Admiralty House, Sydney
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Admiralty House is the
official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...
of the governor-general of Australia in
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. It is located in the suburb of Kirribilli, on the northern foreshore of
Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a ria, natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove River, Lane ...
, and adjacent to Kirribilli House, which serves as the Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister. The large Victorian Regency and
Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...
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 ...
manor, completed in stages based on designs by James Barnet and
Walter Liberty Vernon Colonel (Australia), Colonel Walter Liberty Vernon (11 August 184617 January 1914) was an English people, English architect who migrated to Australia and pursued his career as an architect in Sydney, New South Wales. In his role as the New Sou ...
, occupies the tip of Kirribilli Point. Once known as "Wotonga", it has commanding views across Sydney Harbour to the
Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North ...
and the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
. Admiralty House is regarded as the secondary residence of the governor-general, the main residence being Government House in
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, also known as Yarralumla. Its current name originates in the fact that it served as the residence for the Commander-in-Chief of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
's Australian Squadron from 1885 to 1913. The original building on the site was completed, as a private dwelling, in mid-to-late 1843, by John George Nathaniel Gibbes, the then Collector of Customs for New South Wales and a member of the
New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...
. A portrait of Gibbes, painted in 1808, hangs in the house. On 22 June 2004 Admiralty House was placed on the Commonwealth Heritage List.


History


Early history

Before the arrival of British settlers in Sydney Harbour, the Aboriginal Cammeraygal people lived along the Kirribilli and Milsons Point foreshores, and in the surrounding bushland. The area was a fertile fishing ground, and the name Kirribilli is derived from the Aboriginal word ''kiarabilli'', which means "good fishing spot". The name Cammeraygal is displayed on the North Sydney Municipal Council emblem, and also gave name to the suburb of Cammeray. Kirribilli was settled early in the history of the
Colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...
. One of the first records of land being granted on the North Shore was on the ''North side of the Harbour of Port Jackson opposite
Sydney Cove Sydney Cove (Eora language, Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central ...
'' on 20 February 1794 to an expired convict, Samuel Lightfoot.Land grants 1788–1809, page 18-19, Grant No. 151 (believed to be a reproduction of AO reel 2560) Lightfoot was a former convict, born in about 1763 and transported to Australia for seven years for stealing clothing. He arrived with the First Fleet in 1788 on the ''Charlotte''. In 1794 Thomas Muir, a Scottish constitutional reformer, was sentenced to transportation for sedition. Thomas Muir purchased Lightfoot's farm. Muir also had a cottage on what is now
Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping terminal, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the northern edge of the ...
. It is likely that the farm was located at the Jeffrey Street end of Kirribilli (not near Admiralty House) and was named "Huntershill" by Thomas Muir, after his father's home in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. Thomas Muir escaped from the colony in 1796 aboard an American brig, the ''Otter''. Four years later the Colonial Secretary recorded that the land grant to Lightfoot was cancelled and given to Robert Ryan in 1800 with no mention of the intermediate (private) sale to Muir. Ryan had worked in
Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...
, both as a soldier and also a settler. The of Lightfoot's Grant was cancelled and included in a grant to Ryan for his service in the
Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
and the
New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps, later known as the 102d Regiment of Foot, and lastly as the 100th Regiment of Foot, was a formation of the British Army organised in 1789 in England to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, which had accompanied ...
. The corresponding entry in the Register of Land Grants states '' Cancelled, and a New Grant given to Robert Ryan for 90 acres in addition to this Allotment, by Governor John Hunter. See the third Register, Folio 37.'' This grant to Ryan included almost all Kirribilli and later maps referred. By 1801, the property had passed into the hands of Robert Campbell, a wealthy Sydney merchant. Campbell built Australia's first shipbuilding yards in 1807, at the site that is now occupied by the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Kirribilli. Part of the land in Kirribilli was also briefly used for quarantine purposes in 1814 for the convict ship ''Surry''. Over 46 persons had died during the voyage of
typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...
including 36 convicts. Campbell's property in Kirribilli was used for grazing under lease to Campbell's friend James Milson, hence the name "Milson's Point". Milson's Point is the next point along from Kirribilli point, where the
Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North ...
now crosses the harbour. A plan of sub-division was drawn up in the 1840s by Campbell. In 1842, the site where Admiralty House now sits was leased to the Collector of Customs for the Colony, Lieutenant-Colonel (later full Colonel) Gibbes, MLC. Gibbes intended to build a private home on the site. (Since his arrival in the colony in 1834, Gibbes and his family had been living in Henrietta Villa, also known as the Naval Villa, on Sydney's Point Piper, under a leasehold arrangement.)


