Admiralty House, Sydney
Encyclopedia
Admiralty House is the official Sydney
residence of the Governor-General of Australia
. It is located in the suburb of Kirribilli
, on the northern foreshore of Sydney Harbour
(adjacent to Kirribilli House
, which is the Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister
). This large, Italianate, sandstone mansion occupies the tip of Kirribilli Point. Once known as “Wotonga”, it has commanding views across Sydney Harbour to the Sydney Harbour Bridge
and the Sydney Opera House
.
Its current name originates in the fact that it served as the residence for the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy
’s Australia Squadron from 1885 to 1913.
The original building on the site was completed, as a private dwelling, in mid-to-late 1843, by Colonel John George Nathaniel Gibbes (1787-1873), the then Collector of Customs for New South Wales and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
. A portrait of Gibbes, painted in 1808, hangs in the house.
” lived along the Kirribilli and Milson's Point foreshores, and in the surrounding bushland. The area was a fertile fishing ground, and thus the name “Kirribilli” is derived from the Aboriginal word "Kiarabilli", which means "good fishing spot". The name “Cammeraygal
” is displayed on the North Sydney Municipal Council emblem, and also gave name to the suburb of Cammeray
.
was settled early in the history of the Colony. One of the first records of land being granted on the North Shore was of 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) on the North side of the Harbour of Port Jackson opposite Sydney Cove
on 20 February 1794 to an expired convict, Samuel Lightfoot. Lightfoot was a former convict, born in about 1763 and transported to Australia for seven years for stealing clothing. He arrived with the First Fleet in 1788 on the Charlotte
.
In 1794 Thomas Muir, a Scottish constitutional reformer, was sentenced to transportation for sedition. Thomas Muir purchased Lightfoot's farm. Muir also had a cottage on what is now Circular Quay. It is likely that the farm was located at the Jeffrey Street
end of Kirribilli (not near Admiralty house) and was named “Huntershill” by Thomas Muir, after his father’s home in Scotland
. Thomas Muir escaped from the colony in 1796 aboard an American brig, the Otter.
Four years later the Colonial Secretary recorded that the land grant to Lightfoot was cancelled and given to Robert Ryan in 1800 with no mention of the intermediate (private) sale to Muir.
Ryan had worked in Norfolk Island
, both as a soldier and also a settler. The 30 acres (12 hectares) of Lightfoot's Grant was cancelled and included in a 120 acre (48.5-hectare) grant to Ryan for his service in the Royal Marines and the NSW Corps. The corresponding entry in the Register of Land Grants states Cancelled, and a New Grant given to Robert Ryan for 90 acres in addition to this Allotment, by Governor Hunter. See the third Register, Folio 37. This grant to Ryan included almost all Kirribilli and later maps referred. By 1801, the property had passed into the hands of Robert Campbell
, a wealthy Sydney merchant. Campbell built Australia’s first shipbuilding yards in 1807, at the site that is now occupied by the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
, Kirribilli. Part of the land in Kirribilli was also briefly used for quarantine purposes in 1814 for the convict ship Surry
. Over 46 persons had died during the voyage of typhoid including 36 convicts.
Campbell’s property in Kirribilli was used for grazing under lease to Campbell’s friend James Milson (1785-1872), hence the name “Milson's Point”. Milson's Point is the next point along from Kirribilli point, where the Sydney Harbour Bridge crosses the harbour. A plan of sub-division was drawn up in the 1840's by Robert Campbell
. In 1842, the 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) site where Admiralty House now sits was leased to the Collector of Customs for the Colony, Lieutenant-Colonel (later full Colonel) Gibbes, MLC. Colonel Gibbes intended to build a private home on the site. (Since his arrival in the colony in 1834, Gibbes and his family had been living in Henrietta Villa, also known as the Naval Villa, on Sydney's Point Piper, under a leasehold arrangement.)
Today, Wotonga forms the core of Admiralty House and the building's 180-degree, east-west panoramic sight-lines are even more spectacular than they were in Colonel Gibbes' day, owing to the subsequent high-rise growth of Sydney's CBD.
