Sydney Mint facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sydney Mint |
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Sydney
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| General information | |
| Location | Macquarie Street, Sydney |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 33°52′8″S 151°12′45″E / 33.86889°S 151.21250°E |
| Opened |
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| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Captain F.C. Ward & Joseph Trickett |
| Official name | Mint Building and Hyde Park Barracks Group; Rum Hospital; Royal Mint – Sydney Branch; Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary; Queen's Square Courts; Queen's Square |
| Type | State heritage (Complex / Group) |
| Criteria | a., c., d., e., f. |
| Designated | 2 April 1999 |
| Part of | Mint Building and Hyde Park Barracks Group |
| Reference no. | 190 |
| Type | Other – Government & Administration |
| Category | Government and Administration |
| Builders | Garnham Blaxcell, Alexander Riley and D'Arcy Wentworth |
The Sydney Mint in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, is the oldest public building still standing in the Sydney central business district. It was built between 1811 and 1816 as the southern part of the Sydney Hospital. Back then, people called it the Rum Hospital.
In 1854, a mint was set up at this location. The old hospital building was used to house the mint staff and also served as a home for the Deputy Mint Master. A special factory for making coins was built behind it. Both of these buildings are very important historically. They are linked to major events in the early history of New South Wales.
The Sydney Mint is located at 10 Macquarie Street in Sydney's city center. It's close to other famous Australian historical buildings like Hyde Park Barracks, St James' Church, and Parliament House. Today, the building is the main office for the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales. It is also listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register as a protected historical site. Parts of the building are open for the public to visit.
Contents
History of the Sydney Mint
The First Hospital (1811–1854)
In 1811, Governor Lachlan Macquarie started planning a new general hospital for Sydney. This was his first big public building project. The builders were paid with 45,000 gallons of rum, which is why it became known as the Rum Hospital. Construction finished in 1816.
The hospital's design was inspired by ancient Greek architecture. It had two levels of columns made from cedar timber, similar to the Doric style. These columns were angled slightly inwards, creating an optical illusion like the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.
A special clinic called a dispensary opened in 1842. It took over the south wing. After that, 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 in November 1810 to build a new hospital for convicts. In return, these three men got the exclusive right to buy and sell spirits for three years. This is how the building got its nickname, the Rum Hospital.
The exact architect is not known. However, the design might have been inspired by Macquarie's time in India, especially the Madras Government House. The hospital was built following a standard army plan for institutions at that time. You can see similar designs at Victoria Barracks. The hospital originally had three wings. The northern wing is now part of Parliament House. The middle wing was pulled down, and the southern wing became the Mint.
The foundation stone was laid in October 1811, but the hospital wasn't ready for patients until March 1816. This delay was mainly due to many investigations into claims of poor building materials and construction. Even though Governor Macquarie ordered the builders to fix these problems, many more issues were only discovered during restoration work in the 1980s. Despite these challenges, it remains the oldest building still standing in central Sydney.
In its early years, the hospital was very large. Other government groups started using parts of it. For example, the Legislative Council moved into the Principal Surgeon's Quarters in 1829. This part of the building now forms the northern side of Parliament House. Other rooms were used by the Principal Supervisor of Convicts and Sydney's first museum.
This uncertainty about who owned the buildings affected the growth of the Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary. This was the hospital's name from 1844 until 1881, when it became Sydney Hospital. The southern wing was first used to treat convict patients. It also housed assistant surgeons and the medical store. From late 1843 to 1848, the Dispensary used the building. The Dispensary was created in 1826 to treat poor people who couldn't afford medical care. In 1848, the Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary gave up the southern wing to keep ownership of the current Sydney Hospital site. Not much happened with the buildings until 1853.
The Legislative Council of New South Wales started asking the British Government to set up a Mint in 1851. The gold rush had brought a lot of unrefined gold into circulation. This gold was causing problems for the official currency. The British Government finally agreed to establish a Mint in 1853. They sent equipment and twenty staff members.
Captain F.C. Ward was appointed as the Deputy Mint Master. He designed the necessary buildings and stayed in England to order the equipment. C. Trickett, the Superintendent of Coining, was sent to Sydney in 1853. His job was to oversee the building of the factory and machinery, and to make sure it was secure. Ward, who had worked on London's Crystal Palace, used similar building methods for the Mint. He used prefabricated cast iron columns and trusses. Trickett chose the site and changed Ward's plans. He decided to use the southern wing of the hospital for staff accommodation and offices. The other factory buildings formed the other three sides of a courtyard.
The Royal Mint and Coin Factory (1855–1926)
The British Secretary of State allowed the colonial government to set up a mint in Sydney. This was the first branch of the Royal Mint outside England. The back part of the mint became the factory where coins were made. The mint had many major upgrades in the late 1800s and early 1900s. However, by 1926, the Melbourne and Perth Mints had much better technology and were making more money. Because of this, the Sydney Mint was closed.
