About Us

The World Heritage listed Hyde Park Barracks is one of the most significant convict sites in the world. A crossroads for tens of thousands of people, it played a central role in the world’s largest and longest-running system of convict transportation. Designed by convict architect Francis Greenway, the Hyde Park Barracks housed 15,000 male convicts in government employment between 1819 and 1848. Later it became a female immigration depot and a government asylum for infirm, destitute women. Explore the convict experience, lie in a convict hammock and discover the daily lives of other occupants at this popular landmark in the historic precinct of Macquarie Street. The Hyde Park Barracks Museum Shop specialises in books on Australian colonial history and also has a terrific range of books, toys, games and gifts inspired by convict and colonial times. The Bakehouse cafe is also open daily. Entry also included with the Sydney Museums Pass.