Old Government House and Government Domain

View of the Old Government House

The Old Government House and Government Domain is a Grade I listed ensemble of the Old Government House, outbuildings and Parramatta Park in Parramatta , now a suburb of Sydney in New South Wales , Australia . The buildings formed the residence of twelve of New South Wales' early governors from 1788 to 1865 .

The Old Government House is Australia's oldest public building. It was built in 1799 by order of Governor John Hunter and was later the permanent residence of Governor Lachlan Macquarie , who built the outbuildings.

Because of its national and international importance, the building with its 1.1 square kilometer park on 1 August 2007 as an ensemble in the National Heritage Protection List and on 31 July 2010 in the list of UNESCO - World Heritage been registered. It is an example of a Georgian structure of high structural quality. It was built by convicts and is one of eleven buildings that, as Australian Convict Sites, document the building culture of early New South Wales as an Australian convict colony.

In this area lived Aborigines of Darug whose former presence is proved by archaeological findings (historic waste piles in the park). Some of the shells found in the rubbish heaps were used to make lime mortar for the construction of the building.