The country residence of the early governors, this elegant Georgian Palladian building in Parramatta Park is now a preciously maintained museum furnished with original colonial furniture. It was built by convicts and dates from 1799, making it the oldest remaining public building in Australia. Temporary exhibitions add to the building's interest and there are volunteers stationed around the building to answer your questions. A vine-draped restaurant is in the courtyard.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Sydney attractions

1. Parramatta Park

0.16 MILES

This 85-hectare riverside park has a democratic feel as locals descend on it to run, laze, picnic or go to a concert or other events. The site of…

2. St John’s Cemetery

0.34 MILES

Australia's oldest colonial cemetery, these open lawns are the resting place of many an early settler. There's a map at the entrance gate with some…

3. Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences

0.51 MILES

One of the key pieces of Parramatta's riverside development will be this museum, which will move much of the collection of the current Powerhouse Museum…

4. Parramatta Square

0.51 MILES

This $2 billion project is the centrepiece of Parramatta's major redevelopment and features office towers, a university campus and public space, built to…

5. Experiment Farm Cottage

1.02 MILES

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6. Hambledon Cottage

1.09 MILES

Surrounded by 200-year-old camphor laurels and English oaks, this historic cottage was built in 1824 for the Macarthurs’ daughter’s governess and was…

7. Elizabeth Farm

1.33 MILES

Elizabeth Farm contains part of Australia’s oldest surviving colonial building (1793), built by renegade pastoralist and rum trader John Macarthur…

8. ANZ Stadium

4.5 MILES

The former Stadium Australia was custom-built for the 2000 Olympics. It could originally accommodate 110,000 people, but following the games its capacity…