Fly Ted Down Under Journeys through the land of Oz

Sydney Day 2: Hyde Park Barracks, ANZAC, Pylon, Olympic Park AND Luna Park

AUSTRALIA | Friday, 4 March 2011 | Views [548]

The Barracks are now an excellent and vivid museum, restored to its early 1800's appearance and recently named a World Heritage Site. The top floor lists a sample of convicts and their crimes - and punishments. They are listed on a glass panel so a bit hard to read, but a couple samples: "James Smith, 23, Blacksmith, 1828, Stealing a Bundle, 7 Years." "Robert Smith, 21, Trunkmaker, 1828, Picking Pockets, 14 Years." "Henry Smith, 23, 1827, Stealing From a Shop, Life." "Peter Sloane, 41, 1826, Forgery, Life." ...and so on.

When the first convicts arrived in Sydney they lived in tents and houses scattered around the city, and were expected to report for convict duty each day (at that time escape and survival in Australia was pretty much a death sentence anyway).

Eventually though the convicts were too hard to control and so in 1819 the Hyde Park Barracks was built, officially as a 'boarding house' but a prison in most respects.

The convicts could thus be kept under strict rules in one place and easily roused for their many hours of work each day,

About 50,000 men and boys lived here for the next 30 years until 1848 when the convict system ended and the Barracks closed.

The clock above was apparently ominous for convicts, who did have an hour or two of free time in the evenings and the odd day off, but had to report home by 9pm or the gates were locked, and they were in BIG trouble.

The name under the clock is

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Fly Ted Down Under Journeys through the land of Oz

Sydney Day 2: Hyde Park Barracks, ANZAC, Pylon, Olympic Park AND Luna Park

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