Behind the Scenes of Old Government House

BY ADIBA RAHMAN, HERITAGE CONSULTANT

Built on the lands of the Dhurag people, Old Government House is a World Heritage-listed site best known as the country residence of the colony’s first ten governors. As Australia’s oldest public building, it was both home and workplace for countless staff with fascinating histories.

The longest residents of Old Government House, and perhaps the best known, were Governor Lachlan Macquarie and his wife, Elizabeth. When they sailed for New South Wales in 1809, they were accompanied by an eclectic mix of servants to make life more orderly and comfortable at the elegant Georgian house.

Among them were Hector and George Jarvis, who Macquarie purchased as young boys from a slave market in India, while he was stationed there with the British Army. Although little is known of Hector, George was granted his full freedom and served as the governor’s personal assistant for the rest of his life. He was an important and respected member of the household staff and developed a close bond with his employer.

In 1820, George married Mary Jelly, a convict recently assigned to the Macquaries as a chambermaid. Mary would have been responsible for lighting and keeping fires going to warm the rooms, heating water for bathing, filling and emptying hip baths, emptying chamber-pots, changing the bed linen and making the beds. On cold winter evenings, she would place bedwarmers between the sheets to ensure the Macquaries’ comfort, and during the day she would adjust the multiple layers of curtains and shutters to maintain a comfortable level of light.

George and Mary accompanied the Macquaries back to Scotland in 1822. George was present at Macquarie’s death in 1824, dying himself six months later. Mary stayed in Elizabeth’s employ and was also present at her deathbed 11 years later.

Another servant who came to Sydney with the Macquaries was Mrs Ovens, the appropriately-named cook. Working in the hot and often stressful environs of the kitchen, she would prepare daily meals for the family and elaborate spreads of multiple dishes for guests, making the most of fresh dairy produce, meat and vegetables from the Parramatta district. One guest in 1810 reported sitting down to a “too small” dinner for seventeen, comprising soup, boiled turkey, roast beef, fricassee, curried duck, kidneys and tongue, stewed oysters, wild duck, vegetables, tartlets and jellies. One likes to hope that while not occupied in the kitchen, Mrs Ovens would be outside the dining room enjoying Mrs Macquarie’s cello or piano playing – after the meal as she helped tidy up.

While the kitchen was Mrs Ovens’s domain, the household was run with military precision by the butler, Robert Fopp, and the housekeeper, Jemima Fisher. Mr Fopp was another servant who came to the colony with the governor. He had his own “office”, known as the butler’s pantry, which was situated beneath the stairs in the central block of the house. One of his primary duties involved greeting visitors and showing them into the governor’s office or the family’s receiving rooms. He even had his own bell to summon the other staff members – the bells are in a row in the south corridor leading to the staff quarters of the house.

Like Mary Jelly, Mrs Fisher was a convict assigned to work at Old Government House. Then Jemima Bolton, she arrived in the colony aged 34, after being sentenced to transportation for stealing clothing. She married another assigned convict the following year and stayed on as housekeeper. In this senior capacity, she would have been responsible for working with Mrs Macquarie to maintain the house and supervise the maids. One of the maids, ex-convict Elizabeth Berry, was first employed at the house in about 1803. Elizabeth was married to Governor King’s orderly, Sergeant Charles Whalan, in a ceremony held in the drawing room, with King giving the bride away.

Charles himself was another former convict. He was initially employed as a clerk in government stores because he could both read and write. A trusted and loyal aid to three governors, he seized and broke John Macarthur’s sword when he threatened Governor Bligh during one of their notorious clashes. Macquarie appointed him sergeant of his bodyguard of light horse.

Charles retired when the Macquaries left and took up land granted to him at Prospect. In a reference written before his departure, Macquarie described him as “peculiarly correct, honest, honourable and faithful, never having had one occasion to find fault with him, or in the least degree to censure his conduct …” Charles was laid to rest in a vault at St John’s Cemetery in Parramatta in 1839; a hearse was used for the first time in New South Wales to transport his body.

While important decisions were being made by various governors residing at Old Government House, and the place was no doubt a bustle of constant activity, it was the staff who kept things running smoothly behind the scenes. Their stories are equally important in capturing the life of this historic site.

The National Trust is embarking on important restoration works to future-proof Old Government House, and we need your help. The bakery and servants’ hall will be recreated, the Barracks needs repainting, and a new state-of-the-art education room will be installed. Please get involved and donate at nationaltrust.org.au/donate-nsw