Male Convicts And The Female Convicts Occurred Through The Night. Judge Advocate David Collins Recorded In His

Journal That The Humidity Was Almost Unbearable, And There Was An Intense Storm And Lightning Struck A Tree And Killed 2 Sheep As They Were All Huddled In Their Tents They Could Hear The Howling Of The Dingoes As They Dug The Graves Of The People Who Had Been Freshly Buried At The Very First Sydney Burial Ground

located Near Dawes Point. 

George III. By The Grace Of God. King Of Great Britain, France & Ireland. To Our Trusty & Well Beloved Arthur Phillip Esq.  

We, Reposing A Special Trust In The Prudence, Courage & Loyalty Of You, The Said Arthur Phillip, Of Our Special Grace; Have Seen Fit To Constitute & Appoint You To Be Our Lieutenant General, Or Commander In Chief; In, & Over Our Territory Called New South Wales.  

Starting From The Northern Cape Or Coastal Extremity Known As Cape York, In Latitude 10 Degrees 37 Minutes To The Southern Cape Or Coastal Extremity In Latitude 43 Degrees 37 Minutes South. & All The Land Westward, To The 135th Degrre Of East Longtitude, Including All The Islands Adjacent In The Pacific Ocean, Within The Latitude Name. 

Our Will & Pleasure Is That You Take The Oath Of Office Of Luietenant General & Commander In Chief, For The Due & Impartial Administration Of Justice 

& We Hereby Authorise & Empower You To Keep & Use The Public Seal, For Sealing All Things Whatsoever That Shall Pass The Great Seal Of Our Said Territory, & It's Dependancies. 

Likewise, We Give You Full Power & Authority To Give Oaths;To Such Person, Or Persons As You Will Judge Fit. To Constitute & Appoint Justice's Of The Peace, Coroners, Constables & Other Such Necessary Officers, For The Better Administration Of Justice. 

To Pardon Offences; To Remit Fines & Forfeitures, To Levy, Arm, Muster & Command All Persons Whatsoever,  Civil & Military,  Residing In The Said Territory, For The Resisting Of All Enemies; Pirates & Rebels, At Sea & On Land. 

To Execute Mashall Law In Time Of Invasion, & At Other Times, When, By Law It May Be Executed 

To Constitute & Appoint Masters Of Ships, Lieutenants & Other Such Necessary Officers; To Punish & Execute  Convicts, At Sea, Or During Their Time  Of Abode At Ports Harbours & Bays. 

To Erect, Raise & Build As Many Platforms, Burrows, Cities, Castles & Towns:  & Other Fortifications As You Shall Judge Necessary 

We Also Give You Full Power & Authority To Grant Land, To Control Commerce, To Erect Fair Marts & Markets. 

& We Hereby Command All Citizens, Civil & Military; & All Other Inhabitants To Be Obedient, Aiding & Assisting, To You, The Said Arthur Phillip; In The Execution Of This; Our Royal Commission. 

& In The Event Of Your Absence Or Death From The Said Territory, & It's Dependances, All Inhabitants Are To Be Obedient Aiding & Assisting To Such Person That Will Be Appointed By Us To Be Lieutenant General Or Commander In Chief. 

Witnessed Ourselves At Westminster, On The 2nd Day Of April, In The 27th Year Of Our Reign. 

& For So Doing, This Shall Be Your Warrant; Given At Our Court At At James On The 22nd March 1787, In The 27th Year Of Our Reign 

GOD SAVE THE KING 

5. First Government House

First Government House

Bridge Street And Phillip Street South Western Corner.

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. 

Be Chosen By Us To Be Liuetenant General Or Commander In Chief 

Construction Of The First Government House Was Commenced On May 15, 1788. Governor Phillip Moved In Ahortly Before June 4 1789. It Was The Residence of 8 Governors Until 1845

National Day Of The Australian Flag - September 3rd

On September 3rd 1901.... 8 Months After The Australian Constitution was Signed  ... the Australian Flag Was Flown For the First Time. Before That Each Colonial State had Its Own Version

National Wattle Day - September 1st

National Wattle Day 

National wattle day

Since Federation in 1901 When The Constitution Was Signed In Centennial Park Sydney, The Native Wattle Plant Came To Represent All The States Of The Commonwealth. This Is where The Colours Green & Gold Originated From.
In 1913 The Governor General Gazetted that September 1st, the First Day Of Spring Become A National Day Recognising The Wattle Bush, Which Grows In Every State Of The Commonwealth