History of convict colonial settlement from the beginnings of the First Fleet in 1788, and other significant parts of Old Sydney Town's heritage.
If you stand outside the Museum of Contemporary Art and squint at the quay, you’re on top of a ghost. The Commissariat Stores — big sandstone government warehouses on the western shore of Sydney Cove — were the logistical heart of the convict colony. Lieutenant-Governor Joseph Foveaux commissioned building in 1809; Governor Lachlan Macquarie finished the 1810 store and ordered another in 1812. They sat in front of what later became the Maritime Services Board headquarters, tied into the naval dockyard and early quay works.
For more than a century those ranges were among Sydney’s oldest surviving public buildings. Then the 1938 Butters Plan for Circular Quay renewal marked them for demolition to clear space for a new MSB office and a modern quay. There was a proper row about it — an early heritage flashpoint — and the stores still came down in 1939. Post-war building produced the MSB block (occupied in the early 1950s); since 1991 that building has housed the MCA.
Under and around the MCA / First Fleet Park area, the Sydney Cove West Archaeological Precinct (State Heritage listed) holds what’s left: archaeological evidence of the Commissariat, the government dockyard and related early quay fabric. A foundation stone from Macquarie’s 1812 building was kept at the request of the Royal Australian Historical Society and later marked nearby. This post is about a lost Circular Quay landmark — not a building you can still walk into.
Simeon Lord's House, also known as Macquarie House, is a historic building located in Macquarie Place, Sydney. It is an important landmark that reflects the colonial history of the city. Here's an overview of the history of Simeon Lord's House:
Early Ownership and Construction:
Location and Significance:
Architectural Features:
Merchant's Residence and Business Hub:
Lord's Controversies:
Later Uses and Restoration:
Heritage Status:
Today, Simeon Lord's House stands as a tangible link to Sydney's colonial past and the individuals who shaped the city's development. It serves as a reminder of the complex history of the early colonial period and the people who played pivotal roles in Sydney's economic and social growth
In early New South Wales the Naval Officer wasn’t a ship’s captain’s title on shore leave — it was the official who enforced British navigation and trade laws and collected import duties, the forerunner of the Collector of Customs. Governor King appointed a part-time Naval Officer in 1800; after Navigation Law changes and the end of the East India Company’s regional monopoly, the Colonial Office upgraded the post. Captain John Piper (born Maybole, Ayrshire, 1773), formerly of the New South Wales Corps, was appointed Naval Officer and returned to Sydney in 1814. He became one of the colony’s most conspicuous public men — later nicknamed in society as a “prince” of colonial hospitality — until suspended in 1827 over large deficiencies in customs collection (mismanagement rather than proven theft). He resigned and sold much of his property to clear the debt.
The Naval Officer’s workplace sat in the maritime strip of Sydney Cove / George Street North associated with the Government Dockyard (accounts place the office toward the northern end of the dockyard precinct, earlier linked with the master boat builder’s residence). Customs functions later moved to premises in The Rocks (including the Argyle Stores period) and, from 1845, to the purpose-built Customs House on Circular Quay. The landmark “outside the Rawson Institute for Men” points to the later Mariners’ Church / Mission to Seamen complex at about 100 George Street (opened 1859; Rawson Institute name from the 1909 extensions) — handy Rocks orientation for historic views, but not itself Piper’s Naval Office.
Images here relate to George Street North and the early customs / dockyard shoreline story. Fix every “Navel” typo to Naval; the ship was Pitt, not “HMAS Pitt.”
