Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HISTORIC BUILDING
PARLIAMENT HOUSE
of the Mint, the puce-coloured Parliament House (1816) has been home to the Parliament
of New South Wales since 1829, making it the world's oldest continually operating parlia-
ment building. And like the Mint, its front section (which now blends into a modern addi-
tion on the eastern side) was part of the Rum Hospital.
You need to pass through a metal detector to access the inner sanctum, where you can
check out art exhibitions in the lobby and the historical display in the wood-panelled Ju-
bilee Room. On nonsitting days both assembly chambers are open, but when Parliament is
sitting, you're restricted to the Public Gallery.
SYDNEY HOSPITAL
Rum Hospital, Australia's oldest hospital has a grand Victorian sandstone facade and a
chequered history. You can't wander around inside, but the central courtyard with its
kitsch enamelled fountain studded with submissive swans is open to the public. The
weathered-looking Gothic Nightingale Wing (1869) was the site of Australia's first
Nightingale School of Nursing.
HISTORIC BUILDING
In provocative recline out the front of the hospital is the pig-ugly bronze statue
Il Por-
cellino
(1968), a copy of a Florentine statue of a boar. Rubbing its snout is said to bring
good luck.
HISTORIC BUILDING
MINT
building (1816) was originally the southern wing of the infamous Rum Hospital, built by
two Sydney merchants in return for a monopoly on the rum trade (Sydney's currency in
those days). It became a branch of the Royal Mint in 1854, the first outside England.
It's now head office for the Historic Houses Trust, with a small historical collection and
an upstairs cafe. There's not a whole lot to see or do, but it's a worthwhile diversion non-
etheless.
STATE LIBRARY OF NSW
LIBRARY
