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Admiralty House
| Source: |
Go to the Register of the National Estate for more information. |
| Identifier: |
23 |
| Location: |
70 The Esplanade, Darwin |
Local
Government: |
Darwin Municipality |
| State: |
NT |
| Country: |
Australia |
Statement of
Significance: |
Since its construction admiralty house has been the residence of the naval Officer commanding north Australia area. It represents an important link with the past in that it has been the home of men who by their position have been leading figures in the Darwin community. The building is also one of very few of its type still remaining in Darwin and occupies an important place in the Darwin inner city street scape. Admiralty house has both architectual and social significance it is a good example of a northern Australian tropical architectual style and its garden is an outstanding example of a tropical garden in Darwin it was the headquarters for the reconstruction of Darwin after cyclone Tracy. It survived both the bombing of W.W.Ii and cyclone Tracy. Since its construction admiralty house has been the residence of the naval Officer commanding north Australia area. It represents an important link with the past in that it has been the home of men who by their position have been leading figures in the Darwin community. The building is also one of very few of its type still remaining in Darwin and occupies an important place in the Darwin inner City street scape. |
| Description: |
Admiralty House is a large, timber framed house with asbestos cement roof.
The building is elevated on round concrete piers.
The eaves show the rafter ends of the roof timbers.
The house was originally constructed on a nearby Esplanade site (the corner of Peel Street and the Esplanade) in 1937, to the Type B design of Government Architect B C G Burnett.
The Type B design was the grandest of Burnett's several designs for public service housing.
It featured asbestos cement louvres, external shutters hanging from the eaves and minimal internal partitioning so as to facilitate cross ventilation.
In 1951 the house was moved to its present site and minor structural alterations were made. Until 1983 it was the residence of the Senior Naval Officer in Darwin; in the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy in late 1974 the building became the Naval Headquarters for The Clean Up Program which followed.
The site prior to 1951 had been occupied since 1930 by noted amateur botanist, Florenz Bleeser, and some of the extant garden planting is attributed to him, while much of the other planting went in after Cyclone Tracy.
The garden contains a variety of tropical plantings.
Since 1984 the house has been used as an art gallery and restaurant and used by community organisations.
SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATIONS; SIGNIFICANT DATES
B C G Burnett; 1937, 1951, 1974. |
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