Cockatoo Island | Sydney | Australia

My last post was about the ferry ride that I took to reach Cockatoo Island. The place is a short distance from Circular Quay and takes about 20-30 minutes. I took the ferry that stopped at the wharf between Circular Quay and the island. That way I enjoyed a longer ferry ride. 🙂  

Cockatoo Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is located at the junction of Parameta River and Lane Cove River. The island was a convict penal establishment between 1839 to 1869, a secondary establishment for convicts who had offended in the colonies. I shared one such story of air poisoning in silos here (Convict Silos).

The island is also a popular camping site. You can indulge in a number of outdoor activities like football, barbeque, fishing, or just soak in the sun. Below you can see a number of camping tents.

I loved walking around the edge of the island. The sound of the lapping water, the cool breeze, and the outline of the city far away – felt so peaceful.

We walked up to the prison quarters.

These structures are decades old, build during the early 1900’s.

This was the military guardhouse.  The whole area is filled with history, but it was sad to read about the prisoners and their difficult life inside the prisons.  

Inside most of the houses, there was audio/video playing, depicting different stories, of prisoners and others. I didn’t watch it completely as  most were depressing and made me sad. 

Fitzroy Dock is the oldest surviving dry dock in Australia, which was mostly built by convicts with their bare hands often waist-deep in water.

From here I could see the Sydney Harbour Bridge too.

The Convict Trail 

I walked past the convict silos, made by prisoners to store wheat grains. It was really really high.  

  Heavy Machine Shops      

There are different self trails that you can take here. It doesn’t take long to cover the whole island. There are restaurants and wine shops for those who want to relax and enjoy the view.

Once the tour was completed, we waited near the wharf for the ferry to take us back to Circular Quay.

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