Government House is located just south of the Sydney Opera House, and overlooks Sydney Harbour. It is the official residence and official reception space of the Governor of New South Wales.

Todays fine mansion is a far cry from the original dwelling of the first Governor of the colony, Captain Arthur Phillip, which was a basic structure of canvas and timber brought with the First Fleet in January 1788.
A more substantial "temporary" government house was later built on the corner of Bridge and Phillip streets using English bricks, native stone and locally convict made sandstock bricks. it was completed by 1789 under the direction of James Bloodsworth, a convict builder responsible for the construction of most of the colony's buildings between 1788 and 1800.
It underwent extensions and alterations during the terms of the following eight Governors, but was never considered fine enough for the esteemed Queen's representative and was demolished in 1846.
Poor mortar, (of lime of crushed sea shells) white ant infestation and rising damp created ongoing problems.
Despite this, it was an architectural milestone for Australia, and the first proportionately classical building in the continent, even including Australia's first staircase. A verandah was added by Governor King circa 1800 and a drawing room was added in a side wing in the same year.
By 1816 Francis Greenway was commissioned to construct a substantial extension and ballroom by Governor Macquarie, transforming the house into an italianate cottage. The stables commissioned for the house by Macquarie in 1816 still stand in the Botanic Gardens and form a facade for the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
The building retains many of its original features and nostalgic battlements and towers. Much of the "Governor's Domain" to the east of the original house has survived today as the adjacent areas of parkland known as The Domain, the Royal Botanic Gardens, and also the gardens of today's Government House, adjacent to the Sydney Opera House.
The foundations were excavated by archaeologists in 1983, and incorporated into the new Museum of Sydney.

Country Residences
The desperate search for farmland suitable to sustain crops to feed the new colony led to the establishment of the township of Parramatta and, in 1790, Governor Arthur Phillip built a second residence for himself there. This cottage, as with many of the settlement's earliest structures, was not robustly constructed and fell into disrepair; it was demolished by 1799. However, a precedent for a "country residence" for the Governor had been set.

Other country residences of the Governor included a cottage constructed at Windsor overlooking the Hawkesbury River (circa 1790) and a residence at Port Macquarie (circa 1821) of which the ruins are still visible.

The poor quality of the original Sydney Government House, as well as crime and unsanitary conditions in the growing Sydney settlement convinced successive Governors of the desirability of a rural residence. In 1799 the second Governor, John Hunter, had the remains of Arthur Phillip's cottage cleared away, and a more permanent building erected on the same site.

Later, starting in 1815, Governor Lachlan Macquarie and Mrs Macquarie added extensively to Hunter's structure and by 1818 their principal residence had acquired the appearance which it retains today (the building's Palladian style extensions were designed by Macquarie's aide, Lieutenant John Watts).

Out buildings in the Governor's Domain include a mutilated Bath House attributed to Francis Greenway (1822), some stones from an Observatory built for Governor Thomas Brisbane (1821) and a small farm house built by George Salter in 1798 - 1806 and acquired and extended by Governor Lachlan Maquarie in 1816 for use as a dairy.

"Old Government House" is furnished in the style of the early 1820s and is open to visitors. It is situated at Parramatta on 260 acres (1.1 km2) of parkland overlooking the Parramatta River, and is Australia's oldest public building. The grounds are of particular interest as they are a relatively undisturbed colonial-era reserve surrounded by what is now Australia's largest urban area.

Old Government House and Government Domain were included in the Australian National Heritage List on 1 August 2007.

Government House (Sydney)
In 1835 the British government agreed that a new Government House in Sydney had become a necessity, and the Royal Architect, Edward Blore, was instructed to draw up plans. Construction commenced in 1837 and was supervised by Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis, and Colonel Barney of the Royal Engineers. Stone, cedar and marble for the construction were obtained from various areas of New South Wales. A ball in honour of the birthday of Queen Victoria was held in the new building in 1843, although construction was not complete. The first resident, Governor George Gipps, did not move in until 1845.

From 1845 until 1996 it served as the Governor's residence, office and official reception space. However, since 1996 the Governor, at the direction of the Premiers since Bob Carr, has not used it as a residence, and the Governor's day office has been relocated to the historic Chief Secretary's Office building nearby, at 121 Macquarie Street. This move generated controversy: as the proclaimed cost savings of over $2 million never materialised, the Auditor-General found it cost $600,000 more to maintain the building without a resident Governor; and public attendance decreased (resident Governors had maintained public access during their tenures). This lead the group Australians for Constitutional Monarchy to organise a protest, resulting in one of the largest marches in Sydney history, which blocked Macquarie Street - a major road in Sydney's central business district and the road on which State Parliament House is situated.

Government House is open to the public, although it remains the Governor's official reception space and is frequently used for Vice regal purposes.

GOVERNORS OF NSW
The Governor of New South Wales is the representative in the state of New South Wales of Australia's monarch, Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia and performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as the Governor-General of Australia at the national level.
The office of Governor of New South Wales is the oldest constitutional office in Australia, first assumed by Captain Arthur Phillip on 7 February 1788 when the colony was formally founded.
The Governor retains the reserve powers of the Crown, and has the right to dismiss the Premier. This power was last exercised in 1932, when Sir Philip Game dismissed Jack Lang.

