The Garden Palace building only graced the Sydney skyline for three years before it burnt to the ground. Designed by Colonial Architect James Barnet it was built in the Botanical Gardens for the 1879 Sydney International Exhibition and housed examples of the arts and sciences shipped from around the world. Constructed by John Young, at a cost of £191,800, it was built in only eight months largely helped by the importation of electric lighting from England, which enabled work to be carried out around the clock.