Sydney Mint facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sydney Mint |
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| General information | |
| Location | Macquarie Street, Sydney |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 33°52′08″S 151°12′45″E / 33.868936°S 151.212375°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 is a very old and important building in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest public building still standing in the city's main business area. It was built between 1811 and 1816 as part of the Sydney Hospital. Back then, people called it the Rum Hospital.
Later, in 1854, a mint was set up there. A mint is a place where coins are made. The old hospital building was used for the mint's staff and as a home for the Deputy Mint Master. A special factory for making coins was built behind it. Both parts of the building are very important to the 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 historical places like Hyde Park Barracks and Parliament House. Today, the building is the main office for the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales. You can also visit parts of the building as a museum.
Contents
History of the Sydney Mint
From Hospital to Mint (1811–1854)
In 1811, Governor Lachlan Macquarie started planning a new hospital for Sydney. It was his first big public building project. The people who built it were paid with 45,000 gallons of rum! That's why it got the nickname Rum Hospital. The hospital was finished in 1816.
The building's design was inspired by ancient Greek architecture. It had two levels of columns made from cedar wood. These columns were angled slightly, creating a cool optical illusion, much like the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.
In 1842, a dispensary opened in the south wing. A dispensary is a place where medicines are prepared and given out. After this, the rest of the site was used as a military hospital until 1854.
Governor Macquarie made a deal with Garnham Blaxcell, Alexander Riley, and D'Arcy Wentworth to build the hospital. In return, these men got to control the sale of spirits (like rum) for three years. This deal is why it was called the Rum Hospital.
The exact architect is unknown. However, the building's style might have come from Macquarie's time in India. The hospital was built with three wings. The northern wing is now part of Parliament House. The middle wing was pulled down. The southern wing is what we now call the Mint.
The first stone was laid in October 1811. But the hospital wasn't ready for patients until March 1816. There were many problems with the building's quality. Even famous architect Francis Greenway said the roof needed strengthening. He found weak joints, poor foundations, and rotting wood. Even with these issues, it is the oldest building still standing in central Sydney.
The hospital was very large, perhaps too large for its early needs. So, other government groups used parts of it. For example, the Legislative Council moved into the Principal Surgeon's area in 1829. Other rooms were used by the Supervisor of Convicts and Sydney's first museum.
The southern wing was first used to treat sick convicts. It also housed assistant surgeons and medical supplies. From 1843 to 1848, the Dispensary used this building. The Dispensary helped poor people who couldn't afford medical care.
In 1851, the government of New South Wales asked the British government to set up a Mint. The gold rush meant there was a lot of raw gold. This gold was causing problems for the official money. The British government finally agreed in 1853. They sent equipment and twenty staff members.
Captain F.C. Ward designed the new Mint buildings. He used ideas from London's Crystal Palace, like pre-made cast iron columns. Joseph Trickett chose the site. He changed Ward's plans to use the hospital's southern wing for offices and staff homes. The new factory buildings formed the other three sides of a courtyard.
The Royal Mint Era (1855–1926)
The British government allowed the colony to open a mint in Sydney. It was the first branch of the Royal Mint outside England. The back part of the building became the factory where coins were made. The Mint was often updated in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The Sydney Mint officially opened on May 14, 1855. It was called the Royal Mint, Sydney Branch. In its first five years, it turned over one million pounds worth of gold into coins every year. By 1868, Sydney's coins were accepted as money in all British colonies. But they weren't accepted in Britain until 1886. The coins looked just like British coins, but they had a small mark to show they were made in Sydney.
The Sydney Mint also helped distribute British bronze and silver coins. After Australia became a federation, it was one of three mints that made the new Australian coins.
Small changes were made to the buildings over time. In the early 1860s, new rooms were added for testing gold. In the 1870s, houses were built for staff. The Mint struggled with old buildings and equipment. In 1909, a group suggested pulling down the Mint. By 1927, the Mint was closed because its equipment was old and it wasn't making enough money. The Melbourne and Perth Mints had better technology.
While the Mint was running, it was also a hub for science in Sydney. Many senior staff members were part of the Philosophical Society of New South Wales. They used the Mint's building and equipment for experiments. They studied things like the strength of local wood and how well coal burned. They also researched weather patterns.
Government Offices and Museum (1927–Present)
After the Mint closed, the Government Insurance Office moved into the building. Other government offices followed, like the Family Endowment Department. For about fifty years, different government groups used the buildings.