List of Governors of New South Wales
No.GovernorFromTo
1 Captain Arthur Phillip RN 23/1/1788 10/12/1792
2 Captain John Hunter RN 11/9/1795 27/9/1800
3 Captain Philip King RN 28/9/1800 12/8/1806
4 Captain William Bligh RN 13/8/1806 26/1/1808
5 Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB1/1/18101/12/1821
6 The Rt Hon. Major-General Sir Thomas Brisbane Bt GCH GCB1/12/18211/12/1825
7 Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Darling GCH19/12/182522/10/1831
8 Major-General Sir Richard Bourke KCB3/12/18315/12/1837
9 Sir George Gipps24/2/1838 11/7/1846
10 Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy KCH KCB3/8/18461/1/1855
11 Sir William Denison KCB20/1/185522/1/1861
12 The Rt Hon. Lord Lisgar GCB GCMG PC16/5/186124/12/1867
13 The Rt Hon. Earl Belmore GCMG PC9/1/186821/2/1872
14 The Rt Hon. Lord Rosmead GCMG3/6/187219/3/1879
15 The Rt Hon. Lord Augustus Loftus GCB PC4/8/18799/11/1885
16 The Most Hon. Marquess of Lincolnshire GCMG PC12/12/18853/11/1890
17 The Rt Hon. Earl of Jersey GCB GCMG PC15/1/18912/3/1893
18 The Rt Hon. Sir Robert Duff GCMG29/5/189315/3/1895
19 The Rt Hon. Viscount Hampden GCMG21/11/18955/3/1899
20 The Rt Hon. Earl Beauchamp KG KCMG PC18/5/189930/4/1901
21 Admiral Sir Harry Rawson GCB GCMG RN27/5/190227/5/1909
22 The Rt Hon. Viscount Chelmsford GCMG GCSI GCIE GBE PC28/5/190911/3/1913
23 The Rt Hon. Lord Strickland GCMG14/3/191327/10/1917
24 The Rt Hon. Sir Walter Davidson KCMG CBE KStJ18/2/19184/9/1923
25 The Rt Hon. Admiral Sir Dudley de Chair KCB KBE MVO 28/2/19247/4/1930
26 Air Vice-Marshal Sir Philip Game GCB GCVO GBE KCMG DSO29/5/193015/1/1935
27 The Rt Hon. Brigadier General The Earl Gowrie VC GCMG CB DSO PC21/2/193522/1/1936
28 Admiral Sir David Anderson KCB KCMG MVO6/8/193629/10/1936
29 The Rt Hon. Lord Wakehurst KG GCMG OStJ8/4/19378/1/1946
30 Lieutenant General Sir John Northcott KCMG KCVO CB1/8/194631/7/1957
31 Lieutenant General Sir Eric Woodward KCMG KCVO CB CBE DSO1/8/195731/7/1965
32 Sir Roden Cutler VC AK KCMG KCVO CBE20/1/196619/1/1981
33 Air Marshal Sir James Rowland AC KBE DFC AFC RAAF20/1/198120/1/1989
34 Rear Admiral Sir David Martin KCMG AO20/1/19897/8/1990
35 Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair AC8/8/199029/2/1996
36 The Hon. Gordon Samuels AC CVO KStJ QC1/3/199628/2/2001
37 Professor Marie Bashir, Lady Shehadie AC CVO DStJ1/3/2001Present


CURRENT GOVERNOR
The Governor: Professor Marie Bashir AC, CVO.
Professor Bashir, the first woman appointed Governor of NSW, took office on 1 March 2001.
Of Lebanese descent, she was born in Narranderaand educated at Narrandera Public School and Sydney Girls High School, She gained her bachelor degrees in medicine and surgery in 1956 from the University of Sydney.

Dr Bashir taught at the Universities of Sydney and NSW, increasingly working with children's services, psychiatry and mental health services, and indigenous health programs. At the time of her appointment as Governor of NSW, she was Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Sydney (from 1993); Area Director of Mental Health Services Central Sydney (from 1994); and Senior Consultant to the Aboriginal Medical Service, Redfern (from 1996) and to the Aboriginal Medical Service, Kempsey.

Professor Bashir's widespread involvements and interests have included juvenile justice, research on adolescent depression, health issues in developing countries, education for health professionals and telemedicine and new technologies for health service delivery. Along with many professional medical association roles, she was, at the time of her appointment as Governor, a member of societies as diverse as Amnesty International, the National Trust, the NSW Camellia Research Society and the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Centre, as well as being a patron of the Sydney Symphony and Opera Australia. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1988 for her services to child and adolescent health; and was invested by Her Majesty, the Queen, with the insignia of a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in 2006.

Professor Bashir is married to Sir Nicholas Shehadie AC OBE and together they have three children and six grandchildren.

Information abridged from Wikipedea and Australian Biographies.