Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

's first Government House is located at Gardens Point in the grounds of the

Queensland University of Technology The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...

at the end of George Street in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Queensland, Australia. The building's construction was the first important architectural work undertaken by the newly formed

Government of Queensland The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the state Legislative Assembly, with the governo ...

. It is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.

Residence of the Queensland governor

Architecture and construction

The government residential building was constructed to accommodate the first

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...

, Sir George Bowen, and his family. On 22 May 1860, the first Queensland parliament met. One month later a vote to fund a new government house was successful. The site chosen for the building was a high point of Gardens Point overlooking the Brisbane Botanic Gardens and with expansive vistas of the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...

. There was an issue with the building being built in Brisbane, as the capital of Queensland had not yet been decided. The two-storey building was designed by colonial architect Charles Tiffin in the

Classical revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...

style in 1860.History of Government House
, accessed 23 May 2009 The front half of the building contained the Governor's public and private rooms while the rear housed the service section. The front of the house had a plain design without displays of grandeur so as not to affront politicians and country citizens. The first stage of the building was completed in March 1862 by builder Joshua Jeays. The building is built from locally sourced materials, with

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

facades, Brisbane tuff (stone) (sometimes referred to incorrectly as ' Porphyry') to the service areas, red cedar, hoop pine and

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

.QUT: Old Government House: Separation
/ref>

Governor Sir George Bowen

The family first arrived in Brisbane in 1859 and Adelaide House, now The Deanery of St John's Cathedral, was leased for their use as a temporary Government House, while the construction of this building was undertaken. The Governor and his family moved into the building in April 1862. The first public function held in the building was a ball on Monday 16 June 1862 to celebrate the birthday of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. The ball was to have been earlier (Victoria's birthday being 24 May), but was postponed due to a period of public mourning for the

Prince consort A prince consort is the husband of a monarch who is not a monarch in his own right. In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal title, such as ''prince''. Most monarchies do not allow the husband of a queen regnant to be ...

Albert. Sir George and Lady Diamantina Bowen hosted 300 to 400 guests. It was a gala occasion and the new Government House was praised for enabling ''"the Governor to exercise his hospitality without restrictions through the want of space"''. There were rooms available for dancing, drinking of claret,

sherry Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versio ...

, tea and coffee and the playing of the card game whist. Meanwhile, the dowagers and other ladies not involved in the drinking, dancing and card playing were entertained in drawing room. At 1 am, supper was served in the quadrangle, protected by a canvas roof and decorated with candles and Chinese lanterns. The dancing continued until 4 am, although the Bowens did not participate in the dancing due to his wife Lady Diamantina's ''delicate health''. Approximately one month later on 26 July 1862, Lady Diamantina was safely delivered of a daughter, Agnes. Lady Diamantina's ''"delicate health"'' at the Birthday Ball was presumably a delicate reference to her advanced pregnancy. Agnes is believed to be the first child born in the building (the custom of those times was that children were born at home, indeed, Brisbane had no maternity hospitals in that era). Their son, George William Howard, was also born at Government House on 9 April 1864. Old-government-house-brisbane-1879

Lady Diamantina Bowen was interested in the development of the gardens around the building, which features lawns and flower gardens on the public sides of the building and vegetable gardens at the rear. She collaborated with

Walter Hill Walter Hill (born January 10, 1942) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer known for his action films and revival of the Western (genre), Western genre. He has directed such films as ''The Driver'', ''The Warriors (film), The ...

, curator of the adjacent Brisbane Botanic Gardens on a number of projects, including large public events which extended out from the grounds of Government House into the Botanic Gardens. The house was originally lit with candles and kerosene lamps, but by the late 1860s, gas became available and was installed. Unfortunately the initial pipes used were too thin and it was not possible to turn on all the gas lights simultaneously. In 1866 the Bread or Blood riot started, threatening the sacking of Government House. Hundreds of government officials were sworn in as Special Constables to assist police.

