‘Warrane’ is the Sydney language word for Sydney Cove. The Gadigal have lived on the southern shore of Port Jackson for millennia. This area, now known as Martin Place, is where the Gadigal and other clan groups forged relationships with the colonists and fought to maintain connection with their Country and culture.

Getting to Mrs Macquarie’s Point and Chair is simple. The Sydney Explorer route travels to it, as well as trains and ferries from Circular Quay in the harbour. If you decide to get the bus, disembark at the Art Gallery which is just 15 minutes away from the Point.

Formed of exposed sandstone rock that was hand-carved into a bench by convicts in 1810, it was built especially for Governor Macquarie’s wife, Elizabeth. The peninsula it sits on is also named after the Governor’s wife and forms part of The Domain, which can be found near the colourful Royal Botanic Gardens.

Mrs Macquarie was the wife of Major-General Lachlan Macquarie, Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821. Folklore has it that she used to sit on the rock and watch for ships from Great Britain sailing into the harbour. She was known to visit the area and sit enjoying the panoramic views of the harbour.

Elizabeth Macquarie, the wife of New South Wales Governor, Lachlan Macquarie, was an active supporter of her husband’s plan to transform the penal settlement at Sydney into a thriving settler colony. She is said to have taken a an interest in the welfare of women convicts and the local Aboriginal people.

Elizabeth Macquariem. 1807
Jane Jarvism. 1793
Lachlan Macquarie/Wife

Elizabeth (Betty) Macquarie, the sister of Lachlan Macquarie, married Farquhar Maclaine in 1771.

Lachlan Macquarie/Spouse

This peninsula was named in 1810 after Elizabeth, Governor Macquarie’s wife, who ordered a seat to be chiselled into the rock from which she could view the harbour. Mrs Macquaries Chair, as it’s known, is still there today. It’s in the Domain but is effectively an extension of the Botanic Gardens.

There are 268 metered parking spaces on Mrs Macquarie’s Road, charged at a rate of $4.40 per hour (8am-8pm) or $2.20 per hour (8pm-8am). Meters accept coins, VISA, and mobile phone payments. Discount parking is available at Enacon Parking’s Cathedral St Carpark, off St Mary’s Rd, adjacent to Cook and Phillip Park (a 10 min walk away).

The chair itself faces north-east towards Fort Denison and the Tasman Sea. The area around it on Mrs Macquarie’s Point is a popular lookout position for the view to the north-west of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge .

Folklore has it that she used to sit on the rock and watch for ships from Great Britain sailing into the harbour. She was known to visit the area and sit enjoying the panoramic views of the harbour. Above the chair is a stone inscription referring to Mrs Macquarie’s Road.