Kirribilli House
The Kirribilli House is located in Sydney's district of Kirribilli , after which it was named. It serves as the residence of the Prime Ministers of Australia , provided that they are in Sydney for official engagements.
It was built in 1855 by Adolphus Frederic Feez in the neo-Gothic style. It is right on Kirribilli Point, the extreme southeastern point of Kirribilli right next to the Admiralty House . From there you have a wonderful and unobstructed view of the harbor bridge ( Sydney Harbor Bridge ) , the opposite opera house ( Sydney Opera House ) and the city center of Sydney beyond.
The house is privately owned
The land at Kirribilli Point on which Kirribilli House was built was bought by Adolphus Frederic Feez in 1854 from JL Travers, the owner of the Admiralty House , for £ 200 . It was later sold to a Mr. Terry who bequeathed it to his granddaughter. Ms. Taylor and her family lived in this house during the 1860s-1880s. After her death, her son T. Lawry inherited the house. After his death in 1908, the house belonged to the McCrae couple, who sold it to Arthur Wigram Allen in a public auction on June 20, 1919 for £ 10,000. Shortly afterwards it was announced that the property would be divided up and sold, but public opinion quickly turned against it. The opinion was expressed that the land could be better used as a recreational area and that the Kirribilli House could well serve as a museum. Ultimately, then Prime Minister Billy Hughes gave his consent to buy the property and house in its entirety. On January 17, 1920, therefore, ownership passed to the Australian state.
The state owned house
In the first few years after the state acquisition, Kirribilli House was used to house the servants of the Governors General of Australia while they lived in the neighboring Admiralty House .
In 1930, the Australian government decided not to continue using Admiralty House as the residence of the Governors General if they were in Sydney. As the Kirribilli House lost its use, it was subsequently rented to private individuals until 1953.
In 1956 the government decided to have the Kirribilli House completely renovated. Afterwards it was to be used as a state guest house and residence of the Australian Prime Ministers. The renovation was finally carried out in 1957. It has served this purpose many times since then. In 1980 it was again extensively renovated.
Contrary to usual practice, the former Australian Prime Minister John Howard used the Kirribilli House as his official residence and not the intended building The Lodge in the capital Canberra . For this purpose, the house was adapted to his and his family's living needs in 1996. The decision for the Kirribilli House as the first residence was controversial and had repeatedly caused more or less heated discussions.
The house, here only the ground floor and the surrounding property are only very rarely accessible to the public as part of an “open house”.
Web links
Coordinates: 33 ° 51 ′ 4.6 ″ S , 151 ° 13 ′ 8.9 ″ E