Sydney is full of convict history. The stately building on Macquarie street is part of this as well. Built by convicts and home of convicts. The Hyde Park Barracks were even designed by a convict; Francis Greenway. Greenway put his mark on Sydney, for he designed dozens of buildings around the city. Over 50.000 convicts came from England and other countries for their punishment. Between 1819 and 1848 some of them lived in the barracks.
On the ground floor you can learn how people used to live here. They made an interactive display with a lot of paintings and examples. With two meals a day and work from dawn till dusk, being a convict was hard work. On Sunday they had a day off, but church was a requirement. Upstairs a room is filled with hammocks, the bedroom of convicts. You can also see a mobile prison. As a lot of work was outside of town, for example building roads, a coach full of small beds where prisoners could be chained was taken into the country.
Hyde Park Barracks is a good place to go to if you want to learn about Sydney’s convict history. It can give you an idea of what is was like to come here when the city was still being established. It’s a good-looking building and a visit can easily be combined with other sightseeing. From here you can walk through Hide Park or walk all the way to the Sydney Botanical Gardens.