Colonel Gibbes, incidentally, was said to be the illegitimate child of His Royal Highness Frederick, Duke of York, (King George III's second son). This reputed connection to the British monarchy adds spice to the house on Kirribilli Point's subsequent role as a vice-regal establishment. For more information about Wotonga's construction, see the article, "John Gibbes: Builder of Admiralty House" that was published in April 1997 in Volume 37, Number 1, of the journal of the North Sydney Historical Society.
at Shark Beach, Vaucluse, from the Wentworth
family and remained in Sydney for the better part of eight years, eventually retiring to Yarralumla
homestead, now the official Canberra
residence of the Governor-General of Australia
, in 1859.)
A small portion of the Kirribilli Point land, a little over 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) was sold by Travers in 1854 to a merchant, Adolph Frederic Feez. On this land, Kirribilli House
was built in neo-Gothic style . Kirribilli House, situated next door to Admiralty House, serves today as the official Sydney residence of the Prime Minister of Australia
.
, Governor William Denison
reclaimed the tip of Kirribilli Point, on which fortifications were built. These fortifications, along with Fort Denison
, were intended to strengthen the defences of Sydney Harbour, as it was feared that the Russia
ns might attack. In 1856, Lieutenant-Colonel George Barney
, a Royal Engineers
officer, lived in “Wotonga“ and designed and supervised the installation of a battery of five, 8-inch muzzle-loading guns on Kirribilli Point, as well as constructing the martello tower
at Fort Denison.
from 1858 to 1861.
In April 1874, Wotonga House was auctioned and bought for 10,100 pounds by Mr Thomas Cadell, a Sydney merchant and member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1881 to 1896. At that time, the house was described as possessing a wide verandah, a spacious entrance hall, drawing and dining rooms, 10 bedrooms and the "'usual rooms"" in the main part of the house, as well as having a large courtyard, servant's rooms, kitchen, stables, etc., with an abundant water supply, which never failed in the driest weather.
In 1913, this part of the history of Admiralty House came to a close when the last British admiral left the house and the Royal Australian Navy
took over responsibility for the naval defence of Australia.
in 1901, the Government House
of New South Wales in Farm Cove
was used as the Sydney residence of the Governor-General. In 1912, the Government of New South Wales
decided to put the building to public purposes once more, leaving the Governor-General of the period, Lord Denman
, without a Sydney residence.
With the departure of the last British Admiral from Admiralty House the following year, the Admiralty handed the house back to the New South Wales Government. This provided Lord Denman’s successor, Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson, with a Sydney residence. Admiralty House was the residence of the Governors-General for the following fifteen years.
In 1930, during the Great Depression
, the Scullin Government had Admiralty House closed, and its contents were sold at Auction in 1931.
Governor-General Sir Isaac Isaacs
, appointed in 1931, was the first Governor-General to live permanently at Yarralumla
, in Canberra
. During his term, Admiralty House remained empty and neglected. Sir Isaac described it in 1934 as being "stripped of its glamour, with no furnishings but a few fine mirrors, its garden wild and overgrown". In 1936, the State of New South Wales reopened Admiralty House as the Sydney residence for the new Governor-General, Lord Gowrie
. The house has been used ever since as a vice-regal establishment.
Formal title to Admiralty House finally passed from the State Government to the Commonwealth by Crown grant in 1948, on the condition that the house was to be used only as a residence for the Governor-General.
are usually open to the public once a year, sometime in spring when the gardens are at their best. Security concerns caused the cancellation of openings from 2001 to 2005.
A history of the garden was published in the Oxford Companion to Australian Gardens.
Admiralty House is at present an official residence of the Governor-General of Australia, and accommodates important overseas visitors to Sydney. The Royal Family and other dignitaries, such as the President of the United States
and the Pope
, are entertained at Admiralty House when they are in Sydney.
The house is furnished extensively with colonial furniture, porcelain, ornaments and numerous historical artworks such as portraits of Captain James Cook
and some former Governors-General, including Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
. Many of these items were acquired for the nation by The Australiana Fund
.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
residence of the Governor-General of Australia
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
. It is located in the suburb of Kirribilli
Kirribilli, New South Wales
Kirribilli is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located three kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area administered by North Sydney Council...
