Old Government Cottage Museum and Colonial Garden

The building known as Old Government Cottage is a rare, intact example, of an early Bathurst home. This historic building is located at 16 Stanley Street on the western side of the Macquarie River in the area of the old Government settlement.

The building was re-opened after its recent repair and refurbishment in July 2012. This was the first major work on the building since the mid-1960s. Bathurst is a historic city and it is imperative that historic buildings be saved such as this building.

Old Government Cottage was opened as a museum in 1965 by Sir Eric Woodward, Governor of NSW, as part of Bathurst’s sesquicentennial celebration. It was believed at the time that the cottage had been built in 1817 as the residence of the Commandant of the Bathurst Settlement, established in 1815 by Governor Macquarie. Subsequent research has established that the Commandant’s residence, also known as Government House, was a short distance away. However, the origins of Old Government Cottage remain a mystery, but worth the opportunity to visit.