Hyde Park Barracks
An Australian Convict Site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list
10am–5pm
About the building
Building information
One of 11 Australian Convict Sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, the Hyde Park Barracks is an extraordinary record of the living legacy of colonial Australia.
The Barracks was built from 1817 to 1819 and was designed in the Georgian style by former convict Francis Greenway, who would become the first person in Australia to occupy the office of Civil Architect. After the transportation of convicts to NSW ceased in 1940, the Barracks served as a women’s immigration depot and asylum, and later as law courts and government offices.
In 1990, the Barracks was transferred to the Historic Houses Trust of NSW, now Museums of History NSW. An award-winning adaptation by architects Tonkin Zulaikha Harford (today known as Tonkin Zulaikha Greer) and conservation architect Clive Lucas Stapleton & Partners transformed the building into a museum about the Barracks and its history.
Today this immersive museum tells the stories of the thousands of men, women and children held or housed there, and the Aboriginal communities profoundly impacted by the relentless push of colonial expansion.
1819
ArchitectFrancis Greenway
AlterationsTonkin Zulaikha Harford and Clive Lucas Stapleton & Partners, 1991
AwardsRoyal Australian Institute of Architects National Awards – Lachlan Macquarie Award for Heritage, 1992
Royal Australian Institute of Architects NSW Awards – Francis Greenway Award Category 4, 1992
Museum of the Year Award, 1992
Australian Institute of Architects NSW Awards – Heritage Architecture Award (Gate Lodge Domes Reconstruction), 2013
Find out more about this building here
Hyde Park Barracks
Queens Square, Macquarie Street, Sydney
Entry details
The Hyde Park Barracks, the museum and the surrounding grounds
10am–5pm
Members hour: MHNSW Members receive exclusive access from 9am–10am
4.30pm
Need to Know
Due to the heritage nature of the site, wheelchair users follow a continuous and consistent path through the Hyde Park Barracks. This path of travel can be viewed on the site map. Wheelchairs are available for free hire. We recommend booking a wheelchair prior to your visit
No flash photography is permitted
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