Originally the Rum Hospital, built by two Sydney merchants in return for a monopoly on the rum trade, Australia’s oldest hospital has a grand Victorian sandstone facade and a chequered history. You can’t wander around inside, but the central courtyard with its kitsch enamelled fountain studded with submissive swans is open to the public. The Gothic, weathered-looking Nightingale Wing (1869) was the site of Australia’s first Nightingale School of Nursing.

In provocative recline out the front of the hospital is the pig-ugly bronze statue Il Porcellino (1968), a copy of a Florentine statue of a boar. Rubbing its snout is said to bring good luck.

Transportation

  • train: Martin Place

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Reserve Bank of Australia Museum

0.03 MILES

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2. Parliament House

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3. Macquarie Street

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A swathe of splendid sandstone colonial buildings graces this street, defining the central city's eastern edge. Many of these buildings were commissioned…

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5. Hyde Park Barracks Museum

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6. State Library of NSW

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7. St James’ Church

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8. State Savings Bank Building

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