As well as being an official residence and workplace, Government House is also the main venue where the governor-general entertains members of the public, and receives visiting heads of state and other dignitaries and the credentials of ambassadors to New Zealand.

The first Wellington Government House was Colonel William Wakefield's villa, located where the Beehive now stands.

Wakefield's house was a very plain Regency styled building with verandahs,[2] it stood on a hill overlooking the harbour.

Designed by William Henry Clayton (1823–1877) and completed around 1871 the second Government House commanded expansive views over the city and harbour and provided a picturesque contrast with the adjacent Gothic styled Parliament Building complex.

During its 34-year career as Government House the Clayton building was redecorated and added to but it entered the 20th century largely unaltered.

Plunket had been lobbying for a larger and more up-to-date residence to be provided by the Government, hopefully more distant from Parliament and with more private grounds.

Government House closed in October 2008 for a major NZ$44 million conservation and rebuilding project, and was reopened in March 2011.

On one side the gardens border Alexandra Park and the Mt Victoria Town Belt giving the impression of even greater expansiveness.

The scale of the ground has allowed a range of different landscapes to be developed: rockeries, flower gardens, lawn areas, and a splendid collection of mature trees.

Throughout the house are examples of what was considered good taste at the time: marble fireplaces, parquet floors, oak panelling, Mahogany doors, leadlight windows, bronze electric light fixtures and neo-Georgian plasterwork ceilings.

The carpets and rugs were designed by several New Zealand artists; Gavin Chilcott, Andrew McLeod, Tim Main and John Bevan Ford.