Royal Australasian College of Physicians
One of the last grand terraced residences surviving from colonial Sydney
10am–4pm
About the building
Home of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) since 1938, the building at 145 Macquarie Street is a gracious example of colonial architecture and one of the last grand terraced residences surviving from colonial Sydney.
The original two-storey house was designed by architect John Bibb and built by Jacob Inde in 1848 for the proprietor of The Sydney Morning Herald, John Fairfax, and his family. It was part of a row of five; the other houses have since been demolished. A complete floor replaced the attic around 1880, and prominent architect C H Slayter designed the third and fourth floors, added in 1909.
The Warrigal Club leased the premises from 1890 to 1931. The club was established in Sydney for the ‘purpose of promoting social intercourse amongst the gentlemen engaged in pastoral pursuits in NSW and adjacent colonies’. The RACP purchased the building in 1937 for £23,950. The building received heritage status in the 1970s and was restored in the mid-1990s by heritage architecture practice Lucas, Stapleton & Partners.
Sydney Open visitors can tour the gracious Fellows Room, once the administrative staff’s office; the Ford Room, the original dining room of the Fairfax home that now houses rare books given to the College by Sir Edward Ford, Professor of Public Health at Sydney University; and the Council Room, with its magnificent meeting table gifted by the Royal Australian College of Surgeons in 1938.
Access to the site is by guided tour only.
Talks, tours and more
Built
1848
Architect
John Bibb
Alterations
C H Slayter, 1909; Cobden Parkes, 1938; Cecily Gunz, 1939; Clive Lucas, Stapleton & Partners, project architect Hector Abrahams, 1994
Find out more about this building here
Royal Australasian College of Physicians
145 Macquarie Street, Sydney
Entry details
The Fellows, Edward Ford and Council rooms on the ground floor and first floor. Access to the site is by guided tour only
10am–4pm
3.30pm
Talks, tours and more
Need to know
Accessible featuresLift access is available at the rear of 145 Macquarie Street
Lines expectedPhotography allowed
