Stories
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1000 Years of Coronations at the Abbey
St Edward’s Crown: Royal Collection Trust (RCIN 31700)“This, my Coronation, is not the symbol of a power and a splendour that are gone but a declaration of our hopes for the future.”Queen Elizabeth II, Speech on her Coronation Day, 2 June... more »
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Government House presents ... Lady Jane Bacon!
Government House’s very own ‘Art Detectives’ mystery has finally been solved with the publication of an article by Professor Karen Hearn FSA on 1 July 2022 in The Burlington Magazine, the prestigious London-based international art... more »
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Governor Phillip's First Commission
On 18 August 1786, with mounting pressure on Britain’s Pitt Government to find a solution to the “convict problem” and the shortage of prisons to house them, the British Government issued instructions to the Treasury to provide funds for... more »
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The Governor's Bathing House
While bathing in the harbour was practised for millennia by First Nations people, one of the first bathing houses in the colony was constructed by order of Governor Ralph Darling, 7th Governor of New South Wales from 1825-1831, on the... more »
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The Sèvres Cabinets: A Window to the World - Collections at Government House
A pair of French “chiffonier” cabinets known as ‘the Sèvres Cabinets’, located in the Drawing Room, span a history from 18th century France to the 19th colony of New South Wales and tell a story of love, war, kings, revolution and... more »
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The Andrew Lenehan Collection at Government House
Government House possesses a rare and historically significant 19th century suite of dining room furniture, commissioned by the 11th Governor of New South Wales, William Denison (1855-1861) from Andrew Lenehan, a Master Cabinetmaker and... more »
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King George VI Coronation: A Window to the World - Collections at Government House
Detail of Royal Insignia on coronation chairMaking their majestic return to the Government House Ballroom are two significant Government House collection items which were in Westminster Abbey for the coronation of King George VI on 12 May... more »
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Let There Be Light! New Lamps from an Ancient Craft
Guests at evening receptions will be guided by the lights of new lamps, replacing the 1950s-era lamps on the Government House Main Drive/Parade Ground and Northern Path light pole. The original lamps outside Government House were gas-lit... more »
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The Meissen Collection: A Window to the World - Collections at Government House
‘White Gold’Meissen clock in Government House Drawing RoomThe Meissen collection at Government House is the product of an ancient and beautifully intricate art form, regarded as the first true European porcelain, created at the Meissen... more »
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In Famous Footsteps: Dame Nellie Melba at Government House
“Poets talk about ‘the wings of the wind’,” exclaimed Dame Nellie Melba as she looked from the windows of Government House across the tempest-beaten trees, “but all the good they were to us was to keep us back 36 hours whilst the Niagara... more »