Admiralty House & Kirribilli House
20th October, 2006
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Impressions ...
Harbour down the street
Harbor @ street's end
Image © David Powell, 2006
One of those "once in a lifetime" opportunities - Sydney's Admiralty House and Kirribilli House complex
Harbour View
Sydney Harbour from Kirribilli
Image © David Powell, 2006
were opened to the public for 6 hours on the 20th October, 2006. Admiralty House is the official Sydney residence of the Governor general and Kirribilli house is the Sydney residence of the Prime Minister. Advertising for the event seemed to be limited to a few local newspapers and regional radio stations and on the web. Even so, the crowds were, well, amazing. When we arrived, minutes after opening time, the queue stretched for several kilometres. It did move fairly quickly and after 3/4's hour we arrived at the front gate. In the mean time, I took the opportunity for several foto shoot detours. Kirribilli (the suburb) is one of Sydney's priciest suburbs and it's definitely got a million dollar view .. multi-million more likely. Actually, for those with quite a few millions spare, the property next door to Admiralty house is for sale. A boat shed around the corner sold early this year for several million, just to give you an idea of the prices involved. Anyway, wonderful views of the city, Harbour Bridge, Opera House and harbour. And more than a few foto's. These photo's were all taken thru' gaps between the houses - so this is what the residents would see any time they looked out their windows! Certainly beats the view out my bedroom window (and that's not of a brick wall). Jealous yet?! Don't worry, I know you are.

Sydney Harbour
Harbour Bridge
Opera House & Skyline
Sydney Opera House
Image © David Powell, 2006
Sydney Harbour Bridge
Image © David Powell, 2006
Opera House & Sydney Skyline
Image © David Powell, 2006

Eventually we reached the front gate, got our tickets and then joined the next queue .. this time to tour Admiralty House. Another hour or so until we reached the head of that queue (if you get the impression we spent most of the day in the queues, yes, that's quite right). The photo's below cover only a small part of the queue to get to the front gate, naturally enough called The Gatehouse. That trip took us 45 minutes, so plenty of time for the abovementioned detours.

Sydney Harbour
Harbour Bridge
Opera House & Skyline
Down the street ...
Image © David Powell, 2006
Around the corner ..
Image © David Powell, 2006
.. and to the Gatehouse
Image © David Powell, 2006

Harbour down the street
Image © David Powell, 2006
Cynthia stayed in the queue and chatted with some neighbours while I toured the front gardens, taking more foto's. Have to admit the front gardens were quite modest. Nothing exotic or fancy. Lots of pansies, otherwise not much colour or impact. The lawn was nice and lush and there was a very green and leafy tree in the middle, providing some delicious shade. I also held the fort while Cynthia made a garden tour, so it wasn't all one sided. The building .. well .. it was grand (I'll let the foto's speak for it). Two storey and made from sandstone, with veranda's on both floors on the east and south sides, facing the harbour - with arguably Sydney's best views. No wonder the federal government acquired the site! Inside, the building was just as grand as the outside, tall ceilings and large rooms. We were only allowed to see a few of the rooms - the dining room, an informal reception room and a music room, complete with a musician playing a grand piano. Furnishings were a bit sparse - the entry fee for the day goes towards buying more furnishings for the two buildings (all antiques). Evidently they'll need the money collected today. I liked the stained glass windows, on both floors. the wallpaper, on the other hand. Well, they should've sacked the interior decorator! The inside rooms seemed dark to me .. prolly cuz of the wallpaper. All that waiting and we were in and out in 20 minutes or less!

Tree
Crowds
back of Admiralty house
Highpoint of rear gardens
Image © David Powell, 2006
Did I mention the queue?
Image © David Powell, 2006
Admiralty house, side entrance
Image © David Powell, 2006

Out the other side and to the harbour frontage gardens and they were a very different kettle of fish to the other ones. More lush lawns, trees and flower beds .. and wonderful views. If nothing else, the views made the day. After a late morning tea break on the veranda outside Admiralty House, we headed off a path along the harbour front into a shaded and secluded garden. Despite the hordes thronging the estate, the walkway was deserted. There was even the regal swimming pool.

