Financed with 45,000 gallons of rum, Governor Macquarie’s ‘Rum Hospital’ provided 200 beds for convict patients. But stuffy, overcrowded and rife with dysentery, it quickly became known as ‘the Sidney Slaughter House’.
In this award-winning redevelopment of Sydney CBD’s oldest public building and historic coining factory, past and present truly co-exist. Facing Macquarie Street, the elegant colonnaded building once formed the southern wing of Governor Macquarie’s notorious Rum Hospital and later part of the first overseas branch of London’s Royal Mint. The coining factory behind, shipped in pieces from England during the height of the gold rushes, contained the most cutting-edge technology in the colony. Integrating new and heritage buildings, historic structures and archaeological elements, the site today houses our head office and verandah café, while the central courtyard provides a tranquil oasis on Sydney’s busy Macquarie Street. The Mint is also home to the Caroline Simpson Library, which holds the only public research collection in Australia dedicated to the history of the home and garden.
10 Macquarie Street | |
Sydney | |
+61 2 8239 2288 | |
Mon – Sun 7am – 5pm |