Old Government House

 

The term ‘Government House’ is used in Australia and other former British colonies to designate the residence of the Governor or other vice-regal representative.

The first Government House in New South Wales was built early in 1788 at Sydney Cove followed by Parramatta.

Old Government is located on the Parramatta River adjacent to the City of Parramatta CBD. It was the core tribal lands of the Burramattagal people of the Darug nation for thousands of years before settlement by Europeans in 1788 under Governor Arthur Phillip.

Old Government House is representative of the second settlement of the Colony of NSW. It was the site of Government administration of the new colony and a significant convict system. It was a site of intensive public works and industry. It was an important location in agricultural development and experimentation and played an important role is establishing the viability of the colony, especially in the initial years of struggle against famine, the environment and cultural displacement.

Parramatta Park is a nationally significant cultural landscape closely associated with early colonial government, with the beginnings of rural settlement in Australia and with the exploration and expansion of colonisation. The evolution of this site from Aboriginal land to colonial outpost, to Vice Regal domain and subsequently as a public park, is unique in Australia. It contains relics of historical, scientific and aesthetic significance, including: scar trees and archaeological sites documenting Aboriginal occupation; transit stones from Governor Brisbane’s 1821 observatory;

Old Government House and its associated outbuildings dating to the late 18th century; six 19th and 20th century gatehouses; the Dairy, which contains one of the oldest intact buildings in Australia; the landscape which

demonstrates the evolution of agriculture and development of the first successful farm and the early colony of Rose Hill; an unusual and important Boer War Memorial; and important communities of remnant Cumberland Plain woodland vegetation. The Park is unique in its significance as a rich and intact archaeological resource with great research potential.

 

The site is managed by two entities - Parramatta Park Trust manages the parklands known as Parramatta Park and The National Trust of Australia (NSW) manages Old Government House, which sits on a small hill in a central location within the parklands.

Over the past 220 years, Old Government House is reflecting its changing uses as well as patterns in the history of Parramatta. Old Government House is a highly regarded heritage site.