The Mint started operating on May 14, 1855. It was officially called the Royal Mint, Sydney Branch. In its first five years, the amount of gold exported dropped sharply. This was because over one million pounds worth of gold was turned into sovereign and half sovereign coins each year. In 1868, Sydney's coins were accepted as legal money in all British colonies. But it wasn't until February 1886 that they were accepted in Britain itself. The coins looked exactly like those made in Britain, except for a small mark showing where they were minted.
The Sydney Branch started distributing British bronze coins in 1868. In 1879, it began distributing Imperial silver coins. After Australia became a federation, the Sydney Mint was one of three mints that made the new Commonwealth coins.
Small changes were made to the buildings while the Mint was operating. In the early 1860s, a new assay office (for testing metals) and a crushing room were added. In 1870–75, several houses were built facing Hospital Road. The chimney was replaced in 1889. The Mint continued to have problems with its aging buildings. In 1909, a Royal Commission suggested that the Mint should be pulled down. This was because Macquarie Street was becoming known as the center of government. The Federation encouraged combining minting activities in Canberra, Melbourne, and Perth. The facilities in Sydney became so old and unprofitable that the Mint closed in January 1927.
While the Mint was open, it was also the unofficial meeting place for the Philosophical Society of New South Wales. Most of the senior staff at the Mint were founding members. With the support of the Society's president, Sir William Denison, who was also Governor of New South Wales, the Mint building and its equipment were used for many experiments. It became the heart of the scientific community in Sydney. Experiments included testing the strength of local timbers and how well coal from Tasmania and Bellambi burned. The Philosophical Society also supported other important research into weather and seismic patterns.
Government Offices, Courts, and Museum (1927–Present)
When the Mint closed, the Government Insurance Office moved into the building. Soon, other government offices followed. These included the Local Government Superannuation Board and the Family Endowment Department. Government offices continued to move in and out for another fifty years. Gradually, some of these buildings were pulled down.
After the Mint left, many government departments needed office space in the buildings. Like the Barracks next door, there was little reason to maintain the buildings. Instead, temporary fibro buildings filled all available spaces. These were used by departments like the Family Endowment Department (1927–1940) and the Housing Commission of NSW (mid-1940s). The Court Reporting Branch and District Courts moved in during the 1950s. Courtrooms with fibro linings were created inside the former Coining Factory for their use.
In the 1930s, more people were using cars, and there was a demand for parking spaces. The Mint's gates on Macquarie Street were removed. This was a common fate for the gates of public buildings at that time. They were eventually bought by Barker College at Hornsby in 1937.
Building a new District Court in 1956 greatly changed the Factory buildings. Offices replaced the residences on Hospital Road, the Assay office, and stores. In 1968, the quartz crushing room and other parts were also demolished to create a car park.
Restoration of the buildings was announced in 1975 and carried out from 1977–79. The goal was to use the Mint as a Museum. In 1982, the Mint opened as a branch of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. It was expected that law courts would be built after the demolitions. However, activists successfully campaigned in 1979 to save the Mint buildings and Hyde Park Barracks. The Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, announced that the Mint would be managed by the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. The museum closed in 1997, and the building's ownership was given to the Historic Houses Trust.
The Mint was recently named one of 30 projects that have changed the built environment since 1978. The refurbishment project is an example of how modern systems can be added while protecting the historical parts of a site.
In the 1980s, there was an attempt to buy the original gates back from Barker College. But by then, they were a firm part of the college's history. Instead, copies of the gates were made from iron and put back at the Mint. This reconstruction happened more than 40 years after they were first removed.
In 1998, ownership of the site was given to the Historic Houses Trust. They continued to run a small museum and a cafe. In 2004, restoration and construction work was done to allow the Historic Houses Trust to use the site as their main office. The former Coining Factory was carefully changed into offices. The Superintendent's Office now holds the Caroline Simpson Library and Research Collection. A new theater and foyer were also added.
In July 2016, the Mint celebrated its 200th anniversary of continuous public use. A special event called "A future for the past" was held as part of the celebrations.
What the Sydney Mint Looks Like
The Sydney Mint has four main structures. At the front, facing Macquarie Street, is a wing of the original Rum Hospital. The Mint buildings were originally built behind the hospital to form a courtyard. The building on the northern side, which was pulled down, has recently been replaced by the foyer for the new theater.
The Hospital Wing
The original Rum Hospital is a two-story building made of sandstone. It has a double-level verandah on its northern, western, and southern sides. The sandstone columns supporting the verandah and the timber roof shingles have been replaced. The "Chinoiserie" timber lattice balustrade on the upper verandah is also a replacement. The verandah on the eastern side has been enclosed. It now has toilets and washrooms on the ground floor and a bathroom and kitchen on the first floor. This area used to be the Deputy Mint Master's residence.
