Government House is the name usually given to the residence of British Governors, Lieutenant Governors and Governors General and other colonial administrators in the former British Empire and now the Commonwealth.
The House functions nearly as a presidential palace. It serves as the venue for the Governor's official business, serving as the official place of business for the administration, as well as the many receptions and functions hosted by the occupant.
As the office of the Governor, Government House is also used as a metaphor for to refer to the Government or the Governor.
Government House is a residence for a governor; so now many Commonwealth nations without the British monarch as Head of State name their presidential palaces State House or President's House.
Official residences worldwide
Government House, Canberra is the residence of the Governor-General of Australia.
It is set in 53 hectares of grounds at "Yarralumla", which was a large farm on which much of present-day central Canberra now sits. The house itself is the former main house on the property, though it has been extended several times.
The Governor-General also has a house in Sydney, Admiralty House.
Official Link: Governor-General of Australia
- Government House, Melbourne is the residence of the Governor of Victoria. It is set between the Royal Botanical Gardens and King's Domain in Melbourne.
The Lieutenant Governors of the following provinces have or had official residences known as Government House:
However, the official residences of the Governor General of Canada are Rideau Hall in Ottawa and La Citadelle in Quebec City.
Government House in Wellington, New Zealand is the name of the official Wellington (primary) and Auckland residences of the Governor-General of New Zealand.
Official Link: Governor-General of New Zealand
Government House, Hong Kong is located in Central, on Hong Kong Island.
Official Link: Government House Monument
Non-British Government Houses
Some gubernatorial residences in the United States of America are also named Government House. Additionally, Government House in Jerusalem, the former headquarters of the government of the British Mandate of Palestine until 1948, and has since June, 1948 been the headquarters of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization.
Note on usage
Some official docments refer to "the Government House" instead of "Government House". This is because in the former instance the operative word is "House" (ie, the House of the Government) whereas in the latter the phrase "Government House" is taken as a proper noun.
See also