During the 1930s, more cars were used, and parking was needed. So, the Mint's gates on Macquarie Street were removed. They were later bought by Barker College in Hornsby in 1937.
In 1956, a new District Court was built. This changed the old factory buildings a lot. Offices replaced some old rooms, and parts of the building were pulled down to make a car park.
In 1975, plans were made to restore the buildings. The goal was to turn the Mint into a museum. In 1982, the Mint opened as a branch of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. People fought to save the Mint and Hyde Park Barracks from being pulled down. The Premier of New South Wales, Neville Wran, announced that the Mint would be managed by the Museum. The museum closed in 1997, and the building was given to the Historic Houses Trust.
In the 1980s, people tried to buy the original gates back from Barker College. But the college wanted to keep them. So, new copies of the gates were made and put back at the Mint. This inspired other historical buildings to restore their gates too.
In 1998, the Historic Houses Trust took over the site. They continued to run a small museum and a cafe. In 2004, more restoration work was done. The old Coining Factory was turned into offices for the Trust. A new theater and lobby were also added.
In July 2016, the Mint celebrated its 200th birthday. It has been used for public purposes for two centuries!
What the Sydney Mint Looks Like
The Sydney Mint has four main parts today. The front part, facing Macquarie Street, is the old Rum Hospital wing. The Mint buildings were built behind it, forming a courtyard.
The Hospital Wing
The original Rum Hospital building has two floors and is made of sandstone. It has a double-level verandah on three sides. The sandstone columns and timber roof are replacements. The fancy timber lattice on the upper verandah is also new. The verandah on the eastern side has been closed in to make bathrooms and kitchens.
Inside, the main building has several rooms on each floor. There are two stairwells, one at each end of the building.
Attached to the south-east corner is a single-story room with a bay window. This used to be the Deputy Mint Master's library. Now it's part of the Historic Houses Trust offices.
The Coining Factory
The Coining Factory buildings form an L-shape behind the old hospital, creating a courtyard. This building has an iron frame, a sandstone front, and a corrugated iron roof. On the south side, there's a single-story building that used to be workshops. Now it's a security center and holds air-conditioning equipment.
The eastern part of the courtyard, which was the old factory, has been updated into offices for the Historic Houses Trust. A new theater and lobby were also built in the north-eastern corner. These new parts are made of steel and glass, covered with cedar louvres. The theater lets you see the eastern side of the hospital with Sydney's skyline in the background.
The central courtyard has a grassy area with a single tree.
Archaeological Discoveries
During renovations between 1977 and 1979, archaeologists found interesting things underground. They found cellars under the hospital. These were probably dug after the hospital was built and filled in when the Mint took over. They also looked at the courtyard, where the hospital's kitchen used to be.
Later excavations found more cellars under the eastern verandah. In the courtyard, they found parts of the hospital kitchen's foundations. They also found the base of a 19th-century fountain. These discoveries help us learn more about the history of the Rum Hospital and how the Mint worked.
Heritage Importance
The Sydney Mint is very important to the history of New South Wales. It shows two key times: when the colony was developing under Governor Macquarie, and when it was becoming more independent. The Rum Hospital, built from 1811 to 1816, shows us early colonial building styles. Much of the original building is still there.
The Coining Factory is a rare example of a pre-made cast-iron building in New South Wales. When it started making coins in 1855, it was the first mint in a British colony. It was also one of the three Australian mints that made the first Australian coins after the colonies joined together. The Sydney Mint made Australian coins from 1916 until it closed in 1927.
The Mint is also important because it shows how manufacturing happened in central Sydney in the mid-1800s. After it stopped being a mint, it was used as District Courts and government offices before becoming a museum. The site is also important for archaeology. It could still reveal more about the Rum Hospital and how coins were made in the 1800s and early 1900s.
The Sydney Mint is part of the Hyde Park Barracks complex. It was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register in 1999 because:
- It shows the history of New South Wales: It has different buildings that show how the complex changed over time, from a convict prison to a museum. It also has fig trees that are part of Sydney's old town planning.
- It shows great design and technical skill: Parts of the building, like the walls and gates, are linked to the convict architect Francis Greenway. The whole complex has a rich architectural history from the early days of European settlement.
- It is important to the community: It has a museum that is a popular place for tourists and cultural activities in Sydney.
- It can teach us more about history: The site has areas where archaeologists can find more information about its past.
- It is a rare example: It is the oldest example of a walled prison in Australia. It also shows the building skills and urban planning of early 19th-century Sydney.
See also
