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Government House

What do Buckingham Palace and Government House have in common? The answer is Edward Blore, a British architect who was involved in the design of both buildings. Governor Bourke chose to commission an architect from England as he did not believe a local would be up to the job.

Government House has been home to 27 Governors from 1846 to 1996, and the first five Governors-General from 1901 to 1914. It has come a long way from the canvas tent Governor Phillip pitched in 1788 and is one of the finest examples of gothic revival architecture in NSW. Our current Governor, Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, is the 37th Governor of NSW and is the first woman to occupy the office. Each Governor has made changes to the house based on their tastes and needs. However, the most dramatic change had nothing to do with preferences; in 1868, the attempted assassination of Prince Alfred forced Lady Belmore to transform the drawing room into a makeshift operating theatre so that surgeons could remove the bullet lodged in the Prince's abdomen.