Transported to the Past

The foundations of First Government House have been unearthed and archaeologists have recorded a wealth of facts about the house built by Governor Phillip in 1788-89 within months of the first fleet’s landing. ‘These are the only in situ historical remains known from the first year of settlement’, writes the authors of a new book, Australia’s First Government House, being published this summer.

 

The dig began in 1983 on a site bounded by Phillip and Bridge Streets and over the following years revealed stages of building and the way of life the early governors lived - Phillip, Bligh and Macquarie to name three. The house was replaced by a grander establishment in 1845 and later demolished. Being in bad condition, the loss was not regretted, though a contemporary report expressed an unfashionable interest in the past. 'The building is linked... with all the earlier associations of the Colony - which some may possibly say it would be as well to forget, but not so I.’