, on the northern foreshore of Sydney Harbour
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
(adjacent to Kirribilli House
Kirribilli House
Kirribilli House is the official Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister. The house is located at the far eastern end of Kirribilli Avenue in the harbourside suburb of Kirribilli...
, which is the Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
). This large, Italianate, sandstone mansion occupies the tip of Kirribilli Point. Once known as “Wotonga”, it has commanding views across Sydney Harbour to the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic...
and the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
.
Its current name originates in the fact that it served as the residence for the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
’s Australia Squadron from 1885 to 1913.
The original building on the site was completed, as a private dwelling, in mid-to-late 1843, by Colonel John George Nathaniel Gibbes (1787-1873), the then Collector of Customs for New South Wales and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
New South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
. A portrait of Gibbes, painted in 1808, hangs in the house.
Pre–European Kirribilli
Before the arrival of European settlers in Sydney Harbour, the Aboriginal tribe “CammeraygalCammeraygal
The Cammeraygal are an Indigenous Australian people that inhabited the Lower North Shore area of the present-day North Sydney Council in Sydney, Australia....
” lived along the Kirribilli and Milson's Point foreshores, and in the surrounding bushland. The area was a fertile fishing ground, and thus the name “Kirribilli” is derived from the Aboriginal word "Kiarabilli", which means "good fishing spot". The name “Cammeraygal
Cammeraygal
The Cammeraygal are an Indigenous Australian people that inhabited the Lower North Shore area of the present-day North Sydney Council in Sydney, Australia....
” is displayed on the North Sydney Municipal Council emblem, and also gave name to the suburb of Cammeray
Cammeray, New South Wales
Cammeray is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Cammeray is located 5 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of North Sydney Council.Cammeray is mostly a residential area...
.
Beginnings of Admiralty House site
KirribilliKirribilli, New South Wales
Kirribilli is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located three kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area administered by North Sydney Council...
was settled early in the history of the Colony. One of the first records of land being granted on the North Shore was of 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) on the North side of the Harbour of Port Jackson opposite Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson , on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia....
on 20 February 1794 to an expired convict, Samuel Lightfoot. Lightfoot was a former convict, born in about 1763 and transported to Australia for seven years for stealing clothing. He arrived with the First Fleet in 1788 on the Charlotte
Charlotte (ship)
The Charlotte was a First Fleet transport ship of 335 tons, built on the River Thames in 1787. She was a light sailer, and had to be towed down the English Channel for the first few days of the voyage...
.
In 1794 Thomas Muir, a Scottish constitutional reformer, was sentenced to transportation for sedition. Thomas Muir purchased Lightfoot's farm. Muir also had a cottage on what is now Circular Quay. It is likely that the farm was located at the Jeffrey Street
Jeffrey Street
Jeffrey Street or Jeffreys Street, Kirribilli is famous as one of the most popular vantage points for views of the city of Sydney, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House...
end of Kirribilli (not near Admiralty house) and was named “Huntershill” by Thomas Muir, after his father’s home in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Thomas Muir escaped from the colony in 1796 aboard an American brig, the Otter.
Four years later the Colonial Secretary recorded that the land grant to Lightfoot was cancelled and given to Robert Ryan in 1800 with no mention of the intermediate (private) sale to Muir.
Ryan had worked in Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
, both as a soldier and also a settler. The 30 acres (12 hectares) of Lightfoot's Grant was cancelled and included in a 120 acre (48.5-hectare) grant to Ryan for his service in the Royal Marines and the NSW Corps. The corresponding entry in the Register of Land Grants states Cancelled, and a New Grant given to Robert Ryan for 90 acres in addition to this Allotment, by Governor Hunter. See the third Register, Folio 37. This grant to Ryan included almost all Kirribilli and later maps referred. By 1801, the property had passed into the hands of Robert Campbell
Robert Campbell (1769–1846)
Robert Campbell was a pioneering and leading merchant in Sydney, a land-owner, a pastoralist, a philanthropist, and a politician being a member of the first New South Wales Legislative Council...