Admiralty house
Admiralty house
That's us
Admiralty House, east face
Image © David Powell, 2006
Admiralty House, south face
Image © David Powell, 2006
Cynthia & I in front of Admiralty House
Image © David Powell, 2006

Admiralty house
Admiralty house
Regal Swimming Pool
Harbour from Admiralty House
Image © David Powell, 2006
Harbour from Admiralty House
Image © David Powell, 2006
The Regal Swimming Pool
Image © David Powell, 2006

Admiralty house
harbour view
Garden path
Harbour from Admiralty House
Image © David Powell, 2006
Harbour from Admiralty House
Image © David Powell, 2006
Up the garden path
Image © David Powell, 2006

kirribilli house
Kirribilli House
Image © David Powell, 2006
kirribilli house
Kirribilli House
Image © David Powell, 2006
Then it was time to join the queue to see Kirribilli House. Shorter but slower ... that one took over an hour to get to the end. Kirribilli House is a lot smaller. Outside it looks very much a late 19th century middle class home. Inside it was very modest indeed, furnished not much different to any middle-class Australian home. Certainly didn't seem like it'd be the residence of the PM. Well one of them. Of course, the house and the furnishings belong to the government and not the PM himself, tho' having been in office for so long the distinctions would have blurred a bit. I did noticed a framed newspaper clipping inside announcing his first election win. The current PM created a bit of a furore back in the 90's when he was elected and he chose to make Kirribilli his primary residence and where his wife and kids would live. Well it's certainly got a better view and climate than the official residence in Canberra! I can't blame him there. I can't but help wondering tho' if there's some intended political message in the very modest furnishings of the house?

We'd parked in a four hour parking spot and the time was about up, so we had to quick foot it back to the car before it was found by a parking inspector. As it turned out, we still had a few minutes to spare. Moved the car and then had a late lunch at a nice cafe at Milson's Point, a few more foto's and then back home.

From Milson's Point
harbour view
Bridge from Milson's
Opera House from Milson's Point
Image © David Powell, 2006
Harbour from Milson's Point
Image © David Powell, 2006
Bridge from Milson's Point
Image © David Powell, 2006

Overall impressions ... the gardens were nice, tho' I would've expected a lot better. Admiralty House was quite grand .. a fitting building to house the governor general (or more to the point visiting dignitaries visiting Sydney such as heads of state, the Queen and so forth). The interior wasn't as grand as the outside, but then we only saw a small part of the inside. Kirribilli House was very much inside and out a middle class home, quite modest and definitely not one would expect. Then again, for most of its existence it was a private home. Mind you, nothing in Kirribilli is middle class ... it's all quite exclusive. But the view, ahh, the view. Now that's another matter altogether. It's said that Sydney has the best harbour in the world - right or wrong, it's certainly one of the most beautiful. And the views from Admiralty House (and Kirribilli House) are arguably the best in Sydney, which arguably makes them the best in the world, no?

Admiralty House
Admiralty House
Image © David Powell, 2006
According to the news coverage, the organisers underestimated the number of visitors. That in itself was an understatement. The queue to the front entrance went for miles and the queues inside were shorter only because there wasn't room. Even then, they doubled back .. and again. Thousands .. definitely ... 10,000's, unquestionably. Over 100,000, quite feasibly.

