TitleRecovered Remnants at Parliament HouseDescriptionFoundations & Communications at NSW Parliament
Some of the treasures you will find in Parlimento have lurked in the dark, dusty underfloor spaces of the Legislative Council Chamber for well over 100 years. Discarded there as rubbish in the mid to late nineteenth century, they were recovered in 1974 by construction workers as part of renovations to the building. Today, these remnants reflect fascinating stories about Parliament’s built history and communications.
A few rare items come from Parliament’s oldest building, constructed in 1811-1816 as the northern building of the three-winged General ‘Rum’ Hospital for convicts. It was Australia’s first purpose-built hospital, which was privately financed in exchange for a monopoly on the colonial importation of spirits (thus, the name ‘Rum Hospital’). Featuring a facade made up of a continuous row of columns, the building initially housed the hospital’s Principal Surgeon, Dr D’Arcy Wentworth, but in 1829, rooms were occupied by the NSW Legislative Council. Not long after, the whole building was handed over for parliamentary use, and extensions were built at both ends, to accommodate the NSW Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council chambers.
