Government House, Melbourne

The belvedere tower of Government House with the flag of the Governor of Victoria raised.

Government House, Melbourne is the office and official residence of the Governor of Victoria. The current Governor of Victoria is Her Excellency The Honourable Linda Dessau AM.

The House is set next to the Royal Botanic Gardens and surrounded by Kings Domain in Melbourne. It was the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia from 1901 to 1930. It is the largest Government House in the former British Empire and is almost double the size of the Viceregal Lodge, the former residence of the Lords-Lieutenant of Ireland.

History

The land for Government House was set aside by Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria, Charles La Trobe, in 1841. In 1857, Ferdinand von Mueller, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, landscaped the whole area, including Government House reserve, as one parkland. Construction of the building did not start until 1871 and was completed in 1876.

While La Trobe was Lieutenant-Governor he lived in La Trobe's Cottage. Between 1854 and 1874, Governors lived at Toorak House, then they lived in Bishopscourt in East Melbourne until the present Government House was occupied in 1876.

Between the formation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 and 1927, Government House was the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia. When the Federal Parliament commenced sitting in Canberra in 1927, the Governor-General stayed at Government House, Canberra at Yarralumla while Parliament was in session, but also continued living at Government House in Melbourne until 1930. During this period Governors of Victoria lived at Stonington mansion. The House has been in continuous use by the Governors of Victoria since 1934.

Building design

Government House was designed by William Wardell, Inspector General of the Public Works Department, in the Victorian Period Italianate style, and is reminiscent of Queen Victoria's summer residence on the Isle of Wight, Osborne House. The building reflects the extravagant style of the period with a booming economy due to the Victorian gold rush.

The main building consists of three parts: the south wing with its extravagant single storey State Ballroom, a grand staircase hall entrance to the three storey State rooms and two storey vice-regal apartments to the north. Rising from the building is a 145-foot belvedere tower. The mews - a paved area surrounded on three sides by stables, coach houses and staff living quarters is nearby.

The garden was designed by John Sayce in 1873 and is thought to be the "most intact 19th century mansion garden remaining in Melbourne" by the Victorian Heritage Register.[1] William Guilfoyle, curator of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, further refined the original garden design with "many fine mature trees, including conifers, Australian rainforest species and deciduous trees, which are characteristic of the era and which also reflect Guilfoyle’s personal taste."

See also

References

  1. ↑ Victorian Heritage List

Coordinates: 37°49′41″S 144°58′37″E / 37.827939°S 144.976939°E / -37.827939; 144.976939

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