, a wealthy Sydney merchant. Campbell built Australia’s first shipbuilding yards in 1807, at the site that is now occupied by the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron
The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron is a yacht club located in North Sydney, Australia in the suburb of Kirribilli.The squadron was originally founded in 1862...
, Kirribilli. Part of the land in Kirribilli was also briefly used for quarantine purposes in 1814 for the convict ship Surry
Surry (ship)
Surry, later referred to as the Surrey, had an especially long career transporting convicts to Australia. In 11 voyages, the most of any convict transport, she brought 2,177 convicts, male and female, and so became one of the best-known of the vessels that visited Australia...
. Over 46 persons had died during the voyage of typhoid including 36 convicts.
Campbell’s property in Kirribilli was used for grazing under lease to Campbell’s friend James Milson (1785-1872), hence the name “Milson's Point”. Milson's Point is the next point along from Kirribilli point, where the Sydney Harbour Bridge crosses the harbour. A plan of sub-division was drawn up in the 1840's by Robert Campbell
Robert Campbell (1769–1846)
Robert Campbell was a pioneering and leading merchant in Sydney, a land-owner, a pastoralist, a philanthropist, and a politician being a member of the first New South Wales Legislative Council...
. In 1842, the 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) site where Admiralty House now sits was leased to the Collector of Customs for the Colony, Lieutenant-Colonel (later full Colonel) Gibbes, MLC. Colonel Gibbes intended to build a private home on the site. (Since his arrival in the colony in 1834, Gibbes and his family had been living in Henrietta Villa, also known as the Naval Villa, on Sydney's Point Piper, under a leasehold arrangement.)
Colonel Gibbes erects first house
On the superb Kirribilli Point location, Colonel Gibbes erected, between 1842 and 1843, a graceful single-storey house with wide verandahs and elegant French doors. Gibbes designed the house, which he called "Wotonga" (or "Woottonga"), himself. The stone for the house's walls was quarried locally and the hardwood and cedar joinery came from George Coleson's timber-yard in George Street, Sydney. Gibbes engaged James Hume, a well-known builder who dabbled in ecclesiastical architecture, to supervise the construction of the building and its stables. Gibbes, however, hired his own masons, bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers and ironmongers to work on the project, paying each of them separately as work progressed. Gibbes used the Custom Department's cutter to commute to and from the building site. Once completed, Gibbes' L-shaped residence featured a plain, yet stylish, double façade to maximise the building's magnificent, sweeping views across Sydney Harbour. These views enabled Gibbes to monitor shipping traffic in and out of Darling Harbour and, more importantly, Circular Quay, where the Sydney Customs House was situated.Today, Wotonga forms the core of Admiralty House and the building's 180-degree, east-west panoramic sight-lines are even more spectacular than they were in Colonel Gibbes' day, owing to the subsequent high-rise growth of Sydney's CBD.
Colonel Gibbes, incidentally, was said to be the illegitimate child of His Royal Highness Frederick, Duke of York, (King George III's second son). This reputed connection to the British monarchy adds spice to the house on Kirribilli Point's subsequent role as a vice-regal establishment. For more information about Wotonga's construction, see the article, "John Gibbes: Builder of Admiralty House" that was published in April 1997 in Volume 37, Number 1, of the journal of the North Sydney Historical Society.
Gibbes, Travers & Feez
In 1849, Robert Campbell died and the executors of the estate sold the property, comprising the house and 5 acres (20,234.3 m²) land, to Colonel Gibbes for about 1,400 pounds. On 27 December 1851, Gibbes—who was contemplating a departure from the Customs Service at the age of 64—sold the property to James Lindsay Travers, a merchant of Macquarie Place, Sydney, for 1,533 pounds. (Gibbes subsequently changed his mind about leaving his position as head of the NSW Customs Department; instead, he leased Greycliffe HouseGreycliffe House
Greycliffe House is a historic, two-storey residential dwelling situated in the Sydney Suburb of Vaucluse. It is listed on the Australian Register of the National Estate.-History:...
at Shark Beach, Vaucluse, from the Wentworth
Wentworth
-People:* Baron Wentworth , the Wentworth peerage, several men and women.* D'Arcy Wentworth , surgeon in the early days of Sydney, Australia, and father of William Charles Wentworth I....
family and remained in Sydney for the better part of eight years, eventually retiring to Yarralumla
Yarralumla
Yarralumla may refer to:* Government House, Canberra, the residence of the Governor-General of Australia known as Yarralumla* Yarralumla, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra* Yarralumla Primary School...
homestead, now the official Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
residence of the Governor-General of Australia
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
, in 1859.)
