What is the oldest building in Australia?
The oldest building in Australia is Wiebbe Hayes’ fort in the Houtman-Abrolhos Islands off Geraldton in Western Australia. Other, more intact, contenders include Cooks’ Cottage in Melbourne and Elizabeth Farm in Parramatta.
There is a degree of controversy over the oldest building in Australia. Many people erroneously think it’s Cadmans Cottage in the Rocks, Sydney. Built in 1816, it has undergone many uses, including as a water police HQ and a tourist information centre. Cadmans Cottage now opens for tours on the first and third Sunday of every month.
Oldest building in Australia: Elizabeth Farm?
Cadmans Cottage isn’t even the oldest heritage building in Sydney, however.
That honour goes to Elizabeth Farm in the suburb of Parramatta. 22km west of Sydney CBD, Elizabeth Farm is best visited on the Parramatta ferry. Built in 1793 (although significantly altered since then), it was the home of John Macarthur.
Elizabeth Farm is the oldest house in Australia.
13 brilliant experiences in Sydney you should book
- (💲Great value 💲) Tick off several bucket list items on a highlights-packed Blue Mountains day tour.
- Get perfect views of the world’s most beautiful city on a Sydney Harbour helicopter tour.
- Save money with a multi-attraction pass.
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Enjoy the romance of a tall ship cruise on Sydney Harbour.
- Eat all you can at the Skyfeast at the top of Sydney Tower.
- See migrating humpbacks – on a whale-watching cruise.
- (Highly recommended ✅) Go behind the scenes of Australia’s most famous building on an Opera House tour.
- Dine as the city lights up on sunset dinner cruise around the harbour.
- Combine beers and stories on a historic pubs tour through the convict-era Rocks district.
- Stand on your board and catch waves during Bondi Beach surfing lessons.
- Go to wombat and kangaroo-spotting hotspots on a Southern Highlands tour.
- Enjoy Sydney’s wild side on a Manly snorkelling & nature walk.
- (🥇Top choice in Sydney) And, best of all, paddle to hidden beaches on a harbour kayaking adventure.
Macarthur was an extremely colourful character. He dabbled in politics mainly through organising plots to overthrow governors. Macarthur also managed to kick off the enormous Australian wool industry. He persuading people in Britain to invest while on trial for duelling. Visiting the Elizabeth Farm historic site quickly becomes about learning Macarthur’s often outrageous story. The Parramatta weather is usually a couple of degrees hotter than Sydney’s – avoid visiting on a really hot day.
But the oldest building in Australia isn’t in Australia’s oldest city. In Melbourne’s Fitzroy Gardens, an old cottage stands.
Oldest building in Australia: Cooks’ Cottage?
This cottage is significantly older than Melbourne itself. And that’s because it’s not originally from Melbourne. Cooks’ Cottage comes from the village of Great Ayton in North Yorkshire. Captain Cook’s parents lived there, but Cook himself never did. The cottage was originally built in 1755. But a millionaire paid to have it transported and reconstructed brick by brick in 1934.
If that feels like cheating, then it’s a good job Cooks’ Cottage wouldn’t be the oldest building in Australia anyway.
That honour goes to a small ruined fort on the Houtman-Abrolhos Islands, off the coast of Geraldton in Western Australia. Day trips to these underrated islands include a scenic flight over the fort, built in 1629. Wiebbe Hayes’ Fort is the handiwork of shipwrecked soldiers from the Dutch ship, Batavia. They built it to protect themselves from other survivors, who were murdering other passengers in a battle over food rations. The story of the Batavia disaster is genuinely astonishing. It’s partly covered in the WA Shipwrecks Museum in Fremantle.
More Australia Travel Questions
Where is the nearest Sushi Hub?
What is a sausage sizzle in Australia?