Parliament of New South Wales

The oldest part of Parliament House was built first as the north wing of Governor Macquarie's "Rum Hospital". Macquarie Street was created and land in the Domain was assigned by Governor Macquarie in 1810. As there was no funding from the British government, a contract to build the hospital was arranged involving convict labour and a monopoly on rum imports.

The north wing was the Chief Surgeon's quarters, although at one point it was used as law courts. When the Legislative Council was formed in 1824, it did not have a permanent home and met in places such as the old Government House. In 1829, the Council's membership increased from five to 15 members, and it began to meet in the downstairs northern room of the Surgeon's quarters.

The Legislative Council was increased to 36 members by the new colonial constitution in 1843. The room in the old building was no longer large enough, and so a new chamber was added to the north of the building. This chamber became the home of the new Legislative Assembly when a bicameral system was introduced in 1856.

The Legislative Council was relocated to a prefabricated iron building that was assembled at the northern end of the original hospital building. The building had been manufactured in Scotland and originally shipped to Melbourne. It was purchased for £1,835. The incomplete building was used first for the official opening of the new parliament in 1856.

The walls, originally lined with packing boards covered with hessian and plastered, and the curved iron roof cause problems with acoustics, lighting and ventilation. Many structural changes have occurred since, including the façade being moved 3 metres closer to the street in 1892–93.