The Background Story
Admiralty House dates back to around 1845 when Lieutenant Colonel John Gibbes (the then Colonial Collector of Customs) built, as his residence, a single storey house with wide verandas which he called "Wotonga". Gibbes bought the house and land in 1849, only to sell it in 1851 to James Travers, a merchant. In 1854 Travers sold a small part of the land to Adolph Feez, who built what would latter become known as Kirribilli House. In 1855 part of the property was resumed by the government to build fortifications. Apart from that, the house remained more or less unchanged until 1885, passing through several owners. At this point in time the house was described as "containing a wide veranda, a spacious entrance hall, drawing and dining rooms, 10 bedrooms and the usual rooms in the main part of the house, as well as having a large courtyard, servant's rooms, kitchen, stables, etc, with an abundant water supply, which never failed in the driest weather." In 1885 the Royal Navy’s Australian Squadron was raised to the status of an Admiral’s command and the government bought "Wotonga" as residence for the Admiral of the Navy. The house was renamed "Admiralty House", and additions were made to the property - a second storey was added, as was a colonnaded veranda. A Neo-Gothic style gate lodge was also added to the grounds.

kirribilli house
Kirribilli House
Image © David Powell, 2006
With the departure of the last British Admiral in 1913, ownership returned to the NSW Government and since then the house served as the Sydney Residence for the Governor General, apart from the early 1930's when it was left vacant. Unfortunately, in 1930 at the height of the Great Depression, the government sold off all the furnishings, leaving the house, in the words of the then Governor general "stripped of its glamour, with no furnishings but a few fine mirrors, its garden wild and overgrown." Ownership passed to the Commonwealth in 1948.

As well as being the Sydney residence of the Governor General of Australia, Admiralty house also hosts important overseas visitors including foreign heads of state and members of the Royal Family when they are in Sydney. The ground floor has two reception rooms, a dining room, a study, and a large central staircase. The residents' private rooms are on the upper floors. The house is furnished with numerous historical artworks such as portraits of Captain James Cook and former Governors General including Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson.

kirribilli house
Kirribilli House
Image © David Powell, 2006
As mentioned above, the history of Kirribilli House dates back to 1854 when Adolph Feez bought a one acre subdivision of "Wotonga" and built a twin-gabled Gothic style house, now known as Kirribilli House. The house features steeply pitched roofs, fretwork, bargeboards and bay windows. The property passed through many private hands until it was purchased in 1919 by Arthur Allen who planned to subdivide the land, but after much public agitation the Prime Minister, Billy Hughes, resumed the property in 1920. It was used by the Governors-General staff until 1930 when it was leased to tenants. In 1956 Kirribilli House was set aside as a residence for the official use of Prime Ministers, when in Sydney. The house did not see much use until 1996 when the then PM John Howard decided to use it as his primary residence while his children completed their schooling. Predictably enough, after his children left home, he chose to remain at Kirribilli House. During the 1980's and 1990's Kirribilli House was extensively restored, with parts of the house having deteriorated to such an extent that they were unsafe and unusable.

And before that ...
Before the arrival of European settlers, the Aboriginal tribe "Cammeraygal" lived along the Kirribilli foreshores and in the surrounding bushland. The area was a fertile fishing ground, and the name "Kirribilli" is derived from the Aboriginal word "Kiarabilli", which means "Good fishing spot". From 1794 to 1845, under several owners, the Kirribilli peninsula was used for farming. Of interesting note was that the first owner, Thomas Muir, a political convict, escaped the colony in 1796, stowing aboard an American ship. Another interesting tidbit is that Robert Campbell, who owned the site from 1806 to 1849, at one time had a grant for 5000 acres at Limestone Plains, present day Canberra. Descendants of both Campbell and Gibbes were, at successive times, owners of Yarralumla Station, which would latter become the primary residence of the Governor General when Canberra was chosen as the nations capital. Thus both the Campbell and Gibbes families were instrumental in the establishment of the estates that would eventually become Australia's two Governor General residences.


Some web sites of relevance
(valid as of October 2006)

Wikipedia: Admiralty House, Sydney, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiralty_House_(Sydney)>.
Wikipedia: Kirribilli House, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirribilli_House>
Google Maps, <http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-33.851982,151.218191&q=-33.851982,151.218191&spn=0.015,0.025&t=h>
Governor General of Australia: Official Residences - Admiralty House, <http://www.gg.gov.au/html/ahouse.html>
The Australiana Fund, <http://www.theaustralianafund.org.au>