Hyde Park Barracks
A convict barracks completed in 1819 and now a World Heritage site, using an immersive audio guide to tell the story of transported convicts' lives in Sydney.
Hyde Park Barracks was designed by convict architect Francis Greenway and completed in 1819. It originally housed male convicts working on government projects, with up to a thousand people living there at its peak. It later served as a female migrant depot and then a courthouse. As part of the Australian Convict Sites, it is listed as a World Heritage site. After reopening in 2020, it introduced an immersive audio guide. Visitors walk through the restored hammock dormitories and, with everyday objects found in archaeological digs, hear the real stories of convicts and migrants. Entry is charged. It is located on Macquarie Street at the northern end of Hyde Park, about a 3-minute walk from St James station, and can be combined with St Mary's Cathedral.
Opening hours
10:00–17:00
Nearby sights
- St Mary's Cathedral & Hyde Park
- Sydney Tower Eye
- Art Gallery of New South Wales
- Australian Museum
- Queen Victoria Building
- Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
- Circular Quay
- Museum of Contemporary Art Australia