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May 24, 2026
Government House will hold an Open Day on 24 May, in conjunction with the 2026 SA History Festival. From 10am-2pm visitors can see inside the public rooms of Government House, learn of its history and contemporary workings, and ask questions of knowledgeable guides.
People can take a garden tour or explore the grounds on their own, taking in the beehives, which produce honey used in the Government House kitchen; the Governor’s Rose Garden, which features a stand of roses celebrating each Governor in our state’s history; and the sweeping lawns, vegetable garden and ceremonial plantings, which include a descendent of the Lone Pine at Gallipoli.
People can also enjoy tours of the house and garden, live music from the Playford City Bands and other family-friendly activities. Food and beverages can be purchased from the Novita Grounds for Growth coffee van and the Eden Hills Scout Group BBQ.
Visitors to the Government House Open Day will also be able to view a fascinating object representing our State’s connections with pioneering naval explorer Captain Mathew Flinders.
In 2019 archaeologists in London excavated a former burial ground to prepare for a railway expansion. While it was known that Matthew Flinders was among the 30,000 burials on the site, the location of his grave was unknown and excavators were not in fact looking for it.
It was only through the state of preservation of the name plate on his coffin plate that his remains were identified. They were subsequently reinterred in his hometown of Donington in Lincolnshire, in a ceremony at which South Australia was represented by Her Excellency the Governor.
Flinders family bequeathed the lead coffin plate to the state of South Australia. It returned home with Her Excellency and is currently on display in the Government House Ballroom.
For more info, please see the website at https://www.governor.sa.gov.au