Parliament of NSW Rum Hospital Restoration
After
Before
In 2022, the NSW Parliament launched its most extensive conservation program in over 40 years, including Tonkin Zulaikha Greer’s restoration of the former Rum Hospital North Wing. Constructed between 1811 and 1816, the building initially served as the Principal Surgeon’s quarters within Governor Macquarie’s ambitious vision for Sydney. It became home to the Legislative Council in 1829, and was the heart of responsible government in NSW since the creation of the Legislative Assembly in 1856.
Site Visit
Historic Imagery
Sketches
Drawings
Last refurbished in the 1980s in a high Victorian style, the interiors were in poor condition. TZG led a comprehensive reworking of the spaces, informed by a Conservation Management Plan, archival research and detailed site investigations. Suspended ceilings, non-original walls and outdated services, which had altered the building’s proportions and damaged its fabric, were all removed, returning the building to a Georgian presentation more in keeping with its age and significance.
Construction
Latent conditions uncovered during early works, and well into construction, provided additional challenges that meant in-depth collaboration with the client, key stakeholders and a host of consultants and subcontractors was critical to the delivery of the project. Samples were taken of original and early wallpaper while the rest was stabilised in situ; critical missing patches of original plaster and lath were infilled with a contemporary application; an original section of sandstone wall was gently brush-cleaned and given 27 coats of lime wash, per its original finishing, to enable its ultimate display. Walls lined with 1850s timber packing crates, likely used to ship the 19th century cast iron building now the Legislative Council Chamber, were uncovered and conserved. No two rooms were the same.
This project reaffirms the importance of protecting Australia’s oldest public buildings while sensitively adapting them for ongoing public use. Through this restoration, the Rum Hospital remains a vital part of NSW Parliament – conserved with care, and re-established as our house of democracy; the people’s Parliament.
Awards
2025 AIA National Architecture Awards; Lachlan Macquarie Award for Heritage Architecture.
2025 AIA NSW Architecture Awards; Award for Heritage Conservation.
2025 National Trust (NSW) Heritage Awards; Award for Interiors.
Team
Peter Tonkin, Julie Mackenzie, Regina Meyer, Calum York, Wolfgang Ripberger, John Taliva’a, Challis Smedley, Jasmin Mattar, Roger O’Sullivan, Kevin Lee.
Collaborators
TZG Heritage.
Consultants
SDA Structures, Blackett Maguire + Goldsmith, Evolved Engineering, Voss Grace + Partners, Pulse White Noise Acoustics, Adriel Consulting, International Conservation Services, AMAC Group, Freeman Ryan.
Contractor
A J Bristow & Sons Pty Ltd.
Photographer
Martin Mischkulnig, Trey Pentecost.
