Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Parliamentary memo-
rabilia is on view in
the Jubilee Room, as
are displays showing
Parliament House's
development and
the legislative history
of New South Wales.
The corrugated iron
building with a cast-
iron façade tacked on
at the southern end
was a pre-fabricated
kit from England. It
was originally intend-
ed as a chapel for the
gold fields, but was diverted
from this purpose and sent to
Sydney. In 1856, this disman-
tled kit became the chamber
for the new Legislative Council.
Its packing cases were used to
line this chamber; the rough
timber is still on view inside.
the Rum Hospital
because the builders
were paid by being
allowed to import
rum for resale. Both
the north and south
wings of the Rum
Hospital survive as
Parliament House
and the Sydney
Mint. The central
wing, which was in
danger of collapsing,
was demolished in
1879 and the new
hospital, which still
functions today, was
completed in 1894. The
Classical Revival building
boasts a Baroque staircase and
elegant floral stained-glass
windows in its entrance hall.
Florence Nightingale approved
the design of the 1867 nurses'
wing. In the inner courtyard,
there is a brightly coloured Art
Deco fountain (1907).
At the front of the hospital
sits
Il Porcellino
, a brass boar.
It is a copy of a 17th-century
fountain in Florence's Mercato
Nuovo. Donated in 1968 by an
Italian woman whose relatives
had worked at the hospital,
the statue is an enduring sym-
bol of the close friendship
between Italy and Australia.
Like his Florentine counter-
part,
Il Porcellino
is supposed
to bring good luck to all those
who rub his snout. All coins
tossed in the shallow pool at
his feet for luck and fortune
are collected for the hospital.
Stained glass at
Sydney Hospital
Sydney Hospital
q
Macquarie St.
Map
1 C4.
Tel
9382 7111.
@
Sydney Explorer,
Elizabeth St routes.
#
daily.
&
for
tours.
must be booked in
advance by telephone.
6
7
8
This imposing collection
of Victorian sandstone build-
ings stands on the site of what
was once the central section
of the original convict-built
Sydney Hospital - known as
II Porcellino
, the brass boar in front of Sydney Hospital
The lamps
hanging over the
gateways of Parliament
House are reproductions of
the 19th-century gas lamps
that used to stand here.
The Little Shop
,
a tiny corner store,
currently resides in
one of two domed
former gatehouses.
The entrance stairs
of Pyrmont sandstone
have set the tone for
all renovations. The
stone, quarried in
colonial times, must
be matched exactly.
Arcaded stone
verandas with
ornate balustrading
Arched sandstone
bridges
Corrugated
iron and cast-
iron façade
SYDNEY HOSPITAL
(1868-94)
