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NSW Parliament House Mon-Fri 9.30am-4pm; free guided tours Mon & Fri 10am, 11am & 2pm; question time Tues-Thurs 2.15pm, call tel 9230 2111 to check. Martin Place CityRail. Sandstone Sydney Hospital , the so-called "Rum Hospital", funded by liquor-trade profits, was Macquarie's first enterprise, commissioned in 1814; the two remaining convict-built original wings therefore form one of the oldest buildings in Australia. The central section was pulled down in 1879 when it began collapsing; rebuilt by 1894, the sandstone Classical Revival buildings, still functioning as a small general and eye hospital, are also impressive - peep inside at the entrance hall's flower-themed stained glass and the decorative staircase. One of the original wings of the hospital is now the NSW Parliament House , where as early as 1829 local councils called by the governor started to meet, making it by some way the oldest parliament building in Australia. Varied exhibitions in the foyer change every fortnight or so - all represent community or public sector interests and range from painting, craft and sculpture to particularly excellent photographic displays which often have an overt political content. You can listen in on question time when the Parliament is sitting.
You can take an interesting short cut through the grounds of Sydney Hospital to The Domain and across to the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
The other wing was converted into a branch of the Royal Mint in response to the first Australian goldrush, and for some time served as a museum of gold mining; since the museum closed in 1997, most of the building has been taken over by NSW Historic Trust offices, but a cafe (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) extends onto the verandah looking over Macquarie Street, and some interpretative boards detail the Mint's history.
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