Prepare for your visit
Take advantage of our online resource materials to ensure that your trip to Old Government House enhances and enriches learning experiences in the school curriculum. While the online resources are designed for Year 7 students and aligned to the SOSE essential learnings, the Factsheet and other Resources can readily be used for students at all levels.
Completed in 1862, Old Government House is one of Queensland's most important heritage buildings. It holds immense historical significance in terms of the formation and development of Queensland, and provides a tangible point of reference for examinations of the social and cultural practices of our past.
Old Government House was the home and office of the first 11 Governors of Queensland. It was the site of many important decisions that shaped the State of Queensland. It was also a microcosm of society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
With Brisbane's skyline now thick with the shimmering glass and steel of corporate towers, it is easy for young people to underestimate just how important this classic sandstone and porphyry house was in the early years of settlement. Understanding that it was a virtual palace against the backdrop of a 'shantytown of huts scattered throughout the bush' will better place students to appreciate its symbolic power and the role it played in the establishment of Queensland.
Self-guided school tours to Old Government House are 30 minutes and are designed to complement visits to Parliament House by upper primary students.
The interpretative exhibits in the house utilise interactive displays and screen narratives to engage students with the life and social structure of colonial Queensland.