I was handed this pamphlet this morning. I guess it is time to stop trying and just have fun.
The answer to the above question is……..not anymore……but the island used to be covered with those noisy birds. Cockatoo Island is one of many islands that sits in the Sydney Harbour and just happens to be the largest. Easily accessible by the city ferry, it is free to visit……you just have to pay for the ferry ride.
The main gate. All kinds of people have walked through these gates (prisoners, politicians, workers, sailors etc, etc.). Unfortunately I am not one of them because these are just for show these days. I had to walk through the ranger station.
Like so many places. The buildings at Cockatoo Island have been used for many different purposes over the years. I decided to grab a $5 audio tour of the island and good thing too. I would have been looking at a whole lot of buildings with no idea what they were and no information about them without it. And in my experience $5 is a really cheap audio tour.
What's an old prison without an old canon?
Looking kind of like the Easter Island States these are actually a part of the old ship building equipment that was used on the island. They are called beam benders. I can only guess they are used to bend beams.
At first I thought this was an alien and couldn't figure out why it was there but then I looked a little closer and realized it was a diver. That makes more sense.
In 1939(ish) new prison locations were needed and Cockatoo Island seemed like a great place. An Island, surrounded by deep, cold and shark infested water seemed like the perfect location. As you can imagine, only a few people successfully escaped from the Prison. It is also important to know that when they started to transfers convicts here (many from the Hyde Park Barracks) there were no buildings.
Looking through to the fireplace in what would have been a soldier's mess hall (or whatever they would have called it back then). It is hard to tell sometimes because the buildings that are left from the prison days are not in good shape. You really do have to use your imagination sometimes.
The convicts of course (like elsewhere in Australia) had to build their own prison. It wasn’t the warmest day when I visited. It was a little cold and windy with a small amount of rain……..it’s still summer here. I can imagine there were some cold, blustery nights on this island during the winter. Life would have been harsh for convicts and guards a like. On the one side the cliffs acted as punishments pits that convicts would be lowered into and kept in solitary confinement for up to 28 days.
Part of the prison yard.......you can just make out the Harbour Bridge in this picture. Obviously the skyline has changed since prisoners were held here.
Some of the small corridors that connected buildings in the prison.
On the right hand side of this picture you can see the remains of the prison on the top of the hill. It is along there that you would have found the solitary confinement cells that prisoners had to be lowered into. They could have been left in there for 3 days before they were brought out for exercise.
The Island was home to convicts for only about 30 years after which time they were transferred to Darling Hurst Prison. After that the buildings were used as a reform school for girls as well as a nautical school for boys. Other parts of the island were also being used as a government dockyard. The treatment of girls needing to be reformed was very different from that of the boys at the nautical school. It was seen that trouble boys could be reformed and contribute to society. Troubled girls on the other hand were seen as lost causes so were often mistreated and suffered greatly in these old convict buildings.
You can see the difference between where the prison was on top of the hill and way most of the shipbuilding yards were at the bottom of the hill.
One of the tunnels that was built to connect the 2 sides of the island. A lot easier to go through the hill than around or over it.
It was used for ship building but also as a dry dock to repair military vessels. It was a very important location during World War II used not only by the Australian Navy but by the British and American Navy as well. Eventually both were closed and the dockyards were expanded.
Of course the Harbour bridge was not always a part of the view from the island but it is a great view now.
Eventually it was deemed an un-sustainable location from ship building (because the only way to get supplies there was by boat) so the dry docks closed in June 1990. Since then a few different groups have tried to take over management of the area. In 2000, 10 local aboriginals (the traditional owners of the island) rowed boats to the island and laid claim to the land by driving a traditional spear into the ground. They “occupied” (the museum’s words not mine) for 4 months. Their presence is still felt by the many aboriginal flags and symbols they left behind.
The mirror crane that is one of many features left behind by the aboriginals during their 4 month occupation of the island. You can also find a large collection of aboriginal flags painted on buildings and other structures. They may be gone today but they are not forgotten.
Eventually the area was taken over by the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust and the museum was formed. Many of the buildings and machinery are still being restored but there is a lot to see. If you fancy you can even spend the night in one of the perm-a-tents they have set up.
