page_title: Government House, Canberra
section_title: 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: Government House, Canberra / History / 20th century
caption_attribution_description: Members of the first Bruce ministry at the first official cabinet meeting in Canberra. Clockwise from left: Sen. Thomas Crawford, Honorary Minister Eric Bowden MP, Minister for Defence Austin Chapman MP, Minister for Trade and Customs and Minister for Health Sir Littleton Groom MP, Attorney-General Earle Page MP, Acting Prime Minister and Treasurer Sen. Sir George Pearce, Minister for Home and Territories Percy Stewart MP, Minister for Works and Railways William Gibson MP, Postmaster-General Llewellyn Atkinson MP, Vice-President of the Executive Council
context_page_description: Government House, commonly referred to as Yarralumla, is the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia. It is located in the suburb of Yarralumla, in the City of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. The house is set amid 54 hectares of parkland. The house and associated grounds were added to the Commonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004.
  At Government House, the Governor-General of Australia presides over meetings of the Federal Executive Council, and holds investitures to present honours within the Order of Australia and associated Australian military, bravery and civil decorations. The governor-general also receives visiting heads of state and other dignitaries and the credentials of ambassadors to Australia, and entertains people from all walks of life.
  The Queen of Australia, Elizabeth II, and foreign heads of state stay at Government House when on official visits to Canberra.
  The adjacent suburb of Yarralumla is the site of many foreign embassies.
context_section_description: The Commonwealth Government bought Yarralumla from Campbell in 1913. It decided to use Campbell's vacated home as a temporary residence for the Governor-General of Australia. Consequently, another three-storey block was erected behind the existing one and a new entrance portal was constructed on the southern frontage.  A stable block was constructed to the west of the structure and cottages built for staff. Since the 1920s the building has been extended and refurbished several more times; but the basic structure of the 1891 house can still be seen clearly when viewed from the south.
  Lord Stonehaven was the first governor-general to live in the house, being in attendance at the opening of the new provisional Parliament House (now Old Parliament House) in Canberra in 1927.  Australian-born Sir Isaac Isaacs was the first governor-general to live at Government House for an entire term. The house remained small when compared to Government House in Melbourne, and successive governors-general and their wives complained about its inadequacies as a place for official entertaining. Plans for a much grander — and permanent — vice-regal establishment were never implemented as a consequence of the economic hardship caused by the Great Depression of the late 1920s and 1930s. The grave crisis posed to Australia's security during the Second World War also halted further work.
  Due to the First World War and the adverse post-war economic conditions that prevailed in its immediate wake, the federal government did not move to Canberra from Melbourne until 1927. It was only at this time that the governor-general began to use Yarralumla as his official seat, albeit on a limited basis at first. However, the Federal Cabinet did meet at Government House (then known as Yarralumla House) on 30 January 1924, on that occasion chaired by the acting Prime Minister, Earle Page. This was still three years before the opening of Parliament House and Canberra becoming the National Capital. Between 1927 and 1930 the governor-general continued to live principally at Melbourne's Government House, residing at Yarralumla only during those periods of the year when the Parliament of Australia was sitting. In 1930, Melbourne's Government House was finally returned to the Victorian State Government for use by the Governor of Victoria.
  In 1927, the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) stayed in the house when they visited Canberra to open the Provisional Parliament House. Prior to their arrival, extensive improvements were made to ensure that the building would provide a standard of accommodation appropriate for members of the Royal Family. These improvements were overseen by the then Commonwealth Architect, John Smith Murdoch.  The interiors of the refurbished house, along with much of their furniture, were designed by Ruth Lane Poole, of the Federal Capital Commission. They are in keeping with the prevailing Inter-war Stripped Classical style, with more formal interiors provided for the official reception rooms, and a lighter scheme prevailing in the private residential rooms.
  A private sitting room was built in 1933 at the request of Lady Isaacs over the south entrance porch, which looks south across the gardens to the Brindabella Ranges and the foothills of the Australian Alps beyond.
  In 1939, Government House was again extensively renovated and expanded in the Inter-war Stripped Classical style typical of Canberra's early public buildings, to a design by E. H. Henderson, Chief Architect of the Works and Services Branch of the Department of the Interior. Lord Gowrie lived in the house at this time, and it was not regarded as being large enough to meet the demands made of it.  The 1899 Campbell extension was therefore demolished and a new, more substantial replacement erected. The drawing room was made larger, while more bedrooms were installed on the second storey, and a "state entrance" built on the northern side. Further alterations to the existing building were also made, adding a nursery on the third-storey and extending the di
caption: The Federal Cabinet meeting at Government House on 30 January 1924
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