Private residence

On the superb Kirribilli Point location, Gibbes erected, between 1842 and 1843, a graceful single-storey house with wide verandahs and elegant French doors. Gibbes designed the house, which he called "Wotonga" (or "Woottonga"), himself. The stone for the house's walls was quarried locally and the hardwood and cedar joinery came from George Coleson's timber-yard in George Street, Sydney. Gibbes engaged James Hume, a well-known builder who dabbled in ecclesiastical architecture, to supervise the construction of the building and its stables. Gibbes, however, hired his own masons, bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers and ironmongers to work on the project, paying each of them separately as work progressed. Gibbes used the Custom Department's cutter to commute to and from the building site. Once completed, Gibbes' L-shaped residence featured a plain, yet stylish, double façade to maximise the building's magnificent, sweeping views across Sydney Harbour. These views enabled Gibbes to monitor shipping traffic in and out of Darling Harbour and, more importantly, Circular Quay, where the Sydney Customs House was situated. Today, Wotonga forms the core of Admiralty House and the building's 180-degree, east–west panoramic sight-lines are even more spectacular than they were in Gibbes' day, owing to the subsequent high-rise growth of Sydney's CBD. Gibbes, incidentally, was said to be the illegitimate child of Frederick, Duke of York, (King
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
's second son). This reputed connection to the British monarchy adds spice to the house on Kirribilli Point's subsequent role as a vice-regal establishment.Gibbes, Stephen, "John Gibbes: Builder of Admiralty House", ''North Sydney Historical Journal'', Volume 37, Number 1, April 1997, pp. 8–12. In 1849, Robert Campbell died and the executors of the estate sold the property, comprising the house and land, to Gibbes for about 1,400. On 27 December 1851, Gibbes, who was contemplating a departure from the Customs Service at the age of 64, sold the property to James Lindsay Travers, a merchant of Macquarie Place, Sydney, for £1,533. (Gibbes subsequently changed his mind about leaving his position as head of the NSW Customs Department; instead, he leased Greycliffe House at Shark Beach, Vaucluse, from the Wentworth family and remained in Sydney for the better part of eight years, eventually retiring to Yarralumla homestead, now the official
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
residence of the Governor-General of Australia, in 1859.) A small portion of the Kirribilli Point land, a little over was sold by Travers in 1854 to a merchant, Adolph Frederic Feez. On this land, Kirribilli House was built in neo-Gothic style . Kirribilli House, situated next door to Admiralty House, serves today as the official Sydney residence of the
Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...
.


Crimean War interlude

In 1855, during the
Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...
, Governor William Denison reclaimed the tip of Kirribilli Point, on which fortifications were built. These fortifications, along with Fort Denison, were intended to strengthen the defences of Sydney Harbour, as it was feared that the Russians might attack. In 1856, Lieutenant-Colonel George Barney, a
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...
officer, lived in "Wotonga" and designed and supervised the installation of a battery of five, muzzle-loading guns on Kirribilli Point, as well as constructing the martello tower at Fort Denison.


Lassetter, Wilshire, and Cadell

In 1856, Lieutenant-Colonel Barney bought the house and its grounds so that he could view all of the sites that he had fortified. In September 1860, Barney sold the house and grounds for £9,000 to George Alfred Lloyd. In 1866, it was let to Frederick Lassetter and subsequently to James Robert Wilshire, a former
Lord Mayor of Sydney The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has b ...
and a Member of the
New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...
from 1858 to 1861. In April 1874, Wotonga House was auctioned and bought for £10,100 by Thomas Cadell, a Sydney merchant and member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1881 to 1896. At that time, the house was described as possessing a wide verandah, a spacious entrance hall, drawing and dining rooms, 10 bedrooms and the "'usual rooms"" in the main part of the house, as well as having a large courtyard, servants' rooms, kitchen, stables, etc., with an abundant water supply, which never failed in the driest weather.


