Kirribilli House - Overview

Overview

In 1854, merchant Adolphus Frederic Feez purchased a 1-acre (4,000 m2) parcel of land at the tip of Kirribilli Point for £200. (The land had been sliced off the grounds of adjacent Wotonga House, which now forms part of Admiralty House, Sydney, but was then in private ownership.) Feez built the picturesque Gothic-style structure now known as Kirribilli House — a twin-gabled dwelling or cottage ornée — on the land's highest spot. The house features steeply pitched roofs, fretwork, bargeboards and bay windows. It passed through many private hands until it was purchased in 1919 for £10,000 by Arthur Wigram Allen. Allen planned to subdivide the land but after much public agitation the then Prime Minister of Australia, Billy Hughes, resumed the property for government purposes in 1920.

The property was used by the staff of the Governor-General of Australia (who occupied neighbouring Admiralty House) until 1930, when it was leased to tenants. In 1956 Kirribilli House was set aside as a residence for the use of Australia's Prime Ministers, when they need to perform public duties and extend official hospitality on behalf of the government during stays in Sydney. The official Prime Ministerial residence is The Lodge, Canberra. Kirribilli House is situated on the North Shore of Sydney Harbour, in the suburb of Kirribilli. It commands impressive views across to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Circular Quay and the Sydney Opera House and has been visited over the years by many important international dignitaries.

During the term (1996-2007) of John Howard, a Sydney resident, Kirribilli House was the primary residence of the Prime Minister.

Kirribilli House is open to the public on one day a year, courtesy of The Australiana Fund.