CONSERVE
Open Doors for Fifty Years BY ANNA RIDLEY, ASSISTANT CURATOR
Old Government House was built in 1799 and the site on which it sits has been used by the first 10 governors of the colony from Arthur Phillip to Sir Charles FitzRoy. Private tenancy and housing The King’s School followed until, in 1967, the National Trust (NSW) was entrusted with its care and opened the site to the public as a museum in 1970. This year marks half a century of Old Government House playing an important role as a tourist destination, a venue for special occasions, a centre for education and historical discovery, and a place for the community.
time when the most dominant structure in the area was Old Government House.
What makes Old Government House special is not just the house – or what’s in the house – it is its location and setting within the 110-hectare Parramatta Park overlooking the Parramatta River. Although you can see the tops of the office buildings, visitors are immediately transported to a place and
The property was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 1999. Old Government House and the Government Domain were included in the Australian National Heritage List in 2007.
8
The park and house show evidence of the original custodians of the land. Scars on trees still standing in Parramatta Park tell the story of the Burramatta land management and there are shells used in the mortar of Old Government House that have been found to originate from Aboriginal middens. Once inside, history lovers are transported back to the days of the Macquaries with the downstairs of the house recreated to match the 1820 inventory of Macquarie’s furniture. Every year, 15,000 to 20,000 visitors from Sydney, across Australia and from around the world come to Old Government House to explore its history or take part in the rich program of events at the site. A number of stories are told at Old Government House, including the life and times of Lachlan Macquarie and his family, the convicts who served them, women in various roles, emancipists and free-settlers.
National Trust (NSW)
