Impressions ...
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Harbor @ street's end
Image © David Powell, 2006
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One of those "once in a lifetime" opportunities - Sydney's Admiralty House and Kirribilli House complex
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Sydney Harbour from Kirribilli
Image © David Powell, 2006
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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. |
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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.
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Down the street ...
Image © David Powell, 2006 |
Around the corner ..
Image © David Powell, 2006 | .. and to the Gatehouse
Image © David Powell, 2006 |
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Image © David Powell, 2006
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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! |
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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.
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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 |
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Harbour from Admiralty House
Image © David Powell, 2006 |
Harbour from Admiralty House
Image © David Powell, 2006 | The Regal Swimming Pool
Image © David Powell, 2006 |
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Harbour from Admiralty House
Image © David Powell, 2006 |
Harbour from Admiralty House
Image © David Powell, 2006 | Up the garden path
Image © David Powell, 2006 |
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Kirribilli House
Image © David Powell, 2006
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Kirribilli House
Image © David Powell, 2006
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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.
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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?
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Admiralty House
Image © David Powell, 2006
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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. |
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Kirribilli House
Image © David Powell, 2006
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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.
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Kirribilli House
Image © David Powell, 2006
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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.
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