GSA Guide – Old Government House (1860-1862) Claimed
Gallery
URPoint Details
Located on western boundary of the City Botanic Gardens in the Queensland University of Technology Gardens Point Campus. This URP is maintained by members of the Geological Society of Australia as a geo-located community knowledge service.
Old Government House
The construction of Queensland's first Government House was the first important architectural work undertaken by the newly formed Government of Queensland.
HISTORY
The first Queensland parliament met on the 22nd of May 1860. One month after this meeting a vote to fund a new Government House was successful.
The site chosen for the building was high on Gardens Point overlooking the Brisbane Botanic Gardens and with expansive vistas of the Brisbane River.
The choice of building a Government House in Brisbane was contentious since the capital of Queensland to that point had not been decided. Old Government House, a substantial two-storey sandstone building, was designed by Colonial Architect Charles Tiffin in 1860.
The building was constructed between 1860 and 1862 in the Classical Revival style. It was home to the first eleven Governors of Queensland until 1910.
Modifications in the 1870s resulted in a more pronounced Queensland-style, including the addition of roofing over the first-floor terraces. In 1873, a roof was built over the balcony. A portico was added in the 1880s using a lighter coloured stone.
In 1909 the house was
- Type:
- History, Landmark
- Establishment year:
- 1860
- Keywords: