[1] The building was initially occupied by the NSW Department of Lands, which has a long association with the public life of New South Wales, especially the rapid expansion of settlement during the later part of the 19th century.

[3][4] In 1876 when construction of the Lands Department building commenced, the location of the inaugural and temporary Government House was at the junction of what is now known as Bridge and Phillip Streets, a site now occupied by the Museum of Sydney.

The Lands Department building was located immediately 'down hill' from Government House and occupied a city block bounded by Bridge, Loftus, Bent and Gresham Streets.

The design of the three-storey building, plus basement, provided uninterrupted views from its north-facing verandahs to Port Jackson and Sydney Cove.

[1] Sometime between 1887 and 1894 the Lands Department Datum Bench Mark Plug was set into position on the front of the building and provided the origin of all levels in NSW under the Survey Co-ordination Act.

The façades are of dressed Pyrmont sandstone with cornices and balusters at each floor level, with a dome and tower tops made from copper.

There is delicately formed cast-iron work to the entrance gates and window grilles, and large flights of stairs and cantilevered balconies and bridges around the courtyards.

[8] Each of the four façades has twelve niches whose sculpted occupants include explorers and legislators who made a major contribution to the opening up and settlement of the nation.

[9][1] In November 2010 a new statue of colonial surveyor James Meehan (1774–1826) was created and placed in an empty niche on the corner of Loftus and Bent Streets.

He continued to work on departmental duties, and, from difficult beginnings, a remarkable rose to be an important colonial surveyor, explorer and settler, surveying and mapping large areas of the country.

The early towns of Sydney, Parramatta, Bathurst, Port Macquarie and Hobart were all explored, laid out and measured by Meehan.

The statue was commissioned by the Land & Property Management Authority to commemorate Meehan's close collaboration with NSW Public Works Heritage Services and the Government Architect's Office.

[9] Meehan was also associated with Macquarie Field House, Campbelltown an early country estate and farm, separately listed on the NSW State Heritage Register.

[1][5] Lands Department Building was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999 having satisfied the following criteria.

[11]: 50  Barnet's unique building designs had drifted away from the traditional architectural styles found in earlier nineteenth century Sydney.

The building is an important heritage item that stems from early colonial times and is at present widely accepted by the public to be of historical significance.