|
|
|
|
|
|
Self-guided tour |
||||||||
|
[Print-friendly version (PDF,
210k)] 
Grounds and Exterior of the BuildingBegin your walk outside Parliament House and head down Main Drive as indicated by the arrows on the map above.
The paved drive was the original gravel driveway
The Kidney Lawn
Looking back at the House
The main entrance
The porch This entrance is currently not available - please make you way back around to the side of the House to enter the House through the piazza and the Governors library.
The piazza,
Ground Floor The Governor's Study and Library The Dining Room The Central Hall
The Drawing Room
The Private Drawing Room Continue on to the base of the main stairs.
The Main Stairs
First Floor
The Gallery
This Bedroom This Bedroom/Schoolroom again was used for different purposes depending on whether children were living in the House at the time and their ages. This room was most commonly used as a bedroom, but Lady Chelmsford used it as a schoolroom for her children. Proceed into the adjoining room - the night nursery.
A Night Nursery The Bathrooms were built in 1879 but the fittings date from about 1910. During World War 2 the windows were covered in tape to stop broken glass from spraying out if they were broken in an air raid. Through the end door you will see a small flight of stairs leading down into the servants quarters. This area is currently closed to the public. The Courtyard
To access the courtyard and servants area Proceed back through the Governor's Library to the outside piazza, continue around to your left past the Billiard room, continue around to the left then left again and you will see the Courtyard entrance. You may proceed down through this area. The first room to your right, now the QUT Chaplaincy, was the kitchen. The Kitchen - in the 19th century, cooking required much more planning than now as foods could not be kept for long periods of time. Menus had to planned around what was in season. Gardeners had to plant carefully to provide a constant supply of vegetables and flowers for the House. Note that the kitchen is a fair distance from the main house - this was to prevent heat and cooking smells reaching the reception rooms. The two little rooms to the left, now the QUT Chaplaincy Prayer Rooms, were the Vegetable Room and the Wine Cellar. The Wine Cellar housed many wines on racks. A great deal would have been needed for the constant stream of visitors and formal entertaining. The wine would have been imported and quite valuable. It is likely that the Governor and the butler would have had a key to the cellar. The butler was responsible for the wine and was expected to be an expert on how to store and care for it, and know what to order. The walls are made of clay brick and built to a vaulted shape to support the floor above. As you move through the courtyard entrance you will pass on your left the Larder and the Fuel Room. The Fuel and Lamp Room was used to store fuel for the kitchen range, fireplace and household lamps. Lamps had to be cleaned every day and the wicks trimmed evenly otherwise they smoked badly. You will now be standing in the courtyard.
The Courtyard The Servants Quarters - This area, like the main house, was divided into the 'male' and 'female' sides. The Governor's aides (all men) lived and worked on the left-hand side and the female house servants lived on the right-hand side of the courtyard area. You will see from the doors that the rooms would be much smaller and the ceilings much lower than in the main house. This completes the self-guided tour.
|
||||||||
to Old Government House. As you approach the Kidney Lawn you will see a line of grey paving stones which marks exactly where the original driveway once lay. The original driveway was laid by Walter Hill, the Director of the Botanic Gardens which can now be seen on the left hand side. Hill was also responsible for designing and laying out the Old Government House Grounds. The drive not only admitted visitors to the grounds but also linked the House and the Parliament. In the early days the use of messengers made quick, discreet communication between Old government House and Parliament possible, which was particularly important before the telephone was available.
at the end of Main Drive still exists today in much the same shape as the original, but slightly smaller Kidney Lawn designed by Walter Hill. You will see two large trees - a Hoop Pine and a Bunya Pine (the Hoop Pine is the one which has lost its top when struck by lightning). These were both planted by Walter Hill in 1862. 
from the Kidney Lawn you could mistakenly think that this was the front of the House, but it is in fact the 'working entrance' that was used when visiting the Governor on business. The semicircular porch with columns opens into the Governor's study/library. His bedroom is above. To the right are the offices of the Governor's support staff with their bedrooms also directly above. When the House was built there were no verandahs on the upper storey. These were added in the 1870's to stop the rain and sun getting into the bedrooms. Further to the right you will note an addition to the House with the date 1899 above the door. This is the billiard room.The Billiard Room built in 1899 is different from the rest of the House both externally and internally. It was added more that 30 years after the House was built and it is evident that architecture styles changed over that period. It was purpose-built as a leisure room for men. Here they could play billiards, smoke and talk. It was not considered polite to smoke in the main house or in ladies' company. This room was at one time used for lessons by Lord Lamington's son and his tutor.
that would be used by people visiting the family or attending a function can be found on the left-hand side of the building. Follow the paved Drive around the Kidney Lawn until you see the Porch or 'porte cochere'.