Admiralty

In 1885, the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
's Australian Squadron was raised to the status of an admiral's command in recognition of the colony's growing importance and the colonial government bought "Wotonga" as his residence. The house was renamed "Admiralty House" and additions were made to the property. A second storey was added to the house, as was a colonnaded verandah. A neo-Gothic style gate lodge was also added to the grounds, as was a covered Admiral's Walk leading down to the berth for the Admiral's barge below. In 1913, this part of the history of Admiralty House came to a close when the last British admiral left the house and the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...
took over responsibility for the naval defence of Australia. From the
Federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Wester ...
in 1901, the Government House of New South Wales in Farm Cove was used as the Sydney residence of the Governor-General. In 1912, the
Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...
decided to put the building to public purposes once more, leaving the Governor-General of the period, Lord Denman, without a Sydney residence.


Government House

With the departure of the last British admiral from Admiralty House in 1913, the Admiralty handed the house back to the New South Wales Government. This provided Lord Denman's successor, Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson, with a Sydney residence. Admiralty House was the residence of the Governors-General for the following fifteen years. In 1930, during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, the Scullin ministry had Admiralty House closed, and its contents were sold at Auction in 1931. Governor-General Sir Isaac Isaacs, appointed in 1931, was the first Governor-General to live permanently at Yarralumla, in
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
. During his term, Admiralty House remained empty and neglected. Sir Isaac described it in 1934 as being "stripped of its glamour, with no furnishings but a few fine mirrors, its garden wild and overgrown". In 1936, the State of New South Wales reopened Admiralty House as the Sydney residence for the new Governor-General, Lord Gowrie. The house has been used ever since as a vice-regal establishment. Formal title to Admiralty House finally passed from the State Government to the Commonwealth by Crown grant in 1948, on the condition that the house was to be used only as a residence for the Governor-General.


Functions

Admiralty House is an official residence of the Governor-General of Australia, and accommodates important overseas visitors to Sydney. The
Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...
and other dignitaries, such as the
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
and the Pope, are entertained at Admiralty House when they are in Sydney. Admiralty House, its grounds, and Kirribilli House are usually open to the public once a year, sometime in spring when the gardens are at their best. Security concerns caused the cancellation of openings from 2001 to 2005.


Architecture


Interior

The ground floor of the house contains a vestibule and hallway, two reception rooms, a dining-room, a study and an elaborate central staircase. The residents' private rooms are on the upper floors. A landing on the staircase features elaborate stained glass panels in its windows. Kitchens and other service areas are housed in a wing added to the original structure. A stone gatehouse guards the front entrance to the establishment. The house is furnished extensively with colonial furniture, porcelain, ornaments and numerous historical artworks such as portraits of Captain
James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...
and some former Governors-General, including Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson. Many of these items were acquired for the nation by
The Australiana Fund The Australiana Fund is an independent fundraising organisation responsible for the purchase and maintenance of artworks in the four Official Residences of the Governor-General of Australia and the Prime Minister of Australia The prime mi ...
.


See also

* Government Houses of Australia * Government Houses of the British Empire * Governor-General of Australia


References


Bibliography

* Clifford-Smith, Silas; 'Admiralty House', ''Oxford Companion to Australian Gardens'', South Melbourne, 2002 * Kerr, John Semple, ''Admiralty House: A Conservation Plan Developed for the Department of Housing and Construction'', Sydney, 1987 * Messent, David & McGonigal, David; ''The Complete Guide to Sydney Harbour''; David Messent Photography, 1994 * Steele, Jeremy, ''Sydney Cove to the Heads''; The University of Sydney, 1978 * Stephensen, PR & Kennedy, Brian; ''The History and Description of Sydney Harbour''; Reed Publishing, 1966 & 1980 * Thompson, CJ; ''Admiralty House, Sydney – Brief History and Catalogue of Contents of State Rooms''; Government House, Canberra, 1984


External links


The Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia: The History of Admiralty House: 1794–1948



North Sydney Council: The Face of North Sydney Image Library
{{Vice Regal Residences of Australia Official residences in Australia
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
Buildings of the Australian government 1843 establishments in Australia Commonwealth Heritage List places in New South Wales Walter Liberty Vernon buildings in Sydney James Barnet buildings in Sydney Italianate architecture in Sydney Victorian Regency architecture in New South Wales Government buildings in Sydney Houses in Kirribilli