Lots 650 and 651 were brought by Florenz August Carl Bleeser in 1931, a postal official and botanist of increasing renown. Bleeser erected his home on Lot 651, established a small museum on Lot 650 and designed and planted a garden with unusual trees, palms and orchids in a shadehouse. He died during World War II and the family did not return to Darwin. Bleeser's garden still existed when Old Admiralty House was moved to the site in 1951. The design, shadehouse and some of the original trees in the garden remain today.

The house continued as the home of the most senior naval officer in the north until 1983. The house suffered minor damage during Cyclone Tracy and was used as an art gallery and coffee shop until early 1993.

The house is a good example of an amended Burnett "B" type tropical house. It is one of only two "B" type houses remaining in the Central Business District of Darwin. The original detail of the house remains intact with only minor alterations. This type was the grandest of a series of tropical designs by B.C.G. Burnett. They are typified by their extensive use of asbestos cement, especially in the louvres. The original louvres have been replaced. Overall, Old Admiralty House has both social and architectural significance.