Parliament House
Macquarie Street, Sydney
1811-14 architect unknown
Of the two wings which survive from the Rum Hospital, the northern wing was requisitioned and converted to accommodate the first NSW Parliament House in 1829, it being the largest building available in Sydney at the time. The parliamentary chamber for Legislative Members was soon added (attached at the northern end), while the Legislative Council Chamber (attached at the southern end) was assembled in 1856.
This second chamber is actually a prefabricated cast-iron building, initially shipped to Victoria from Glasgow, Scotland. Destined to be a church, it was diverted to Sydney during shipment where it was erected as one of the two parliamentary chambers. It is still the seat of government in NSW today.
Information appearing in this section is reproduced from Sydney Architecture, with the kind permission of the author, Graham Jahn, a well known Sydney architect and former City of Sydney Councillor. Sydney Architecture, rrp $35.00, is available from all good book stores or from the publisher, Watermark Press, Telephone: 02 9818 5677.