Other governors

The building was home to the first 11 of the Governors of Queensland and their families. The building was modified somewhat during those years, the most obvious difference to the public face of the building being the roofing of the previously open upper terraces converting them into more Queenslander-style verandahs. In 1873, a roof was built over the balcony. By the late 1870s the building was being described as inadequate, particularly for large scale entertainment purposes. Some extensions were also made at the rear, but these were more related to the service areas. Larger gas pipes were eventually installed to allow all the lights to be used. Although Brisbane had electricity in the late 1880s, the cost of fitting it to Government House was regarded as too expensive. About 1900, a billiard room was added at the request of Lord Lamington. The interior was renovated and redecorated in 1985–96.

Last resident governor

By 1909 the once spacious Government House was now nearly fifty years old, and by the standards of the times, perceived as being too small for the Governor's residence, especially as it lacked a ballroom deemed essential for entertaining. It was decided to give Government House to be the nucleus of Queensland's first university, the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

, which was to be established at Gardens Point. A plaque on the building commemorates this transfer in December 1909. In early 1910, the Governor, Sir William MacGregor, relocated into the leased property Fernberg at

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

, a suburb of Brisbane, as a temporary measure while a new Government House was constructed in Victoria Park. However, although the plans for the new Government House were drawn and the foundations laid, for some reason, the project was abandoned. In 1911 the Government purchased Fernberg for to be the permanent Government House of Queensland, a role that continues to the present day.

University of Queensland

On 10 December 1909, Old Government House was given to be the nucleus of the newly established

, as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the State of

. The university had electricity connected to the building about 1911. The

used the building until the late 1930s when the university outgrew the Gardens Point campus and relocated to its current main campus at St Lucia.

Heritage protection

Old Government House has been used as the Queensland headquarters for the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

. Concerts have also been performed in the building. In 1969, Old Government House was placed on the first list of significant heritage buildings compiled by the National Trust of Queensland, which protected the building from demolition. In March 1978, Old Government House became the first building to be protected by Queensland heritage legislation.QUT: Old Government House: National Trust
accessed 23 May 2009.

Queensland University of Technology

In 2002, an agreement between the National Trust of Queensland, the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

and

gave custodianship of Old Government House to the Queensland University of Technology—QUT. Queensland University of Technology performed a major three-year restoration of the building and it re-opened in 2009, with a ceremony on 7 June 2009 to mark the 150th anniversary of the establishment of

. Speakers at the ceremony included Peter Coaldrake, Queensland Governor Penny Wensley, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and QUT Chancellor (and former Queensland Governor) Peter Arnison. In addition to unveiling the plaque, Anna Bligh announced that QUT's lease of the building would be extended for another 30 years. Having restored the buildings, QUT uses it for events and functions, and provide tours and information (including interactive displays) for visitors.

Origin of the lamington

One of Australia's famous culinary features, the

lamington A lamington is an Australian cake made from squares of butter cake or sponge cake coated in an outer layer of chocolate sauce and rolled in desiccated coconut. The thin mixture is absorbed into the outside of the sponge cake and left to set, ...

was invented by the cook Armand Gallan at Government House, during the time of the Queensland Governor, Lord Lamington.Speech by Queensland University of Technology Chancellor, Sir Peter Arnison, Old Government House, 7 June 2009.

References

External links

Old Government House Discover Queensland Buildings websiteQUT: Old Government House
– information provided by the current custodians

Government House, Queensland – Official Website
– includes information about Brisbane's first Government House {{Queensland University of Technology Tourist attractions in Brisbane Government Houses of Australia Queensland places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate Neoclassical architecture in Australia Government buildings completed in 1862 Queensland University of Technology Museums in Brisbane Historic house museums in Queensland Landmarks in Brisbane History of Brisbane 1862 establishments in Australia Charles Tiffin buildings Brisbane central business district Queensland Heritage Register Government buildings in Queensland