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26-570: The Garden Palace was a large, purpose-built exhibition building constructed to house the Sydney International Exhibition in 1879 in Sydney , Australia. In 1882 it was completely destroyed by fire. It was designed by James Barnet and constructed by John Young , at a cost of £191,800 in only eight months. This was largely due to the importation from England of electric lighting, which enabled work to be carried out around

52-671: A fire destroyed the building on 22 September 1882. James Barnet James Johnstone Barnet , (1827 in Almericlose, Arbroath , Scotland – 16 December 1904 in Forest Lodge , Sydney , New South Wales ) was the Colonial Architect for Colonial New South Wales , serving from 1862 to 1890. Barnet was born in the son of a builder in Arbroath, Scotland, and was educated at the local high school. In 1843, at

78-783: A number of Metropolitan Intercolonial Exhibitions through the 1870s in Prince Alfred Park . In late 1877, the Agricultural Society of New South Wales discussed the possibility of hosting an international exhibition in Sydney. Jules Joubert proposed importing the goods from the Universal Exposition in Paris in 1878 as a basis of the exhibition. On 31 December 1878, the Royal Commission for

104-596: The Bureau of International Expositions . Melbourne decided to start their exhibition shortly after the one in Sydney, so the participants could transport their exhibits during the winter of 1880. After the exhibitions many of the exhibits were selected to be at display in the Technological, Industrial and Sanitary Museum (now the Powerhouse Museum ). The Garden Palace itself was used by the government until

130-592: The General Post Office and Exhibition Building at Prince Alfred Park. The dome was 100 feet (30 metres) in diameter and 210 feet (64 metres) in height. The building was over 244 metres long and had a floor space of over 112,000 metres with 4.5 million feet of timber, 2.5 million bricks and 243 tons of galvanised corrugated iron. The building was similar in many respects to the later Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne . Sydney's first hydraulic lift ,

156-747: The General Post Office building in Sydney, Callan Park Lunatic Asylum , the Australian Museum , the Colonial Secretary's building , Lands Department building , and the Anderson Stuart Building at Sydney University . Some major works completed by Barnet include: Major public buildings in Sydney by Barnet include: The Colonial Architect's office was also responsible for maintenance of public buildings. Between 1865 and 1881, Barnet had supervised 1,490 projects. Other roles were assigned to Barnet: for example, he

182-470: The State Library of NSW relating to The Garden Palace include a piece of glass melted by the fire, a handkerchief and a book, The Sydney Garden Palace : a patriotic and historical poem by Frederick Cumming. Sydney International Exhibition The Sydney International Exhibition was established headed by Lord Augustus Loftus and took place in Sydney in 1879, after being preceded by

208-648: The University of Sydney . In 1860, he joined the Colonial Architect's Office. In 1862, he was acting head of the office; in 1865, he was promoted to the post of Colonial Architect. He held that position for twenty-five years until the Office was reorganised in 1890. In that period the department built 169 post and telegraph offices, 130 courthouses, 155 police stations, 110 lock-ups, 20 lighthouses and many other types of buildings. His major works include

234-614: The Australian continent, the colony of New South Wales , Colony of Queensland , Colony of South Australia , Colony of Tasmania , and the Colony of Victoria . There were 9,345 exhibitors providing about 14,000 exhibits. After being granted self-governance during the 1850s, the Australian colonies, Victoria and New South Wales, saw a steady economic growth as result of the discovery and exploitation of gold reserves. After 20 years proposals were made for organising an exhibition modelled on

260-682: The Royal Botanical Garden. A 1940s-era sunken garden and fountain featuring a statue of Cupid marks the former location of the Palace's dome. Few artefacts from the International Exhibition survived the fire. An 1878 Bechstein concert grand piano, that won a first prize, had luckily been removed from the Garden Palace prior to the fire, and is held by the Powerhouse Museum . A number of items are held by

286-640: The Sydney International Exhibition was established headed by Lord Augustus Loftus. A site of 35 acres (14 ha) on the high ground of the Inner Domain along Macquarie Street was chosen for the exhibition. James Johnstone Barnet designed a massive building called the Garden Palace . The nave of the building measured 800 x 60 feet and the transept ran for 500 feet. A large dome 100 feet in diameter rose 90 feet above

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312-493: The age of sixteen, Barnet moved to London, where he became a builder's apprentice, studying drawing under William Dyce RA and architecture with CJ Richardson FRIBA . He then became of clerk of works with the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers . In 1854, he married and sailed for Sydney, Australia, with his new wife, Rosa. In Sydney, he worked first as a builder for Edmund Blacket , then became Clerk of Works at

