Old Government House, Sydney

Old Government House stands within Parramatta Park, about 25 kilometres west of central Sydney, and is Australia’s oldest surviving public building. Constructed between 1799 and 1816, it served as the country residence of the first ten governors of New South Wales. The house was designed by John Watts, a former officer of the Royal Marines who served as aide-de-camp to Governor Lachlan Macquarie, and built by convict labour from locally quarried sandstone. Its Georgian style and commanding position on a ridge above the Parramatta River reflected the authority and aspirations of the early colonial administration.

The architecture combines British neoclassical symmetry with subtle adaptations to the Australian climate, including wide verandas and high-ceilinged rooms that allow for natural ventilation. Inside, the restored drawing rooms, studies, and bedrooms are furnished with period pieces that illustrate the domestic and official life of the governors and their families. The layout also includes service areas and offices that reveal the integration of working and living spaces in early colonial households.

The surrounding estate once encompassed extensive farmland and bushland, forming part of the original Governor’s Domain, where crops were cultivated and experiments in agriculture took place. Now managed by the National Trust of Australia (NSW), Old Government House is part of the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Australian Convict Sites. Walking paths, gardens, and interpretive exhibits connect the property to Parramatta’s early landscape, offering insight into the foundations of governance, labour, and settlement in colonial New South Wales.

The property occupies Darug land that was home to the Burramatta Tribe. Some of the trees surrounding the house still bear scars of the bark stripped to make canoes by the Aborigines. The Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales managing the Old Government House operates tours including a “haunted house” tour of the property.