Inside, the main building has seven rooms on the ground floor and six on the first floor. Two of these are stairwells with a hall or lobby. These are located about one-third of the way in from both the northern and southern ends.
Attached to the south-east corner is a one-story rectangular room with a bay window facing Macquarie Street. This room used to be the Library for the Deputy Mint Master's residence. It is now part of the Historic Houses Trust office space.
The Coining Factory
The Coining Factory buildings extend in a rough L-shape from the former Library. They form a courtyard with the Rum Hospital. The structure has an iron frame, a sandstone front, and a corrugated iron roof. On the southern side, separated from the former Library by a covered walkway, is a one-story building. This building was originally the fitting shops and carpenters' workshops. It is now a security center and houses air-conditioning equipment. The eastern part of the quadrangle, which was the former Factory, has been renovated into offices for the Historic Houses Trust staff. The work also included building a theater and facilities in the north-eastern corner. This forms an extension of the eastern quadrangle boundary. A foyer or gallery completes the new works on the northern side, with covered walkways on either side. The new sections are made of steel and glass boxes, protected by cedar louvres and boarding. They are designed to look like the Superintendent's Office. The theater allows visitors to see the eastern side of the hospital with Sydney's skyline in the background.
The central courtyard has been landscaped with a raised grass area. A single tree in the south-east corner highlights this area.
Archaeological Discoveries
Carol Powell recorded archaeological findings during the renovation work between 1977 and 1979. It became clear that the historical remains were larger and more complete than expected. This required a dedicated archaeologist, Wendy Thorp, to do test excavations in 1980. These excavations focused on three areas:
- Cellars under the hospital: These were likely dug after construction and filled between 1854 and 1868 when the building became the Mint.
- The courtyard: This is where the hospital's kitchen used to be.
- Spaces under and between the floors in the hospital building: Unlike the Hyde Park Barracks, these spaces were empty. They had been cleaned out in the mid-19th century and again when the Mint moved to Canberra.
Later excavations by Patricia Burritt found more cellars under the eastern verandah. These were probably filled later than the first set. In the courtyard, some evidence of the hospital kitchen's foundations was found. Also, the base of a 19th-century fountain and additions made after the Mint moved in were discovered. Limited excavation was done compared to the Hyde Park Barracks. This was because there wasn't much old information to guide where to dig.
Why the Sydney Mint is Important
The Mint is very important to the history of New South Wales. It shows two key periods: the early development of the Colony under Governor Macquarie and its journey towards becoming independent. The Rum Hospital, built from 1811 to 1816, shows early colonial architecture and building methods. Much of its original structure and design are still there. The buildings show how architectural styles changed and adapted in Australia, including early army buildings.
The Coining Factory is an early example of a building made with prefabricated cast-iron parts in New South Wales. The site became the Royal Mint, Sydney Branch, and started making coins in 1855. It was the first mint to be set up in a British colony. This place is important as one of the three Australian mints where the Commonwealth government made the first Australian coins after the Australian colonies joined together. The Sydney Mint made Australian coins starting in 1916 and continued until it closed as a mint in 1927. The Mint is rare evidence of manufacturing in central Sydney during the mid-19th century. The site remained important as District Courts and government offices before becoming a museum. The site is also significant because it has archaeological potential. This means it could reveal more information about the Rum Hospital and the coin-making process in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney (which includes the Sydney Mint), was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on April 2, 1999, because it met the following important criteria:
- It shows the history of New South Wales: The site has different structures that show how the Hyde Park Barracks complex changed over time. This includes its use as convict cell blocks, then courts and offices, and now a museum. It has two fig trees on Macquarie Street that are symbols of important town planning in the 1800s. The complex includes buildings from the first government institution built specifically to house convicts. It is also linked to the development of the legal system in NSW. The first meeting of the magistrates for the Court of General Sessions happened here in 1830. It was also the first location of the Metropolitan District Court. It is connected to other historical landmarks nearby, such as the former Rum Hospital, St James' Church, Hyde Park, the Domain, and St Mary's Cathedral.
- It shows great design and technical skill: It has parts like the outer walls, parts of the two gate lodges, and some internal walls that are linked to the design by the convict architect Francis Greenway. Along with the central barracks building, the place has a rich architectural history from the very early days of European settlement in Australia.
- It is important to the community: It has a museum that is a center for tourists and cultural activities in Sydney.
- It can teach us more about history: The site has areas that could be archaeologically important. These areas are likely to provide important information about how the place was established and how it developed over time.
- It is a rare example of cultural history: It is the oldest example of a walled prison in Australia. The barracks provide rare evidence of the building standards, skills, architectural design, and city planning in early 19th century Sydney.
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