338-513: The building. The builder, John Young , finished the building in just eight months at a cost of £191,800. International response grew so rapidly that in June 1879, construction began on two large machinery halls and an art gallery. Four steam tram motors were imported to Sydney and tracks laid from the Redfern railway station to the site. Intended as a temporary transport installation, this became

364-539: The building. Night shifts were used to get through the project using the first electric light in Sydney. Although the project was judged a success at the end, Barnet was constantly criticised in Parliament during the construction. The project overran its budget of £50,000 by more than three times, costing £184,570. Barnet had previously been criticised in 1874 over the new wing of the Australian Museum by

390-530: The clock. A reworking of London's Crystal Palace , the plan for the Garden Palace was similar to that of a large cathedral, having a long hall with lower aisle on either side, like a nave , and a transept of similar form, each terminating in towers and meeting beneath a central dome. The successful contractor was John Young , a highly experienced building contractor who had worked on the Crystal Palace for The Great Exhibition of 1851 and locally on

416-507: The commission and held that the commission’s findings were unjust, petty and spiteful. Barnet's work drew from a variety classical sources, sometimes with elements from specific buildings, with levels of elaboration or features that suited the function. For instance his courthouses often included a bold Neoclassical portico, while his post offices often featured a rustic Italianate clocktower, and both types of buildings often featured generous verandahs or arcaded loggias, shaded areas that suited

442-503: The genesis of a larger tram network and probably the exhibition's most lasting legacy.. There were 23 nations represented at the Exhibition. Africa: Cape Colony ; America: Canada, United States; Asia: Ceylon , India, Japan, British Malaya , Singapore, Straits Settlement ; Europe: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland; Oceania: Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, and from

468-403: The great exhibitions of Europe, with an aim to promote commerce and industry, along with art, science and education. In 1879 Melbourne filed a plan to the Parliament. However, Sydney wanted to be the first and managed to organise an exhibition in record time. The Sydney International Exhibition opened in the autumn of 1879, but it wasn't really universal and therefore not officially recognised by

494-582: The hot colonial climate. His larger works like the Sydney departmental buildings, the GPO, and the Garden Palace synthesised elements from various periods of the Italian Renaissance, as well as from English architects such as Christopher Wren and Charles Robert Cockerell , to create impressive compositions. When suitable he could also design in a lively Gothic Revival style, notably the two cemetery railway stations. Some later designs drew directly from

520-553: The later Renaissance, from what we now call Mannerism and Baroque , notably Bathurst Gaol, the Central Police Court and the Rocks Police Station. After his retirement in 1899 he published a short overview of architecture in his adopted colony, entitled Architectural work in Sydney, New South Wales, 1788-1899 . He had little time for the new styles of architecture becoming fashionable in Sydney at

546-546: The museum's trustees and a select committee of the Legislative Assembly. By contrast, also in 1874, the first stage of his General Post Office in Martin Place received high praise, putting aside the much criticised carved figures in the arcade. Between 1870 and 1889 Barnet was on the commission set up to plan the colony's defence. Barnet built new batteries and barracks. In July 1889, defence works became

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572-560: The responsibility of a military works branch of the Public Works Department. The new director was Lieutenant–Colonel F.R. de Wolski. De Wolski criticised Barnet's work. Barnet was not prompt in handing over plans and documents for defence works. There had been rumours about the project at Bare Island battery in Botany Bay. On 1 July 1890, a royal commission was set up to investigate the letting of contracts and report on

598-453: The work completed. The evidence presented by staff of the Colonial Architect's office and Barnet was contradictory. The commission found that the work was below standard and the Colonial Architect's supervision of the project was not adequate. While the minister supported Barnet, the commission's censure was a regrettable end to his distinguished career. Barnet resigned as Colonial Architect. He believed that de Wolski had significantly influenced

624-632: Was contained in the north tower, enabling visitors to climb the tower. The Garden Palace was sited at what is today the southwestern end of the Royal Botanic Garden (although at the time it was built it occupied land that was outside the Garden and in The Domain ). It was constructed primarily from timber , which ensured its complete destruction when engulfed by fire in the early morning of 22 September 1882. The Garden Palace at that time

650-449: Was put in charge of the arrangements for the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh in 1868 . In 1879, Barnet was put in charge of the design and erection of the Sydney International Exhibition building . The Colonial Architect's Office completed this large task in nine months, including preparing 412 drawings, management of the accounts and payments associated with the project, and supervision of

676-547: Was used by a number of Government Departments and many significant records were destroyed in the fire, notably records of squatting occupation in New South Wales. Between 500 and 1000 pieces of Sydney Aboriginal artefacts were also lost in this fire. The only extant remains of the Garden Palace are its carved Sydney sandstone gateposts and wrought iron gates, located on the Macquarie Street entrance to

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