Can you name all the 37 Governors of New South Wales? Famous places like Darling Harbour and Fort Denison might help you with the early ones but what about the others?

When the colony was an unruly infant, public servants with a military or navy background came out to represent the British government. However as New South Wales progressed under colonial self-government, men with aristocratic backgrounds and relatively little political experience assumed office. As a result the role became less political and more socially orientated.

Governor Sir George Gipps celebrated the Queen's Birthday Ball at the house in May 1843 even though construction would go on for another two years (at the unprecedented cost of £46,000). Almost 100 years later Governor Wakehurst made the house available for public inspection to raise funds for the war effort.

Today our current Governor, Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, is the first female to occupy the office.