Australia's oldest public building
(on the mainland)
When the convict settlement was established at Sydney Cove, it soon became apparent that the area lacked good fertile soil to grow crops. Governor Arthur Philip travelled further up the river that flowed into the harbour and established a farm to feed the young colony. Originally called Rose Hill the name changed to Parramatta and it's the second oldest city, after Sydney, in Australia. The name is an approximation of what the local Aboriginal people called the area.
Arthur Philip had a cottage built on the site of the farm, but it was the second governor John Hunter who built a more substantial house to reside in. By 1799, Hunter wanted a 'country' residence to escape the unsanitary conditions and crime, as well as the poor quality of the original Sydney Government House. He had Philip's cottage demolished and a more permanent building was erected. Convict labour was used to construct the house. The original 1799 house was further expanded by Governor Macquarie in 1815 to the Georgian style house you see today.
The house was used between 1800 and 1847, when a new Sydney Government House was built and the Governors had no need of the house at Parramatta. During one period it was used by a local school as a boarding house for boys. Any original furniture is gone and the house is now furnished in the style of the 1820s. It is run by the National Trust and free to enter if you're a member.
This rather impressive gatehouse was not the one that Governor Macquarie had built in 1848. That was demolished and this grander gatehouse was built in 1885 as a two storey brick Tudor Revival. The gate keeper and his family lived upstairs.
The Macquarie St gatehouse
This modest gatehouse came about due to some rather tragic circumstances. Governor FitzRoy had it built in 1848 as he couldn't bare to use the George St gatehouse as it was the scene of a tragic accident that killed his wife. Lady Mary FitzRoy was a passenger in a carriage when the horses bolted and the carriage was overturned and she was killed.
Parramatta is easy to reach from central Sydney either by train, I caught the train and arrived at Parramatta station and then walked to Parramatta Park, the location of Old Government House. Or it's possible to take a ferry and arrive on the river. Well worth seeing a piece of Australia's colonial past.
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