A small portion of the Kirribilli Point land, a little over 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) was sold by Travers in 1854 to a merchant, Adolph Frederic Feez. On this land, Kirribilli House
Kirribilli House
Kirribilli House is the official Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister. The house is located at the far eastern end of Kirribilli Avenue in the harbourside suburb of Kirribilli...
was built in neo-Gothic style . Kirribilli House, situated next door to Admiralty House, serves today as the official Sydney residence of the Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
.
The Crimean War interlude
In 1855, during the Crimean WarCrimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
, Governor William Denison
William Denison
Sir William Thomas Denison, KCB was Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1847 to 1855, Governor of New South Wales from 20 January 1855 to 22 January 1861, and Governor of Madras from 1861 to 1866....
reclaimed the tip of Kirribilli Point, on which fortifications were built. These fortifications, along with Fort Denison
Fort Denison, New South Wales
-References:* City Of Sydney Website; , Accessed Jun 2006.* NSW Government; , , Accessed Jun 2006.* Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife, , , Accessed Jun 2006....
, were intended to strengthen the defences of Sydney Harbour, as it was feared that the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
ns might attack. In 1856, Lieutenant-Colonel George Barney
George Barney
George Barney was a Royal Engineer officer and became Lieutenant Governor of the Colony of North Australia.-Early life:...
, a Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
officer, lived in “Wotonga“ and designed and supervised the installation of a battery of five, 8-inch muzzle-loading guns on Kirribilli Point, as well as constructing the martello tower
Martello tower
Martello towers are small defensive forts built in several countries of the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards....
at Fort Denison.
Lassetter, Wilshire & Cadell
In 1856, Lieutenant-Colonel Barney bought the house and its grounds so that he could view all of the sites that he had fortified. In September 1860, Barney sold the house and grounds for 9,000 pounds to George Alfred Lloyd. In 1866, it was let to Mr Frederick Lassetter and subsequently to Mr James Wilshire, a former Lord Mayor of Sydney and a Member of the New South Wales Legislative CouncilNew South Wales Legislative Council
The New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
from 1858 to 1861.
In April 1874, Wotonga House was auctioned and bought for 10,100 pounds by Mr Thomas Cadell, a Sydney merchant and member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1881 to 1896. At that time, the house was described as possessing a wide verandah, a spacious entrance hall, drawing and dining rooms, 10 bedrooms and the "'usual rooms"" in the main part of the house, as well as having a large courtyard, servant's rooms, kitchen, stables, etc., with an abundant water supply, which never failed in the driest weather.
The Admiralty
In 1885, the Royal Navy’s Australian Squadron was raised to the status of an Admiral’s command in recognition of the colony’s growing importance. The colonial government bought “Wotonga” as residence for the Admiral of the Navy. The house was renamed “Admiralty House” and additions were made to the property. A second storey was added to the house, as was a colonnaded verandah. A neo-Gothic style gate lodge was also added to the grounds, as was a covered Admiral’s Walk leading down to the berth for the Admiral’s barge below.In 1913, this part of the history of Admiralty House came to a close when the last British admiral left the house and the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
took over responsibility for the naval defence of Australia.
The Governors-General
From the Federation of AustraliaFederation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
in 1901, the Government House
Government House, Sydney
Government House is located in Sydney, Australia alongside the Royal Botanic Gardens, overlooking Sydney Harbour, just south of the Sydney Opera House...
of New South Wales in Farm Cove
Farm Cove
Farm Cove can mean one of at least three places:*Farm Cove, New South Wales, in Sydney Harbour, Australia*Farm Cove, New Zealand, suburb of Auckland, New Zealand*Farm Cove, bay in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, Australia...
was used as the Sydney residence of the Governor-General. In 1912, the Government of New South Wales
Government of New South Wales
The form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
decided to put the building to public purposes once more, leaving the Governor-General of the period, Lord Denman
Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman
Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman GCMG, KCVO, PC was a British Liberal politician and the fifth Governor-General of Australia.-Early years:...
