Government House, Perth
Government House in Perth, the state capital of Western Australia, is the official residence of the Governor of Western Australia and was built between 1859 and 1864. The buildings and gardens are of exceptional heritage significance, being listed on the Western Australian Register of Heritage Places, classified by the National Trust of Australia (W.A.) and entered on the Register of the National Estate. The gardens are often open to the public, as is the House from time to time.
Description
The building is a two storey mansion in the early Stuart or Jacobean Revival style set on 32,000 square metres of English gardens in the centre of the Perth business district, between St. Georges Terrace and the Swan River. The unique architectural character of the building is characterised by the use of stonework and bonded brickwork, incorporating square mullioned windows, decorated gables and ogival capped turrets. The attenuated gothic arcading at ground floor level derives from another form of Victorian Revival expression Fonthill Gothic. The building has 16 rooms on the ground floor and 25 on the first floor. According to the Western Australian Register of Heritage Places Assessment, Government House is a 'unique example of a Victorian Gentleman's residence' set in landscaped gardens with mature plantings and a number of commemorative trees.
- Images of Government House
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Government House, the residence of the Governor of Western Australia
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Government House, east front.jpg
Government House, east front
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Government House, north front.jpg
Government House, north front
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Grand staircase, Government House.jpg
Grand staircase
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Government House Dining room.jpg
Dining room
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Government House Drawing room.jpg
Drawing room
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The Governor's study.jpg
The Governor's study
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Government House Ballroom, west side.jpg
Government House Ballroom, west side
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The grounds of Government House on Open Day
History
Following the establishment of the Swan River Colony in 1829, the first governor Captain James Stirling and his family were initially housed in tents on a site near the corner of Barrack Street and St Georges Terrace, known today as Stirling Gardens and Supreme Court Gardens. In 1832 a temporary wooden building was constructed on the same site and used until the so-called original Government House was built a short distance away near the present-day site between 1834 and 1835. This building served successive governors until work began on the new present-day Government House, for which the foundation stone was laid on 17 March 1859.
Built at a cost of £15,000 largely by convicts, Governor John Hampton took up residence in 1863, prior to its completion in 1864.[1] In the 1890s, a ballroom was added, designed by or under the direction of government architect, Hillson Beasley who designed a number of other public buildings in the city. [2]
See also
- Government House (disambiguation)
- Government Houses of Australia
- Government Houses in the Commonwealth
- Governor of Western Australia
Notes
External links
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- Buildings and structures in Perth, Western Australia
- Government of Western Australia
- History of Western Australia
- Official residences in Australia
- Landmarks in Perth, Western Australia
- Government Houses of the British Empire and Commonwealth
- State Register of Heritage Places
- Jacobean architecture
- Victorian architecture in Australia
- 1864 establishments in Australia
