Government House, Melbourne

Government House, Melbourne is the office and official residence of the Governor of Victoria. The current Governor of Victoria is Her Excellency The Honourable Linda Dessau AM.

The House is set next to the Royal Botanic Gardens and surrounded by Kings Domain in Melbourne. It was the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia from 1901 to 1930. It is the largest Government House in the former British Empire and is almost double the size of the Viceregal Lodge, the former residence of the Lords-Lieutenant of Ireland.

The land for Government House was set aside by Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria, Charles La Trobe, in 1841. In 1857, Ferdinand von Mueller, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, landscaped the whole area, including Government House reserve, as one parkland. Construction of the building did not start until 1871 and was completed in 1876.

While La Trobe was Lieutenant-Governor he lived in La Trobe's Cottage. Between 1854 and 1874, Governors lived at Toorak House, then they lived in Bishopscourt in East Melbourne until the present Government House was occupied in 1876.

Between the formation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 and 1927, Government House was the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia. When the Federal Parliament commenced sitting in Canberra in 1927, the Governor-General stayed at Government House, Canberra at Yarralumla while Parliament was in session, but also continued living at Government House in Melbourne until 1930. During this period Governors of Victoria lived at Stonington mansion. The House has been in continuous use by the Governors of Victoria since 1934.

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