Sydney Mint

The Sydney Mint in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, is the oldest surviving public building in the Sydney central business district. Built between 1811 and 1816 as the southern wing of the Sydney Hospital, it was then known as the Rum Hospital. In 1854 a mint was established on the site with the hospital building used to house mint staff as well as providing a residence for the Deputy Mint Master. A coining factory was built at the rear. Both of these structures have exceptional heritage significance and have been associated with major events in the colonial history of New South Wales.

Located in Sydney's central business district at 10 Macquarie Street, it is near many other famous Australian historical buildings including Hyde Park Barracks, St James' Church and Parliament House. The building is now the head office of Museums of History NSW and is listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register. Sections of the building are open to the public.

In 1811, Governor Lachlan Macquarie commenced planning for a new general hospital in Sydney which was to be his first major public building. The contractors were paid with 45,000 gallons of rum hence the name Rum Hospital. Construction was completed in 1816.

Its design is loosely based on ancient Greek architecture with its two tiers of columns made of cedar timber in the style of Doric mouldings. The columns are angled inwards creating an optical illusion imitating the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.

A dispensary opened in 1842 replacing the south wing after which the rest of the site was used as a military hospital until 1854. Governor Macquarie signed an agreement with Garnham Blaxcell, Alexander Riley and D'Arcy Wentworth to build a new convict hospital in November 1810. In return, the three gentlemen received the monopoly on the purchase of spirits for three years. As a result, the building became known as the Rum Hospital.

While the architect is unknown, the inspiration for the form of the buildings is thought to have come from Macquarie's time in India, especially the Madras Government House. The hospital, however, is constructed to the standard institutional army plan of the time – as seen at Victoria Barracks. The hospital was originally constructed with three wings, the northern wing is now part of Parliament House, the central wing has been demolished and the southern wing became the Mint.

The foundation stone was laid almost a year later, in October 1811, but the hospital was not ready for patients until March 1816. This was largely due to the constant inquiries into claims of poor quality materials and construction. Henry Kitchen wrote to Commissioner Bigge "that one would really imagine that they had been built for the very purpose of exhibiting a striking effect which such a structure would produce when in ruins". Architect Francis Greenway also criticised the buildings, drawing up plans to strengthen the roof. Greenway's official report on the workmanship found that the joints in the structural beams were weak, the foundations poor, that corners had been cut during construction, there was rotting stonework and dry rot in the timbers. Even though Macquarie ordered the contractors to remedy these faults, many more did not come to light until the restoration works of the 1980s. Despite all this, it is the oldest extant building in central Sydney.

Commissioner Bigge's main complaint, however, was regarding the size and grandeur of the buildings, rather than anything else. These may have been justified in the early years of its existence as the hospital could not be sustained on such a large scale. As a result, other Government agencies occupied various sections – the Legislative Council moved into the Principal Surgeon's Quarters in 1829, pushing the Principal Surgeon out by 1848. This wing today forms the northern facade of Parliament House. Other rooms were given over to the Principal Supervisor of Convicts and Sydney's first museum.