25/08/2005 - The site
of the first Government House built during
the settlement of Sydney has won a place on
Australia’s National Heritage List, the Minister
for Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian
Campbell, announced today.
The 217-year-old First Government House Site
in the heart of Sydney will join two other
prominent Sydney sites on the National Heritage
List - the Sydney Opera House, and the place
where James Cook took his first steps on Australian
soil, at Kurnell Peninsula on Botany Bay.
“This is the place where Governor Arthur Phillip
constructed the colony’s first major building
in May 1788, just months after the first fleet
of eleven ships sailed into Sydney Harbour,”
Senator Campbell said.
“The First Government House served as the
home and offices of the colony’s first nine
governors from 1788 to 1845 when it was demolished
due to its poor condition. This spectacular
setting inspired a number of artists, including
Augustus Earle, to capture the vision on canvas.
“The First Government House was the centre
of power and decision-making for the developing
New South Wales colony which, at that time,
covered two thirds of the continent. Its walls
saw the passing of merchants, soldiers, Aborigines,
foreign visitors, explorers, settlers and
statesmen.
“This site also witnessed major events in
the colony’s history - printing of the colony’s
first Government Orders in 1795 and Australia’s
first newspaper, the Sydney Gazette, in 1803;
Governor Bligh’s arrest during the Rum Rebellion
in 1806, and the first Legislative Council
meeting in 1824.
“Although long demolished, the remains of
this building have recently been carefully
researched and presented to the public through
the Museum of Sydney enabling this pivotal
national story to be told.
“By including the First Government House Site
in the National Heritage List, I am ensuring
that this place will be protected for future
generations under the Australian Government’s
environmental law.
Places listed on the National Heritage List
must be of outstanding value and importance
to the nation as a whole. More than 90 places
have been nominated for listing, including
many natural, Indigenous and historic sites.
