Island out of time

 

Cockatoo Island - the Alcatraz of Sydney

Cockatoo Island sits in the middle of Sydney Harbour, in sight of the Harbour Bridge, but is a world away from the city.  The island is 500m long, 360m wide, and covers 18 hectares. It consists of two parts – the Lower industrial area - where shipbuilding activities were carried out (two tunnels were driven through the centre of the island to facilitate this work), and the Upper plateau – which was originally the convict prison and later where draftsmen, pattern-makers & management worked and lived.

Storage caves and tunnels

The island has a long and illustrious history dating back to the first settlement of Sydney. In 1839 Governor Sir George Gipps chose the island as the site of a new penal establishment, to alleviate overcrowding on Norfolk Island. Convicts were put to work building prison barracks, a military guardhouse and official residences. 

Remains of the convict barracks on the plateau (500 prisoners in the cells)

It continued as a convict station until the 1850s. The convicts were transferred to the Darlinghurst Gaol on the mainland in 1869. Then in 1870, Cockatoo Island was used for an Industrial School for Girls and a reformatory. The ship, Vernon, was anchored nearby to train wayward and orphaned boys. From 1888 to 1908 it reverted back to a gaol due to prison overcrowding.

Convict Grain Silos - 20 were built 1839-42, only 13 now survive. Approximately 7m wide & 6m deep it had an opening in the ceiling. This one was excavated in the shipbuilding period.

The pontoon in Fitzroy Dock, built 1840-50s, it took convicts 11 years to excavate the dry dock

From 1850 the island has been associated with shipbuilding. The Fitzroy Dock and a workshop were built by convict prisoners to service Royal Navy and other ships. 

The caisson in Fitzroy Dock

The Sutherland Dock was built between 1880 and 1900 as shipbuilding and repair activities expanded. 
The dock is 210m long, 27m wide and 8m deep.

When completed in 1890, the Sutherland Dock was the largest single graving dock in the world and a fine example of late 19th century engineering. The two docks nearly bisect the island.

Crane on Sutherland Dock

The Timber Drying Store, built 1916-17 used for storage & seasoning of timber

WWII Air Raid Shelter, built in 1942 it was surmounted by a crane

In 1913, Cockatoo Island became the Commonwealth Naval Dockyard, and Australia’s first steel warship was constructed on the island. Following the Fall of Singapore in World War 2, it became the major shipbuilding and dockyard facility for the South West Pacific. 

Turbine Shop, built 1944-45 for assembling the massive propulsion engines, it was excavated from the sandstone escarpment

Heavy Machine Shop North, built 1898-1903 & extended in 1910-11

Following the end of the war, additional buildings are constructed for shipbuilding and repair, and the dockyards refitted the T-Class submarines and built the Navy destroyers, HMAS Voyager and HMAS Vampire. From the mid 1960s, the island's work included the servicing and refit of Oberon-Class submarines and the construction of HMAS Success. The dockyard closed in 1992, most of the machinery was sold off (nearly 50 cranes are left), and about 40 buildings and several wharves are demolished.

The office section of the Heavy Machine Shop North

The Sydney Harbour Federation Trust assumed control of the island in 2001 and embarked on major restoration works. After extensive remediation works, it was opened to the public for cultural activities in 2007. It is now the venue for art installations, concerts, sporting events, and for tourists. It is possible stay overnight on the island in the old residences or to camp out. The camping area was the plate yard where steel was cut and bent to space into the hulls.

Campers having jockey races in the luggage trolleys, beside the beam benders