in front of the main entrance is called a 'porte cochere', which is French for 'gateway or doorway for coaches'. This was added to the House from 1878 to 1879. The porch protected people from the rain when guests arrived by carriage. The leadlight windows on either side of the door date from about 1895.
named by the colonial architect, Charles Tiffin on his drawings of the House, is an Italian word used to describe a formal outdoor space or city square. The Columns are made from iron and the sandstone floors were replaced in 1972.
is where the men (politicians, government officials and the like) met on matters
of business. The room was furnished like a study and originally there was a
large map of the British Empire and a clock on the wall. The offices of the
Governor's aide and secretary and the messengers' room were located to the left
through a set of French Doors. This kept the business activities separate from
the 'family' part of the House. Business visitors would have first called at
the office then a staff member would have escorted them along the veranda to
the library. The floors in the library are pine and the doors and architraves
are made of Queensland red cedar. From the Governors Library take the door to
the left into the dinning room.
is
situated on the working, 'male' side of the House. This room was more sombre
than the rooms on the family side of the House. After dinner the men stayed
to drink and talk while the ladies retired to the drawing room. The original
marble fireplace has been replaced with a re-creation of wood painted to look
like marble. The floor, (although covered now to protect the soft timber) is
made of Queensland Red Cedar. 
with top lighting was fashionable and used in large country houses in Europe
at the time Old Government House was designed. The hall was used as a family
sitting room and for large entertainments as well. There are large sliding doors
(Queensland red cedar) between the dining room and the drawing room allowing
this space to become one, two or three rooms. The floor, (although covered now
to protect the soft timber) is made of Queensland Red Cedar. Again, continue
through the large archway into the drawing room.
was used for formal entertaining, and with a view of the private garden, was a pleasant place in which to sit and talk. The floor, (although covered now to protect the soft timber) is made of Queensland Red Cedar. This was a feminine room and was often decorated accordingly by the Lady of the House. Proceed through the doorway to the left of the fireplace into the private drawing room.
was a private room for the Governors' wives where they could relax, write letters, plan functions and entertain friends. It was to this room that the cook would come in the morning for her instructions and the Housekeeper would be summoned to discuss domestic arrangements. The floors are pine and the doors and architraves are made of Queensland red cedar. Through the French doors you can see a small piazza and the private garden. The columns on the small piazza are stone rather than iron. The architect's drawings do not show this piazza and the National Trust believes is was added at the end of the building period when no more cast iron columns were available. Exist via the corner doorway to pass the Housekeepers storeroom.the Housekeepers Store Room was probably used to store linen, expensive ingredients or possibly as an office before the Housekeepers office was added to the kitchen complex. During the Queensland University days this room was the admissions area where you paid your fees through an external window on the courtyard side of the room. 
- when balls were held in the House, the band occupied the area to the side of the base of the stairs. There is a door behind the stairs that allowed easy access to the courtyard and the staff section of the House. The stairs are made of red cedar. The balustrade is cast iron with a curved cedar handrail. Proceed up the staircase to the gallery on the first floor.
works as an internal verandah, allowing light and air into the space below (the Hall). Above the Gallery is a large skylight which is made up of small panels of decorative glass. From this area you could access the bedrooms - the Governor's to the left and the children's to the right. The Governor's bedroom was part of a suite of rooms, which also included a bathroom and dressing room and had the best position in the House. Although most of the Governor's were married, their wives usually had their own bedrooms. Unfortunately these rooms are locked at present. However, please proceed to the end of the gallery to one of the children's bedrooms. 
was sometimes used as a sitting room depending on the number of children living in the House. You can see through the window that there is a small widow's balcony situated on top of the 'porte cochere'. Coming back out of this bedroom into the gallery again proceed to the next door on your left. This was another bedroom. 
is a bedroom where children and perhaps their nanny slept. The use of this room also varied. It may have been used as a dressing room when there were no children in the House. As you exit this room proceed around to the left via the corridor into the day nursery. The Day Nursery provided a day room for children where they took their lessons, had their meals and played. This room was also sometimes used as a bedroom. You might like to walk out on to the balcony and view the private garden. Back through the day nursery and opposite the doorway you will notice a bathroom. There is another one on the other side of the House adjoining the Governors rooms. 
please continue back out into the gallery and back down the stairs. 
- When the House was first built the courtyard held a large underground tank to supply water to the House. Later, outside water tanks were installed. During major celebrations such as balls, the courtyard was converted to a supper room, matting was laid on the ground and canvas was stretched across the courtyard to form a temporary roof. If you look now at the walls surrounding the courtyard you will notice that this area is made of a much rougher stone than the Sandstone used on the main part of the House. This section of the House was the servant's quarters.