Portal:Australian Capital Territory/Selected article/10

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Government House from the lookout on Lady Denman Drive

Government House, Canberra, commonly known as Yarralumla, is the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia, located in the suburb of Yarralumla, Canberra. Australia's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, stays at Government House when she visits Canberra, as do visiting heads of state.

The house is set in 54 hectares of parkland. The suburb of Yarralumla, which has grown up around Government House, is one of Canberra's most expensive and exclusive areas, and is the site of many foreign embassies.

At Government House, the Governor-General presides over meetings of the Federal Executive Council, holds ceremonies to present honours such as the Order of Australia, receives visiting heads of state and other dignitaries and the credentials of ambassadors to Australia, and entertains people from all walks of life. It was in his study at Yarralumla that Sir John Kerr dismissed Gough Whitlam as Prime Minister of Australia on November 11, 1975 - the culmination of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.