, without a Sydney residence.
With the departure of the last British Admiral from Admiralty House the following year, the Admiralty handed the house back to the New South Wales Government. This provided Lord Denman’s successor, Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson, with a Sydney residence. Admiralty House was the residence of the Governors-General for the following fifteen years.
In 1930, during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the Scullin Government had Admiralty House closed, and its contents were sold at Auction in 1931.
Governor-General Sir Isaac Isaacs
Isaac Isaacs
Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs GCB GCMG KC was an Australian judge and politician, was the third Chief Justice of Australia, ninth Governor-General of Australia and the first born in Australia to occupy that post. He is the only person ever to have held both positions of Chief Justice of Australia and...
, appointed in 1931, was the first Governor-General to live permanently at Yarralumla
Government House, Canberra
Government House, Canberra, commonly known as Yarralumla, is the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia. It is located in the suburb of Yarralumla, in the City of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory....
, in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. During his term, Admiralty House remained empty and neglected. Sir Isaac described it in 1934 as being "stripped of its glamour, with no furnishings but a few fine mirrors, its garden wild and overgrown". In 1936, the State of New South Wales reopened Admiralty House as the Sydney residence for the new Governor-General, Lord Gowrie
Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie
Brigadier General Alexander Gore Arkwright Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie VC, GCMG, CB, DSO & Bar, PC was a British soldier and colonial governor and the tenth Governor-General of Australia. Serving for 9 years and 7 days, he is the longest serving Governor-General in Australia's history...
. The house has been used ever since as a vice-regal establishment.
Formal title to Admiralty House finally passed from the State Government to the Commonwealth by Crown grant in 1948, on the condition that the house was to be used only as a residence for the Governor-General.
Other uses
Admiralty House, its grounds, and Kirribilli HouseKirribilli House
Kirribilli House is the official Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister. The house is located at the far eastern end of Kirribilli Avenue in the harbourside suburb of Kirribilli...
are usually open to the public once a year, sometime in spring when the gardens are at their best. Security concerns caused the cancellation of openings from 2001 to 2005.
A history of the garden was published in the Oxford Companion to Australian Gardens.
Admiralty House is at present an official residence of the Governor-General of Australia, and accommodates important overseas visitors to Sydney. The Royal Family and other dignitaries, such as the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
and the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
, are entertained at Admiralty House when they are in Sydney.
The Interior
The ground floor of the house contains a vestibule and hallway, two reception rooms, a dining-room, a study and an elaborate central staircase. The residents' private rooms are on the upper floors. A landing on the staircase features elaborate stained glass panels in its windows. Kitchens and other service areas are housed in a wing added to the original structure. A stone gatehouse guards the front entrance to the establishment.The house is furnished extensively with colonial furniture, porcelain, ornaments and numerous historical artworks such as portraits of Captain James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
and some former Governors-General, including Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, GCMG, PC , the second Governor-General of Australia, was born at Chapel House, Twickenham, in Surrey, England. Named after his father's late friend Arthur Hallam, he was the elder son of Alfred Tennyson, the most popular and prominent poet of late Victorian...
. Many of these items were acquired for the nation by The Australiana Fund
The Australiana Fund
The Australiana Fund is an independent fundraising organisation responsible for the purchase and maintenance of artworks in the four Official Residences of the Governor-General of Australia and the Prime Minister of Australia.- History :...
.
See also
- Government Houses of AustraliaGovernment Houses of Australia-Current:Federal* Government House, Canberra, aka Yarralumla; Governor-General's Canberra residence* Admiralty House, Governor-General's Sydney residence* The Lodge, Canberra, Prime Minister's Canberra residence...
- Government Houses of the British Empire
- Governor-General of AustraliaGovernor-General of AustraliaThe Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...