Parliament House, Sydney

Being on Macquarie Street, you can’t help spotting Parliament House holding court—not just figuratively speaking—along Sydney’s most history-soaked civic strip. This is where the Parliament of New South Wales operates, proudly claiming the title of Australia’s oldest continuous legislature.

Curiously enough, its oldest wing wasn’t even built for politicians; it began life as part of the Rum Hospital, a Macquarie-era project from 1811 to 1816 that paid contractors in, yes, actual rum. By the 1820s, the building was repurposed for parliamentary duties, trading medical charts for legislation. The sandstone Georgian façade, all clean lines and careful symmetry, still gives off that distinctly colonial “no-nonsense” energy.

Step beyond that dignified frontage and you’ll find the parliament’s modern side. Extensions from the 1970s and '80s rise behind the old hospital wing, adding chambers, offices, and public galleries designed for a government that long ago outgrew its original waiting room. The contrast between the neat Georgian exterior and the contemporary additions reads like a timeline in architectural form—an evolving snapshot of how New South Wales learned to run itself.

Inside, exhibitions and public programs pull back the curtain on the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, explaining how laws have been shaped here since colonial days. And the neighbourhood itself is a historian’s dream: the State Library of New South Wales sits just next door, while Hyde Park Barracks waits across the street with its own tales of early Sydney.

So, basically, as you walk through Parliament House, you’re not just touring a government building—you’re moving through two centuries of political improvisation, ambition, and the occasional rum-fuelled origin story...