The establishment of British Rule

On July 5, 1878, the administration of the island was officially transferred to the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was raised in the presence of Vice-Admiral Lord John Gray, Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Squadron that had been dispatched from Crete to Cyprus. Nicosia was initially occupied by 50 Marines and 50 Bluejackets from his flagship, The Minotaur.

On July 31, 1878, Lt. General Sir Garnet Wolseley, the first High Commissioner, arrived in Nicosia. He immediately established a skeletal administration by sending officers to each district to supervise the administration of justice and obtain all possible information about the area.

Wolseley without delay established a Post Office at his camp at Kykko Metochi monastery outside Nicosia. Wolseley lived at Monastery Camp until a prefabricated residence had been built for him near Strovolos on the site of today's Presidential Palace.