This building, at the northern entrance to the Botanic Gardens, was erected by Governor Macquarie in 1818 as stables for Government House, It is estimated to have cost 30,000. Before the building was completed, however, its "useless magnificence" was much criticized, and it was officially characterized as "a palace for horses, while human beings remained unhoused". To-day it is the State Conservatorium of Music, the centre for musical instruction in New South Wales.