A view of those tents from the top of the hill. Not a lot of shelter. I am sure they get pelted by rain and snow and wind and all kinds of un-nice weather.
Not sure who still lives on the island but there certainly appears to be a few residences here....some of which I believe are holiday homes. The tennis court had been kept in great shape.
Once I decided it was time to head back to the mainland, I hopped back aboard the ferry and made my way to the Justice and Police Museum. The Water Police moved to this location from Cadman’s Cottage in 1858. It is a great little museum that shows the history of the Police force in NSW. There is a small $8 entry fee but it is totally worth it.
One last look at Cockatoo Island and the prison/ship yards that sit upon it. Really doesn't look that friendly.
The first section of the museum is an exhibit all about the corruption in the police force and the organized crime in Sydney during the 1900’s. I spent some time just watching the movie with interviews with those attempting to fight the criminals and the difficulty of it all when members of the police force and justice department were all connected to the crime……and making a ton of money off it.
Why do mob money and casinos always seem to go hand in hand?
The rest of the museum shows the history of the Police force in Sydney and NSW from its humble beginnings as the NWMP (sound familiar?) during the gold rush to where they are now. There are a lot of interesting little things to see including the old cells and the old court room which all used to be housed in this one building.
This was June Kelly's uniform. She joined the force in 1950 and was the first female officer sent directly from the training academy to the Criminal Investigation Branch. She was involved with many notable events over the years, including the protection of Queen Elizabeth II. She actually had to dress up in a ball gown and conceal a baton and handcuffs in her handbag.
Yes that is a stuffed dog under that bicycle. Just a couple pieces of history of the Sydney Police Force.
An old telescope used to process evidence by the crime lab. Very high tech for the times but I am sure the guys on CSI can find a new and better way to do things.
One of the old holding cells. Doesn't look too comfortable to me.
The hallway containing all those holding cells.
I love this. This is the time piece that guards would have used while doing their rounds of prisoners. I am sure they were glad when they were allowed to wear wrist watches and not have carry this with them.
The old Magistrate Court.
From there I headed to one more museum. This was the Museum of Sydney and it just happened to be up the street from the Police Museum. I had seen advertisements for a special exhibit that I wanted to see so had to stop by. I have to admit that this special exhibit was excellent but the rest of the museum was a disappointment. If the Powerhouse Museum was a steal at $10 per entry, the Museum of Sydney is kind of rip-off at the same price. Of course I also couldn’t take any pictures and I always dislike it when I can’t take pictures.Anyway, the exhibit I wanted to see was called “From Little Things Big Things Grow: Fighting for Indigenous Rights 1920-1970”. It was well worth the visit. There were a lot of very interesting stories and quotes and information about the fight Australia’s aboriginals have been fighting since Europeans first started to arrive on these shores. As you can imagine the struggle seen during this time was very reminiscent of the civil rights movement in the United States. In fact many involved in the aboriginal struggle gained inspiration and ideas from what was being seen in the US.
In September 1933 a great fighter in the aboriginal struggle Joe Anderson (known as King Burraga) was quoted as saying “150 years ago the Aboriginals owned Australia and today he demands more than the white man’s charity. He wants the right to live”. For a long time aboriginals were not considered Australian citizens. Those who were considered citizens had to carry around exemptions papers to prove it. These papers became known as "dog tags".There was a song called “From Little Things Big Things Grow” which was a protest song by Paul Kelly. Below are some links to a couple versions of the song. Take a look if you have a few minutes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tHEGo-g3mwhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_ndC07C2qw&feature=related
A really great exhibit. I’m glad I visited this section first but it really did influence how I felt about the rest of the museum. Right next to this exhibit was an exhibit about The Edwardian Age. It highlighted the “good life” of the 1890’s and beyond that Australians (well white Australians) would have lived at the time. Days spent at the beach and having teas and parties and what not. It was so interesting to see it right next to the exhibit on the fight for Indigenous rights but I found myself rolling my eyes while walking through it. Not sure who’s idea it was to put them beside each other but I guess it does highlight how drastically different the lives of two groups of people in the same country can be.I found the rest of the museum unremarkable (yes I have become somewhat of a museum critic but I think I have visited enough of them to know) but I am very glad I took some time to visit.
And that was another long day traveling through time in Sydney. Always interesting.Julie
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