History

Government House, Adelaide is the official residence and Office of Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia.

The Vice Regal residence is not only the oldest public building in South Australia, but it is also the oldest Government House in Australia.

The present Government House, Adelaide is the second building to be bestowed with that name, with the first Vice Regal residence, “Government Hut” constructed of timber slabs, wattle and daub, and a calico ceiling.

The crew of the HMS Buffalo built the plain three-roomed cottage, believed to be on a site between the present Adelaide Railway Station and the River Torrens, for the first Governor of South Australia, Sir John Hindmarsh and his family.

When Lieutenant Colonel George Gawler succeeded Hindmarsh as the second Governor of South Australia in 1838, he noted that only half of his family could fit into the Governor’s residence, and that the “constant hindrances to the due performance of business was very great”.

Gawler abandoned plans for a permanent house of timber and gave directions for the erection of a grander residence – a two-storey, Regency-style stone building to cost £4000 ($675,000 in today’s currency).

The two-storey Government House consisted of 12 rooms, including what is now the Queen Elizabeth II Room, the Large Drawing Room, Small Dining Room and three upstairs bedrooms.

From 1855 to 1856, Government House was doubled in size with a two-storey addition to the southwest.

The Italianate extension included a portico which became the official main entrance, the State Entrance, Small Drawing Room, State Dining Room, Adelaide Room and Ballroom.

Three bedrooms and an additional bathroom were added to the interior, and a guardhouse, gates and flagstaff were constructed on the grounds during this period.

Throughout the 19^th century, a series of further additions were undertaken, including a new kitchen, butler’s pantry, storeroom and drying room (1863), an overflow kitchen, servants’ hall and additional first-floor bedrooms (1869), conservatory (1872), billiard room, strong room and administration offices (1872).

Modifications on the grounds continued into the 20^th century, including cottages originally built for the Butler and Chauffeur.

In 1901, a commemorative alcove with 10 emblematic stained-glass windows, known as the Federation Windows, was installed in the ballroom. Commissioned by the Right Honourable Hallam Tennyson, the 14^th Governor of South Australia, the windows marked the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York to Australia for the opening of the first Australian Parliament.

In 2001, Sir Eric Neal AC CVO and Lady Neal initiated the commissioning of a Centenary of Federation stained glass window on the landing of the main stairwell.

In recognition of the shift of sentiment since Federation, the new window contains images relating to the South Australian countryside and the main cultural and economic drivers behind the success of South Australia, the arts, metropolitan Adelaide, War Memorials and Aboriginal Land Rights legislation.