Kirribilli House, Official residence in Kirribilli, Australia
Kirribilli House is a government residence on the northern shore of Sydney Harbour in New South Wales. The view extends across the water to the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, and the historic Circular Quay ferry terminal.
Merchant Adolphus Frederic Feez bought an acre at Kirribilli Point in 1854 for £200 and built the twin-gabled cottage in 1855; it was then called Sophienberg. Arthur Wigram Allen bought it in 1919 for £10,000 and planned to subdivide the land, but public protest led Prime Minister Billy Hughes to resume it for the government in 1920. It served the Governor-General's staff until 1930, was leased to tenants, and in 1956 was set aside for the Prime Minister's use in Sydney.
The house takes its name from the suburb of Kirribilli, not from an Aboriginal word. Built by merchant Adolphus Frederic Feez, it was first called Sophienberg, and the name Kirribilli was in use by 1891. Since 1956 it has served as the prime minister's residence for official duties and hospitality during Sydney stays.
The house, gardens and grounds are on the Commonwealth Heritage List. Public access is limited to one open day a year, arranged by The Australiana Fund, and only the ground floor and surrounding grounds are opened. The site sits at the far eastern end of Kirribilli Avenue, beside Admiralty House at Kirribilli Point.
The house was first called Sophienberg, a name still recorded in newspaper notices of a birth in 1859 and of Thomas Lawry's death in 1865; only by 1891 had it become Kirribilli. Feez, its builder, died in Fiji in 1869 aged 43. The grounds were cut from the estate of neighbouring Wotonga House, now part of Admiralty House.
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