The Residency

The Residency is an historic building constructed in Alice Springs in 1926/27 by Emil Martin. It was built as a residence for the Government Resident, an official position which was created by legislation setting up Central Australia as an independent administrative area in 1926. With the repeal of this legislation in 1931, The Residency continued to be occupied by senior Government officers, including the NT Adminstrator who moved to Alice Springs following the bombing of Darwin in 1942. It was refurbished several times following WW2, the original screened veranda being glazed to form additional rooms.

The Residency was designed in the manner of many official residences of the era, with a low rambling structure styled to minimise summer heat. The building consists of a central masonry core with a wide enclosed verandah and a detached kitchen. It has 25cm thick walls of hollow cement bricks resembling stone, and its main halt breezeway became so effective it was nicknamed by one occupant as 'the freezeway'.