Government House, located in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

on the corner of North Terrace and

King William Road King William Street is the part of a major arterial road that traverses the CBD and centre of Adelaide, continuing as King William Road to the north of North Terrace and south of Greenhill Road; between South Terrace and Greenhill Road it i ...

, is the official residence of the governor of South Australia.

History

The original "Government Hut" was a

thatched Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

hut constructed by the seamen of HMS ''Buffalo''. Governor John Hindmarsh wrote in May 1837 "I have but one end of my mud hut finished and all my family lay on the floor of one room while two smaller ones serve for Mrs. H., myself and a female servant", When Lieutenant Colonel

George Gawler Lieutenant-Colonel George Gawler, KH, (21 July 1795 – 7 May 1869) was the second Governor of South Australia, at the same time serving as Resident Commissioner, from 17 October 1838 until 15 May 1841. Biography Early life Gawler, born on 2 ...

replaced Hindmarsh in 1838, he abandoned plans for a permanent house of timber and gave directions for the erection of a new building of masonry to cost £4,000 - if possible, but not to exceed £5,000. A plan had been obtained from an English architect, Edward O'Brien, but this was amended by George Strickland Kingston, who had come to South Australia as an assistant to the Surveyor General,

William Light William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839), also known as Colonel Light, was a British- Malayan naval and army officer. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site of ...

, and who had had some experience in architecture and building. When Kingston received tenders for the proposed work they were in the vicinity of £7,000. After further amendment of the plans to reduce the cost, a contract was let to the builders, Messrs East and Breeze. After Governor Gawler was recalled to England in 1841, partly because of his "extravagant" building programs, his successors

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

and Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Holt Robe found it necessary to spend the least possible amount on the house. The earliest part of the house to be built was the east wing of the present building. It was completed and occupied in May 1840. Government House is thus probably the second oldest continuously occupied house in the State, after Walkley cottage in St Mark's College, Pennington Terrace,

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

, which was first occupied in mid-1839. When completed, Government House consisted of the present main drawing room, morning room, small dining room, and upstairs there were three bedrooms, a dressing room and two small servants' rooms. Governors, their families and house guests make use of all the upstairs rooms. It was listed on the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. ...

on 24 July 1980 and on the defunct Register of the National Estate on 21 March 1978. The eastern Kintore Avenue boundary of the grounds of Government House was stepped back by 10 metres during 2015–2016, to make way for the construction of the Anzac Centenary Memorial Walk connecting the National War Memorial on North Terrace to the Torrens Parade Ground. The walkway was completed in 2016.

Summer residences

Governors formerly used a summer residence in the Adelaide Hills to escape the heat of the Adelaide Plains. Two buildings were used for this purpose. The first of these, Old Government House, was built in what is now the Belair National Park in 1860. In 1880, this building was superseded by a larger residence at Marble Hill near Norton Summit, until it was destroyed in the Black Sunday bushfires of 1955. Subsequently, the Governor was not provided with a summer residence.

Functions

Government House is located in well-kept grounds which are periodically used for important public ceremonies, such as: *Presentation of Queen's Scout and Queen's Guide awards *Presentation of Year 12 Merit certificates *Presentation of Debating SA Awards *Other non-profit functions

Arts

In 2019 a Government House Arts Residency program was instituted, with the inaugural recipient being Margaret Worth.

Flags

Until May 2022, there were three flag poles on the roof of Government House. From 27 May 2022, governor

Frances Adamson Frances Jennifer Adamson, (born 20 April 1961) is an Australian public servant and diplomat who is the 36th Governor of South Australia, in office since 7 October 2021. Early life and education Adamson was born in Adelaide, South Australia, th ...

had four new flag poles installed on the lawn, so that the Aboriginal flag and Torres Strait Islander flag could both be permanently flown for the first time at Government House, along with the

Australian flag The flag of Australia, also known as the Australian Blue Ensign, is based on the British Blue Ensign—a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist quarter—augmented with a large white seven-pointed star (the Commonwealth Star) and a r ...

and South Australian flag. All of the newly-installed flags are visible from King William Street and North Terrace. The flag-raising ceremony took place at the start of

National Reconciliation Week National Reconciliation Week is intended to celebrate Indigenous history and culture in Australia and foster reconciliation discussion and activities. It started as the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation in 1993, developing into National Reconcil ...

Environs

Cottages were built in the northern part of the grounds, originally for the butler (1928) and the chauffeur (1945). The grounds of Government House itself are surrounded by prominent public buildings, statues and memorials: *

North Terrace, Adelaide North Terrace is one of the four terraces that bound the central business and residential district of Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It runs east–west, along the northern edge of "the square mile". The western end cont ...

* Jubilee 150 Walkway * Torrens Parade Ground * South African War Memorial (South Australia) * National War Memorial (South Australia) * State Library of South Australia * Parliament of South Australia * Migration Museum, Adelaide

Notes

External links

Government House home page
{{coord, display=title, -34.920126, 138.600321, type:landmark_region:AU Government of South Australia Official residences in Australia

Houses in Adelaide Neoclassical architecture in Australia 1840 establishments in Australia South Australian Heritage Register Adelaide Park Lands South Australian places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate